The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-12-30

No / breaker. located along TIA"
Delaware &: Hudson railroad. about Il
mile from the Seventh avenue station.
and owned by that company. Was des-
tuoNed by fire early Saturday evening.
The structure with its machinery
equipment is Il complete loss. Tho
damage is estimated ut between $50
00O and $4,000. Between 40o and 50n
men the most employed at any opening
of the ~. & II. in this city are affected
by the fire.
The blaze started in the engine roo n
and is supposed to have been started
by Il lighted cigarette dropped by
some of the employees. 1t was payday
at the mines and the sppostiou is that
some one who was walking through
the breaker carelcSSly threw the burn
ing stump among the oily and greasy
surroundings of the engine room.
The fire WAS discovered about 5.ll by
Fireman Jasper Lane, All of the en-
rloyecs, but he, had gone home Il few
minutes before this. When he cane
INTO the engine room from the fire
loom, he found the place ablaZe. He
tried to turn in an alarm
from Il nearby box but owing
20 the failure to test tn. alarm
system daily, the box number did not
wing in. y telephone message subsc-
.uently brought the tol,lmia and Nit
rhell companies to the scene by th;'
,ime the flames had made alarming
progress. They shot up the elevator
shaft and We're reaching over thn
whole breaker to take it in their GRASP.
The facilities for lighting the fire We're
exceedingly poor and with little 10 Or-
pose them the flames soon spread al
over the big structure. The only fir"
plug available WAS taken by the co.,
unlmias. The Mitchell's did not haze
the opportunity to take their hose off
the reel. In an hour the breaker WAS
falling in ruins. Al I O'Clock there
was Il mountain Of fire where thu
breaker stood.
While the fire ragged. the flames
coached 10 the fan house IL few feet
away. and almost destroyed it. .Th"
tiremcn'S efforts were Ccntered on this
building as there was great danger of
he flames eating their way in to the
mines. Houses that were close To tl.|
breaker were also set afire, though tl,S
water that was poured on them saVel
them from destruction. The proper
ties of Martin Mckenna and Thomas
Moran We're the ones damaged The
roofs of each We're burned through.
During the excitement, Mrs. Bridget
Mckenna swooned
The-breaker and all the machinery
were destroyed, also part of the treslin
about 80 feet. There may he some
salvage on the machinery, but it is
doubtful if much of it can be rebuilt
Tor service.
While the burned structure was
known as II breaker its actual purpose
was to screen the different sizes of
coal, which was afterward conveyed to
'oalbrook breaker, where it was sep
arated and prepared for the market.
The breaker VAS rebuilt last sprinn
and'.was operated for the first time
Iuring the month of May.
;. This process of screening was new
I this section and was somewhat of
OH experiment. TO carry out the idea
Rew machinery was installed in the
different parts Of the building. Tho
ssoiff WaE fetelved from No. | OPENING,
tAle e+of the Old openings which will now
BE- thrown idle, between 400 and 500
lnen being affected,
Z Coal Superintendent g. a. Rose If
scrantOn said last night that Inc com :"
Rany had no plans for rebuilding and
20 steps in this direction could he
taken until he visited the place and
surveyed the ground, Whether or nos
The breaker will be rebuilt and re-
efuipped with the same class of
machinery he could not determine un-
III he was fully acquainted with the
sttVst'0Ii. .,' ~, q; .-