Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-02-19
THIRD OF SERIES.
An Evening Fire in Building
on Hermon Street.
ASuspicion That it Was the Work of ar
ncendiary- Loss Estimated at
$4,000 or $4,000.

The series of fires that began with the
alarm from box 4 at $50 a. m, Friday,
finished at about II o'clock Friday
night, and the weary firemen heaved a
sigh of relief that the third one had
been disposed Of and according to pop
ular tradition the list was over for the
day. From early morning until late at
night the fremen worked with hardy
an opportunity to clean up their APP
paratus between the alarms.
The telephone alarm, about o'clock,
last evening, quickly followed by an
alarm from box 10, at the corner of
Chandler and Main streets, was for a
stubborn blaze in the brick factory
building at 20 and % Hermon street.
owned by the F'itz Land and Power Co.
The blaze was confined to the rear OF
the building, and while it was impos-
sible to form anything like definite
estimate of the loss, 1t may be set as
high as $4,000 or $4,000, covered by insur-
ance.
The building is three story fiat
rooted, brick structure, with basement
The fire was first discovered by William
b. Chaplin, an employee OF the w. c.
Young Co., who was talking with the
engineer Of the Union Water Meter Co.
plant next door. They were standing in
the engine room when they noticed the
smoke and flames issuing from the rear
windows of the second story. AS near
as they could judge, the fire was con
fined to the southwest corner of the
building at this time.
Chaplin hurried to the nearest fire
alarm box at the corner of HeTmon and
Main streets, but was unable to unlock
the door. He then went TO A. w. An
drews' drug store at the corner of Main
and Wellington streets and called the
Fire Patrol by telephone, they in turn
called the central telephone Office, and
from there Night Chief w P. S. Toner
rang In the alarm at, $40, and directed
the various companies to the scene Of
the confiagration.
On arriving on the scene, Chief
Vaughn realized that he had a hard job
before him. He Immediately drove to
the corner of Main and Chandler streets
and turned in box u.
| The fire worked up from the second
story to the third and through to the
roof. The firemen were located on all
sides of the fire, and bent their ener-
gies to combining the fire to the, rear sec
ton of the building. The flames had a
| good start, and the oil-soaked floors Of
the old building burned like finder. For
| some time 1t seemed to the anxious
spectators that the fremen were max
| ing no Roadway against the flames, but
in less than an hour after the alarm
was sounded, the department had the
! blaze under control.
Hose 4, Chemical 1, Chemical 2. and
| Ladder l, went up the stairs and fought
the fire from the front. Hose Z, En-
CINE 2 and Hose 5 were located on the
fire escape, on the east side of the build
ing. Ladder and Engine l on the
& q =
south.
/ One circumstance in connection with
the fire looks as though it might have
been of incendiary origin. On the
third floor, fully 40 feet from the main
fire, the men of Chemical l found a
big bundle of jute mating laid up
against a partition blazing. The pun
die was thrown from one of the win
dows but not until a hole had been
burned nearly through the floor. There
was no fire near the mating, and an
examination of the room beneath
showed that the fire could not have
worked up and ignited it.
The occupants of the building, which
was vacant for the most part. follow:
Basement, Wilson & Smithy cold metal
punching; street floor, j. S. Wheeler &
i Co, manufacturers of machinists' tools;
second floor, in the rear, William T. Car
roll, spinning rolls; third floor, front, A.
E. Aver & Co., ice tools and ash sleeves.
! CAROLS loss is total J. H. Wheeler
& Co., principally water damage: Will
son & Smith, water damage; Aver &
| Co. no damage.
The insurance, as far as could be as
certained, was as follows: Building,
agency of MA. Harrington Sic, 900; VIII
son & Smith, agency N. A. Harrington,
$4,000, Tatman & Park $1,000; j. S. Whee-
Ter & Co., Tatman e Park, $4,000, and
| Charles r. Grant; A. e. Aver & Co.
Charles E. Grant agency