The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-16
A MILLION DOLLAR FIRE
Government Property Destroyed
at Brooklyn.
THE CAUSE is UNKNOWN
Large Machine Shops at the Navy
Yard Burned Like Tinder-Some
Valuable Models and Ma
chinery Destroyed.

New York, Feb 15.-Over a million
dollars worth of government propert.
was destroyed by fire which started to-
night In the large machine shop of the
Brooklyn navy yard, known as machine
shop No. %, and the workings of the
navy yards have received serious set
back. Many fine models and patterns
of battleships, their parts and plans,
have been destroyed, and some of them
cannot be obtained again except by go
ing over the work mapped out in the
beginning. The steam engineering de-
partment of the Brooklyn yard is prac-
tically wiped out and the work done in
that building will have to be thrown
temporarily upon the department of
yards and docks and that of construc-
ton and repair.
The fire was discovered and the alarm
given at $3.50 o'clock tonight by the
men on watch on the battleship Mas
sachusetts. The men of the Massa-
ehusetts scurried down to the machine
shop, about 300 yards away, and with
the aid of hose reel, picked up in the
yard, got small stream playing on the
fire. The building was about 100 feet
in width and $50 feet long. 1t was four
stories in height and built of stone and
brick. The wood of the inside was
thoroughly saturated with oil and the
flames rapidly gained Roadway. 1t was
seen that the Massachusetts, men could
do but little against the blaze and Colo
mel Huntington, in command of the
marines, Joined in the work. All the
engines in the neighborhood of the navy
yard responded to the alarm, but the
firemen found the great machine shop
completely enveloped in flames and at
tention had to be paid to the foundry
and other buildings in the vicinity.
Several times the flames got start on
the foundry roof, but the firemen quick
ly put them out. A small corrugated
iron building in the rear of the machine
shop was burned, but the loss on this is
insignificant.
The fire made such rapid progress in
the machine shops that by $3.50 O'Clock
the officials of the navy yard pro-
nounced it an utter loss. At about II
O'Clock the fire had spent itself Ma
chine shop No. % was occupied by the
coppersmiths, the bolermakers, the
carpenters and machinists. About 500
people were employed there. but only
two watchmen were in the building at
the time of the outbreak of the fire.
Aside from being filled with a great
mass of machinery, more or less used,
the building was occupied as pattern
and model shop.
Here We're kept all the models, plans,
drawings and specifications of work to
be done on any one Of the naval yes
sells that We're to be repaired at the
yard. Many models Of battleships and
warships built from time to time were
kept there. These were mostly copies
of models, and their loss, while footing
up considerable from a pecuniary
point, will not be irreparable. The
steam engineering department had
number of elaborate plans which were
in this yard, and they can
not be replaced. In the machine shop
very little work was on hand. num-
Der of small orders We're being filed for
the torpedo boats Mckee, Rogers,
Foote, Porter and some engine fittings
We're being turned out for the Newark,
Scorpion and Indiana. The records and
models Of the battleship Maine, which
was blown up in Havana harbor on
Feb. Is, 1898, were also destroyed The
loss to the building is placed at $350000
that on the machinery and lathes in the
building at 100000. The cost of the
models and patterns is variously esti-
mated, but officials in the yard put the
total loss at little over 81, 100000 The
cause of the fire is unknown as yet.