The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-28
NEWARK'S GREATEST FIRE.
a CONFLAGRATION SWEEPS THE
RETAIL DRY GOODS DISTRICT.


Lost.
New York. Feb. 27.-The greatest fire
Newark, ", j., ever experienced swept
through the retail dry goods district to-
night, destroying a score or more o6
buildings. The loss is estimated at over
81, 100000. Several lives may have been
lost, and several persons were badly
burned.
The fire started In w. V. Snyder's de-
partment store at Broad and Cedar streets,
a four-story building. of seventy-hve feed
frontage, and extending 200 feet along
Cedar street. The stock was valued au
s5O00OO and nothing was saved. The build-
ing was burned 60 the ground.
The fire broke out about 6:2O p. M, af-
ter several hundred employees had lef6
the building, which was then taken charge
of by "a number of sweepers. 1t is thoughu
that some of the engine room force and
similar employees may have also been ind
the building. The flames spread with ter
rible rapidity, the entire building being
enveoped before the arrival of the fire.
men.
Only one man was seen and he was al
a window on the second floor, In frenzy
of fear. The hremen raised ladder but
before they could scale il the man swuns
himself through The broken window and
on to the ladder. As he reached the lad-
der a rush of flame came through tha
window, engulhng him. IL receded in ~
moment and the man was seen on the
ladder wrapped in fire, his clothing
burned. Firernen ran up the ladder on the
under side and grabbed him to prevent
him failing. Then Others went up on f9le
upper side and began tearing the burning
clothing from the man. They did this
with their naked hands, and were them-
selves burned Thousands of people witt
messed the thrilling scene. The burning
clothing was torn from the man, and with
II came portions of the flesh The man
was taken TO a hospital,
Meanwhile a general alarm was turned
in and all OF the fifty-odd pieces of fire
| apparatus in the city were rolling TO the
fire. Ten minutes after the fire was dis
covered the flames had leaped across
! Cedar street and We're travelling also
northward along Bread street Within half
| an hour the fire was beyond control.
The four-story building adjoining the
| Snyder building on Broad street and oc-
| cupied by j. NJ Mantz, dealer in laces
and similar goods on the first floor and
Offices on the upper floors, was totally
destroyed, with everything 1t contained.
| Next to 1t was The restaurant and cbn-
| fectionery establishment of +. B. Allen,
a fashionable caterer, this building also
containing offices of many kinds. II was
destroyed, as was also the trunk store OF
| G. B. Peddie. The fire completely gutted
this building, but left the front part all
most untouched. Then ID gutted the rear
OF the big department store of David
| Strauss. The fremen at this point made
a desperate stand to prevent the fire from
| get4ing into Hartegen's jewelry stores
which was the next in the block
AT the same time the flames were traV-
cling southwark with muoh fury as
on the north of the original fire. w. t.
| Raes jewery store occupied the corner
| opposite Snyder's Nothing was saved
| here, although the valuable stock of jew
elry, probably the largest in Newark, is
securely locked in the vaults of
| the building. Above the jewelry
| store the building was occupied by offices.
Within an hour there was hardly brick
| of the building standing above a few feet
| from the sidewalk The flames drove
| through solid wall into =. j. Garrigans
| drug store. Cairns photograph establish-
ment and galleries were next above this
and nothing could save either of chem.
| The rear end of the Bee Hive dry goods
store, owned by l.. s. Strauss & Co, was
| next 10 go, and here "A large body Of fire.
men concentrated and fought hard TO keen
the fire from entering the main building.
which was separated from the rear por-
ton by a party wall with iron doors The
came red hot and the task looked hopes
| less
While the flames were thus eating tha
heart out Of the most important business
block on Broad street, the fire was spread
ing westward along Cedar street on both
sides. on the south side Of this street,
the fire burned from No. 9. at the rear of
Rae's store, to No. "A. These were all
small stores, In buildings three and four
stories high, the upper floors being occu-
pied largely as dwellings. In this row
was Bierman's pawnshop, where many
thousand dollars worth of articles were
destroyed.
on the north side of Cedar street baclc
ot Snyder's, the fire attacked row of
eleven brown stone and brick buildings.
used as Offices on the upper floors and
stores on the ground floor
All the police in the city were on duty
at the fire, except those absolutely need-
ed on post. hundred thousand specta-
tors witnessed the conflagration. The
crowd had to be forced back again and
| ngain as the advance Of the flames caused
| the nremen to shift position back.
FINALLY orders were given to extend ths
| fire lines beyond the two blocks on either
side, and the crowd was pushed back and
hnes were stretched across The street.
| Women tainted in the fearful crush.
Blows were exchanged and c.othing was
| torn from backs In the crush.
| Despite the cold, the crowd insisted upon
remaining ana stood for hours watching
| the destruction of million dollars worth
| OF property. The heat close TO the fire
| was fearful and the fremen were driven
back time and again. They had TO move
| their apparatus many times. Several
times men handling the hose had to aban-
| don it and flee from the flames which
threatened to engulf them. They wers
coated with ice when they went few
| feet away from the fire and the next mo-
| ment would be almost roasted by the heat
as the fire advanced or they returned to
| their battle.
The streets for blocks were flooded, and
Ice covered as the water flowed from the
fire outside the heated scene
The fire was under control at 1880
O'clock.
The man reecneh from the building