Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-12-08
TIE BROADW ~, N. Y, FIRE.
Eight Stories of tn" Home Life Insurance
Building Burned Out-Injury to the
Postal Telegraph Compa"y's Buiid-
Ing small Loss Estimated at
S5UO,OUO To ST., 100000.

Tho great fire Of Sunday night on
Broadway, New York, resulted in the to-
tai destruction of the live story building
occupied 10y Rogers. Poet & Co., corner Of
Warren street, in the basement cf which
the fire broke out; the burning out Of the
upper eight stories of the sixteen story
Home Life Insurance building. called
iire-proof; and cons!do rable damage to tn.
upper story of the fourteen
story building of the Postal Tel
cgrarh company. Tho Home Life building
was an immense frame OF steel, surround
ed ~ a wall Of stone masonry anchored to
the steel frame. The beams and Orders
were covered with brickwork, terra Gotta,
ana asbestos, and the structure was called
thoroughly fire proof but the floors wci Q
of wood and the contents CombuStible. The
fierce hamcs from tho adjoining Rogers *
Poet building, famed by the hurricane
which was blowing at the time, made their
way into 1t through the windows. The
great height of the structure made 1t inn
possible for the iircmcn to reach the up
per stories with their hose, or streams;
and the stories above the eighth Were who'll
ly burned out The beautiful front of the
building WAS greatly damaged and the
marble balcony outside the thirteenth floor
one of the most beautiful Of the archi-
tcctural ornaments of the structure, broke
loose from the body of tho building and
crashed TO the street bcIow Fortunately
no one was standing at or very near the
spot at which it fell. In its descent it
brought with it a part of the cornice of
the NTH floor.
The massive building of the Postal Tel
cgraph company, adjoining the Homo Life
building on the south, was but little scar
red externally and the injury to the in
terror was confined for the most part TO
a single floor. occupied by the Hardware
club.
tnIo I
loss at 10000. divided as follows: Homo
Life building. 100000; tenants of building,
$4,000; building occupied in part by Rog-
ers, Pcet & Co., $1,000; tenants of build
ing, $500; Rogers, Pcet * Co.'S stock,
10000; Postal Telegraph building, $3.50,
Union states Life Insurance building, 49,
Wo. Others, however. estimated the loss
ut from 100000 to Sl1o0lo. A represrnta-
tive of Rogers, Poct II Co. said that The
firm occupied the sub-bascmcut, basement
and first and second stories Of their build
ing. Tho tire is supposed to have origina-
ted in the sub-baSemont, where the firm
stored large number Of dry goods boxes.
lie thought that the loss to the stock and
hNtures would he about $1,000. The
stock was totally destroyed.
You cannot put out ire in fifteen
story building with scvcn-story fire de-
plrtment," said ono Of the best known
underwriters in New York respecting the
fire which will cost the fire insurance
companies about $4,000, and give them d
chance to estimate more accurately the
hazards involved in accepting risks on
what are known as fire proof buildings
Tho buildings had hitherto been regarded
50 favorahly that the companies wore
willing to take the risks at about 10 cents
Cor So0 of insurance. for five years The
loss will fall on the largest insurance COM
panics dping business in the city When
rates We're declared of" in April last The