The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-03-31
BIG FIRE ON PARK STREET
ONE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE IN
 YEARS.

YEARS.
 Brick Factory Owned by c. H. Bird
 Totally Destroyed-BufIding Was Oc.
 cnpied by Several Companies, All o1
 Which Lose HeaviIy-Cause of Fire
 Unknown-Loss Estimated at $40, ,O0O,
 One of the most disastrous fires that has occurred in this city for a long time broke out last night at 11:45 in the large brick factory at 106 Park street owned by Clinton H. Bird, the secretary and treasurer of the Peanolia Food ing.
 The building was almost totally de- stroyed, and the various companies that were located in 1t will suffer heav- fly, as hardly anything was left un- touched by either flame or water
 Located in the building and in the annex at the rear were the Peanolia Food company, the office of which was on the first floor and factory on the third floor; the I. Strouse & Co.,, corset | factory, occupying nearly all the sec- ond floor of the building; the Colophite i company, of which William H. Law son is proprietor occup ying the great 1 CT part of the third floor and a part of the first floor; the Gendora Knitting company; Hauff Brothers factory, and storehouse of the Woodbridge Ice Co., Hauff Bros. factory, which was in the north basement, was the least dam aged, the flames being checked before they reached that place. and the dam age by water there is only slight. | As near as could be estimated last night the loss to the various companies will amount to about S400O0, party cov- cred by inscurance The loss on the building alone will be about $5,OOO nearly all of which is covered The flames had obtained a good headway before the department re- sponded, and the origin of the fire is unknown.
 Two Hopkins Grammar school boys, Sanford Hotchkiss and Arthur Fox, were standing on the corner of Edge wood avenue and Park street, and saw cloud of smoke burst from the third floor windows, and they immediately ran to No 3's engine house at the cor ner of Park and Elm streets and yelled to the firemen that there was a big fire in the corset factory down the street" The engine responded quickly but as soon as they were out of the building an alarm was turned in from box 6, at the engine house Soon another alarm was sounded and nearly all the engines In the city responded. The fire by this time was burning flercely and the flames were coming out of nearly all the windows. The roof went in in about half an hour after the, fire was discovered, and 1t was evident that the building was doomed. The firemen divided their attention in saw ing the frame dwelling on the south of. the burning building and this they suc- ceeded In doing, About twenty feet at the rear of the factory is located the big warehouse of MT. Steinert, and although the wind was in the opposite direction it was thought that this building would catch fire as the flames were rapidly making their way toward 1t. In this building is stored the valuable collec- ton of spinettes, clavichords, harpsi- chords and other musical instruments that MT. Steinert presented to Yale university and their loss would amount +r nd nf lo11nrc rba Steinertone is manufactured in this building. and a large number of these instruments and their fixings are stor- ed there, too. The firemen after an heroic effort managed to keep the flames from spreading to the Steinert building, thereby saving a great loss that at first seemed almost inevitable.
 In the rooms of the Colophite com pany was a large amount of chemicals that helped the fire in it's destructive work
 The Glendora Knitting company, and in fact all the companies in the build ing, had any quantity of stuff stored away that was quickly eaten by the fire and helped it's spread.
 Fully 20O0 people gathered and watch ed the conhagration until an early hour this, morning. Park street, between Edgewood avenue and Chapel street looked Hike big grandstand, the spec tators being damned together and oc- cupying seats and standing room all over the houses on the other side of the street in an attempt to see the blaze. About 1 o'clock this morning the fire was under some control and had burnt | itself out in the Park street side of the building. In the rear, however, there was big blaze, and the firemen had all they could do to fight it suc- cessfully. The blaze held out until | nearly o'clock, but the firemen did not | leave the scene until o'clock this | morning.