The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-01-29
A BIG FIRE
SATURDAY
Thirty ShaCkS or Six
Acres Burned.
EVIDENCES OF ARSON
Origin Of the Blaze Good Work Of
OR. &l, People Scarcity
Of Water. -


-
\ fire, which issgenerally believed to
have been of incendiary origin. com
pletely destroyed on last Saturday
afternoon that portion of the Aala dis
trict makai of the Chinese theatres and
between the Palanla' grocery and the
merchants warehouse lately erected on
King street.
At about twenty minutes after five
O'Clock one Of the railroad employees
on his way home discovered great
clouds of smoke issuing from the vicin-
ity of the new Chinese theatre. He
reported the matter to Geo. Dennison.
superintendent of the o. r. & L. Co.
VINO Immediately turned in an alarm
Within four minutes engines . and 3
were on the scene and six minutes after
the alarm two streams of water were
playing on the flames. A line OF hose
was run into the new theatre but the
place when IL began to burn swent so
quickly that the firemen were COM
PEELED to retreat.
A strong breeze was blowing from
Nuuanu valley, which, catching up the
burning sparks and shingles threw them
on TO the roofs of adjoining houses;
these were soon in a blaze. Within
twenty minutes after the alarm was
turned in the whole doomed district
was ablaze. The dry shacks burned
like kindling wood and 1t was seen that
the only hope was in keeping theJ fire
from reaching the merchatts' ware
honse and fumigating room.
Engine Company No. from ,Makiki
bridge, the water from Nuuanu stream
being used Two or three times the
high wind carried the flames across the
street to the buildings Of the Oahu
Lumber Co. and TO the lumber piles
surrounding the planning mill. burning
the fences and telephone poles on the
makai side. When the o. II. & l.. Co.
depot began to smoke several cars in
the yards loaded with hay and other in
hammable freight ready for shipment
were hastily hauled away. The o. X.
a. l.. Co. had a small steam pump
mounted upon a hand cart, which was
run into a position just in front of the
depot. strong stream was forced
through a twO-inch hose and played
upon the building until danger was
passed when it was changed over 10 the
buildings and lumber yard OF the Oahu
Lumber Co. directly opposite the new
warehouse on King street and undoubt-
edly prevented the fire from crossing
the street.
Superintendent Geo. Dennison per-
sOnally directed operations and for
good part Of the time held the hose.
Fred Smith. Jock MCGUIRE and o. Berg
ersen were also on duty. Several times
the buildings on the makai side were
smoking and the great heat drove the
volunteer hosemen from their stations.
buJ they returned and kept the fire
away until they We're relieved by the
arrival Of the regulars with a lire of
uose from the Eva side OF the build
ings where they had been operating
The fumigating house. Eva OF the
big warehouse. on the mauka side OF
King street was on fire several times.
being only ten or twelve feet from the
UuIulA- UulANlAEHs uul Nllt utUdl LlutuL
did magnificent work and held the fire
until The adjoining buildings fell. The
side Of the house exposed 20 the fire
was badly charred. Had the fire ex-
tended 10 the warehouse the loss would
have been very heavy as Il is filed with
goods OF much value.
Just one hour after the fire started
the danger was over as the buildings
We're heaps OF burning embers. Chief
Hunt and his men did wonderfully
effectual work considering the source
of the water supply from the Nuuanu
stream. 4 great crowd OF spectators
gathered 10 see the conhagratiOn and
while the hOsemen waited for water in
several instances they were chaffed
by the bystanders. When the water
came the firemen dampened the ardor
OF the crowd for ioshing by turning the
stream full force on them.
As soon as the flames had been sub
dued the Hawaiian Electric Co. and
superintendent Of the Government light
plant had men az work repairing the
damage 20 the lines which supply the
Kalihi Detention Camp and Oahu
Prison with light The telephone COM
pany suffered more than the other as
their poles We're on the mauka side Of
the street and three Of them were de-