The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-03-27
FIRE At JUNCTION
Water Did More Damage
Than Flames in Phar-
macy--No Lives Lost.

Joseph Mcclure and a man named Hart
narrowly ESCAPED losing their lives at
four O'Clock his morning, when the UNI
~dertaking establishment of Patrick II.
Kilroy, at the Junction took fire. The
tenants who occupied the floors above
also had narrow eccapes.
The building in which the fire originated
is at Grand street and Communipaw ave-
nue.. 1t is brick and four stories high.
The ground floor is Occupied by Patrick
Sweeney who keeps a saloon, George W.
Morgan, who owns a drug store and the
undertaking establishment owned by Kill
roy. The floors above were occupied by
the Max. Finnerty and Rosenthal families.
There. were ten children in the build
ing.
The origin of the blaze IS not known.
Mcclure and Hart who were sleeping in
the rear of the undertaker's shop, woke
up nearly suffocated with smoke. They
fought their way out through the flames
to the street, never stopping to put on
their clothes. Patrolman Bettiger who
was near sent in an alarm.
The undertaker's store was a mass of
flames when the engines arrived. Patrol
man Bettiger, after sending in the alarm,
lost no time in rushing through the build
ing waking the occupants. Women
screamed at the top of their voices and
had to be forced out of the burning struc-
ture, which at that time threatened to
consume the. entire building. Children
were hustled out into the street half clad.
Fireman rushed about the burning apart
ments battering in doors and smashing
windows.
Several streams were playing on the
burning shop, which by this time was a
mass of flames. All efforts to saw any
of the stock therein were of no avail. At
least $1,000 worth of goods was destroyed.
The flames ate their way into the phar-
macy adjoining, but the firemen were on
hand to stop their progress.
The saloon was not damaged, the flames
being ~extinguished before reaching that
part of the building.
Before the building had been burning
fifteen minutes, the flames had reached
the floor above. The firemen tried hard 70
prevent the flames from doing any dam
age, but the entire floor was Quilted. Every
article of value in the apartments of Isaac
Max and William Rosenthal was de-
stroyed.
The Finnerty family, which resided on
the Inlru HOOT, escaped WITHOUT lOSlHS
anything but a little sleep. They received
a good share Of excitement though in re-
turn.
The firemen were forced to smash in
the windows and doors of the pharmacy
to reach the fire. Mr.. j. A. Wolverton,
manager for Mr.. Morgan, the owner,
claims that about SIS in change, which
he left in the drawer over night, was
taken. BY whom he has no idea. Nu-
merous drawers, filled with hundreds of
dollars worth of drugs, were filled with
| water and all the stock destroyed. Hun
dreds of bottles containing liquid prepa-
~rations, also contain more or less water.
The damage in the pharmacy is wholly
by water.
Isaac Max also claims that he lost over
5000, which he left In a pocket of his
| trousers. In his anxiety to get out of
the building, Max left that part of his
| clothing containing the money after him.
1t was entirely destroyed by fire.
1t took the firemen almost an hour to
| subdue the blaze. Several times this
morning the building took fire in places,
but each time the blaze was put out
without difficulty.
Mrs. Martha Bumsted owns the build
| ing. All the losers are insured.