The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-02-13

II. Rhode, at No. las Danforth avenue,
was turned over to the half frozen fire.
men, Coffee was prepared and warm
fires were kept burning for them The
firemen looked like huge cakes of ice.
The section where the fire occurred is
one of the most exposed in Greenville
A stiff northeast gale was blowing from
the bay. 1t was several degrees colder
than in any other part of the city. The
eyelashes, mustachios and boards of
the firemen were coated with ice. Their
fingers were numbed and their ears froz-
en- owing to the intense cold; the fire.
men were not much hampered by the
usual crowds that gather at a fire. The
policemen had but little work keeping
the curious away. hTe extreme cold was
effective in doing that.
Although the cold was terrible and the
fremen suffered greatly from it. it was
not their chief annoyance. 1t was the
choking, binding smoke they feared most.
1t filled their throats and nostrils despite
all they could do The mouth guards
were of little avail. They were also great
ly hindered by the flooding of the street.
The street was banked high with snow.
Th constant streams Of water turned it
into slush, which came to the tops of the
firemen's boots. They could hardly wade
through it.
Up to 12 o'clock there were four en-
gine and two hook and ladder companies
working on the fire. 1t became worse,
however and third alarm was sent in,
which sent engines from lower Jersey
City to the scene. The engines from the
city made very slow headway. The fire.
men ran ahead to clear the way. Near
ly all the engines in the city are now at
the scene of the fire.
At 1:30 clock it was reported that the
frame dwelling houses adjacent to the
school were out of danger and that the
fire was practically under control.
At IL o'clock the east wall of the old
school building fell. Luckily it fell in
ward. Had it fallen the other way it
would have crushed the house of the
Martisheimers. The other wall also fell.
The walls of the new building are in a
tottering condition. They will have to
be razed if the wind and fire do not cause
them to fall this afternoon.
The new wing of No. 20 School was
completed but few weeks ago. 1t con-
tanned eight large class rooms, furnished
with hard wood furniture and all modern
improvements The entire school, includ-
ing the old and new portions accommodate
ed, 200 pupils Superintendent of Schools
Henry Snyder was on the scene shortly
after ten o'clock. He watched the build
ing burn from the office of DR.. Finn. He
went away in an hour, convinced that
nothing of the building could be saved.
The fire started at S:45 O'Clock this
morning. Henry Kimmerly, janitor of
the school, went there at $3.50 O'Clock to
fix the fires. He raked down the furnace
and got 1t burning brightly. He left the
furnace door open while he went into the
rear part of the cellar to attend to some
other work. When he returned he was
startled to find that the woodwork in the
vicinity of the furnace was in a blaze. a
dense smoke drove him back as he at
tempted TO get near the furnace. The
wind had swept through an open window,
into the furnace, and had scattered the
Goals and sparks over the cellar.
Flames began to shoot out here, there
and everywhere They were small at
first and Kimmerly thought he could ex-
tinguish them. He seized pail and
rushed to the hydrant. He turned on the
other hydrant but with like result. All
the water pipes were frozen. He could
not get a drop of water. He ran INTO the
street and in front of the school met an
acquaintance named Walker.
Walker rushed into the building to see
if he could not do something, but was
forced back by the binding, cutting
smoke. He then attempted to send In an
alarm from fire box No. SO, at Danforth
and Ocean avenues but found that the
| box was frozen tight. Do what he would
| he could not open it. He went into
| Bramhall's drug store, on the corner,
| and tried to get Fire Headquarters on
| the telephone. There was trouble in
making connection and it was some time
before he finally succeeded in giving the
| alarm.
| Kimmerly in the meantime had rusnee
1 around to No. 13 Engine house in Linde@
avenue and had given the alarm. The
engine house is on the next block thfougf
from the school, The snow was banked
| high in Linden avenue.
The engine was taken out of the house
and started in the direction of Linden ave
nue., it being impossible to take 1t by tn'
shorter route through Oh Bergen road. i
became stalled before it had gone lar
The horses reared and baked. They
could not drag it through the drifts. 'fnt
/ tiremen seized the spokes of tho wheel.
and rolled it along as best shey could
Despite all their efforts it was nearly
three-uuarters of an hour after the hre
had started that the engine reached the
scene of the fire, and it was almost al
hour before the first stream OF water was
turned on the burning building. This was
caused by the freezing of the water by
drants. The firemen had gone ahead o.
the engine to find if the hydrants were
/ all right. They found them frozen tight
Fires were built around the hydrants
and when the engines arrived steam wa'
turned into them They were finall,
| thawed out.
in addition to Engine No. 49, Engine
Nos. 8. 9 and Is arrived, also Hook ant
Ladder Companies Nos. and 8 Chic
! Hogan was on the scene early. Wnen IN
engines got to w9rR e enfire enfre school build
Ing was enveloped in dense cloud e
| smoke which obscured everything. sud
4 denly a gale of wind blew the smoke as'd
for while and it was seq
sRyxussfs sRat f,amfn in tne mere DuiIding Id M n
/ inferior Of the school building was mas
4 Of secthing flames. The flames mounte
to the cupola. The sight was grand. aW
inspiring. terrible The hre qulcKI
spread to the annex and son that wa
The firemen saw that they could d.
nothing for the old building so the
turned to the anne. They worked ne