The Portland daily press., 1900-05-22

The alarm of fire from box 5 at 1850
o'clock last night was on account OF a
blaze that caused great deal of smoke,
being discovered in the agricultural
works of Alderman John J. Frye at 23
Preble street. A small boy who was the
first TO recognize the import Of the fire
ran to the head of Preble street and noti-
fed Officer Frank Merrill who pulled in
the box.
The fire was in the rear building Of
the lot which is owned by Alderman
Frye and which extends back some one
hundred and fifty feet from the street.
This building is a wooden structure, two
stories and a half high. The lower floor
was used as q blacksmith shop and the
two upper floors as store rooms. The fire
undoubtedly caught from spark in the
forge which is always left burning at
night. The flames spread up along the
chimney and through the second and
third floors and at one time also gave
signs Of communicating to more than one
of the several adjoining buildings. Par
ticularly was this true of the compare
lively recently constructed building
owned by the Isaiah Frye estate, souther-
~ of Alderman Frye's plant. A number
of the Office force of the Isaiah Frye de-
partment several times called out to Chief
Engineer Eldredge that they We're in in
slant need of relief. On investigation 1t
was found that the cause of this anxiety
was smoke. The firemen worked with
no little skill and deserve much credit
for preventing the flames from spreading.
After being busily engaged for about
three-quarters of an hour the department
had extinguished every spark. Once the
men stopped in their operations of pull
ing apart the flooring between the first
and second stories, the foreman of Alder
man Frye appearing on the scene at the
nick of time to say that on the second
floor had been placed "a lot of machinery
weighing twenty-three or twenty four
tons which would be sure to drop down
and cause any amount of injury unless
this work should cease. The flremen We're
quick to take the hint and to thank the |
foreman for his thoughtfulness.
Alderman Frye was at his home in |
Deering when the fire broke out but his |
bookkeeper was soon at hand and tele |
phoned him. The alderman arrived just |
before the fire had been put out and after
making hurried examination of the |
scene stated that his loss would be about |
81 600 He said that he had an insurance
of s., 500 in the agency of Prentiss Loring
g. Son. Quite lot of smoke entered |
all of his buildings and his loss in this
respect will amount to something, al
though not large sum.
One of the largest crowds that has
gathered at fire for n long time was
Somebody outside of the depart
ment had taken the pains to ring in a
second alarm, a proceeding which was
wholly unnecessary as it called out five
parts Of the apparatus, including parts
from the Deering district Chief Engineer
in commenting upon this need
less expense stated that. this made the
second time during the last six months
that some person had seen fit to ring in
a second alarm. He thought that rule
should go into effect that nobody outside
of the fire department should be allowed |
to sound second alarm. The members
of the department the chief believed,
could be relied upon to exercise sufficient |
discretion as TO the need of a second |
alarm.
Marshal Sylvester and Deputy Firth
and Deputy Chenery were in attendance
during the whole of the fire and on ac-
count of the big crowd were obliged to
stretch ropes. The best of order prevailed
the police experiencing no
trouble. Traffic ON the street car lines to
Deering and Westbrook was crippled to
that extent that the Portland terminus
of these lines was at the corner of Cum |
berland street instead of at the head of
Preble.