The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-18

A fire, which broke out in the store
of Fox. the bird man, located in the
Jewell building on Spruce street, near
Penn avenue, Saturday night, was at
tended by particularly distressing fea-
lures, owing to the incineration of
number of dogs, monkeys, rabbits and
birds, comprising the stock of Mr.. Fox.
Not only this, but the flames at one
time threatened to spread to the upper
floors, where they would have done
serious damage.
The blaze was discovered at about
Has by bell boy from Hotel Jermyn,
who was returning home from work.
He noticed smoke coming up i'm vol
umes from the basement An alarm
was turned in from Box %, at the cor
ner of wyoming avenue and Spruce
street. All the central city companies
and the Columbias, from West Scran-
ton. and Centurys, from South Scran-
ton, responded.
When the firemen arrived the base
ment was a seething mass Of flames
and they were just beginning to break
through the floor Of the bird store.
A number of the firemen were stand
ing near the front entrance, consider
ing the advisability of making an at
tempt at rescuing some of the animals
inside, when the entire front of the
building flew out.
The glass fell in showers on the men,
but fortunately injured only one. This
was Harry May. of the Crystals, who
received two bad gashes on the head.
He was taken in the ambulance to the
! Lackawanna hospital
A BABEL OF NOISE.
BY this time the smoke and flames
| had reached the store and an inde-
scrlbable babel of various animal
sounds arose. There was the whining
| and barking of dogs, the peculiar chat
| ter or shrill cries of the monkeys and
the screeching of the birds.
There were two streams of water
directed on the basement, under the
| bird store. one more in the basement
underneath the Peoples Credit store,
which occupies the other side of the
| building, and two into the bird store
| itself. For a time even these did not
subdue the flames and the outlook be-
| gan to be serious. Through all this the
| miscellaneous chorus produced by the
unfortunate birds and animals inside
was kept up, gradually decreasing,
| however, as they succumbed one by
| one to the heat.
The flames were gotten under control
about 1910, but not until the stock and
fixtures in the Fox store had been al
most completely destroyed. AS soon as
the flames subsided little, several OF
the fire laddies made a dash for the
store and brought out a number of the
cages in which the animals were con-
fined. The birds were found to have
all been suffocated, but three of the
dogs were discovered to be very much
! alive.
The famous pair OF monkeys which
have caused so much amusement ir
the neighborhood, were taken out thor.
oughly soaked and lust barely alive
They soon revived. however, as die
also q few rabbits which were alsC
rescued. 1t is very remarkable tha'
any Of them should haze been alive
when the tremendous volume .. smoke
and flames which played through the
store room is taken into cOnsidera
tion.
HAD A NARROW ESCAPE.
photographer Frank Jewell. his VII,
and servant girl who reside on the thir,
| floor had narrow ESCAPE from suffo
cation. They found the stairs blocked
with smoke and got through q sid
| window onto the next roof and theme,
through the skyliGht to the street.
Mr., Fox was in Philadelphia at tn
tirle Of the fire and had not returned III
TO last night so that an exact estimat
Of his damages could not be learned
There were se"cn or eight dogs ant
a large number of birds and rabbit
burned alive, in addition to the fixtures
The stock Of the Peoples Credit House
which does a clothing business, va
only slightly damaged.
The rooms on the "cc)nl floor ocCu
pied by Drs. Alexander and .Shimber
and Jeweler Cohen We're tast saved Il
the nicl: of time as the flames had be
gun to creep IN through the floors.
The damage done the building IS es
timated TO be about $l.i00. There VT
policies aggregating 5000 upon tn
building,
Chiee Walker made an examination
yesterday afternoon If the baserlen
in which the tlaries started hut coul
discover no possible cause There wa
no fire of any kind in the place. no
anything that would I've likely to ignit
by spontaneous combustion. He say