The San Francisco call., 1901-11-02
LARGE BLAZE. [.
IN SANTA f
REPAIR SHOPS
Fire at Point Richmond
Causes Heavy Loss
to Railroad.
Two Men Badly Injured by
Being Struck by Fall
ing Timbers.
Flames Break Out in the Paint Room
and for Time Threaten to
Destroy the Entire
Yards.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,

l.
Fire at Point Richmond tonight de-
stroyed the Santa Fe Railroads repair
shops and considerable valuable machin-
cry. For time the flames threatened the
roundhouse immense oil tanks, store
house and other large structures at the
railroad yards. The loss to the company
will reach SIPS, 900. During the progress of
the fire two men were badly injured. VIII
liam Fitzgerald was severely burned
about the arms and face and Frank Bal
ley was struck on the head by falling tim
bers The loss is a serious one to the
company for nearly all of the valuable
machinery of the repair shops has been
made worthless, and several weeks must
elapse before the company can replace it.
Shortly after 6 o'clock this evening
flames broke out in the paint room, at the
rear of the shops adjoining the temper
ing furnace. Before an alarm was sound
ed the end of the big wooden structure
was enveloped in flames, and the heavy
black clouds Of smoke pouring from the
burning building indicated that the fire
had a good hold upon the frame building
and it's highly inflammable contents. Toot-
ing whistles summoned the WOrkmen and
yard employees to the scene. Scores of men
aided the local Fire Department and the
yard engines in the desperate fight that
was made to prevent the spread of the
fire.
Locomotives Saved After Hard Fight.
The building was a temporary structure,
so by 120 feet, and was used to shelter the
extensive repair and mechanical depart
ment until permanent brick buildings
tention was turned to the roundhousC,
only twenty-five feet away, where a
dozen big locomotives were standing.
These We're run out as rapidly as possible
and by desperate efforts were saved from
the encroaching flames. The terrific heat
retarded the fre-fghters, and the dozens
nod frArN TOW ~
switch and yard engines were unavailing
to save any portion of the big repair
shop. All that could be done was to pre-
vent the fire from spreading to the other
buildings, and particularly to the great
oil tank, only a few hundred feet away,
which contained thousands of gallons of
oil. Fortunately the evening was calm
terial factor in the fight to prevent the
burning of the immense oil storage tank.
For an hour the danger was so great that
none believed the yards would be saved.
The adjacent shops and other buildings
were saved, however, and the fire spent
itself upon the repair shops and small
lean-tos connected with them.
1t was during the hardest moments of the
battle that Bailey received his injuries.
He had been working with a crew close,
to the burning shops when there was a
sudden crash and down came a mass of
half-burned timbers- He was struck by
part of the wall and knocked senseless.
His companions quickly dragged him
away anu he was pIdCtu uuQeT pnySl-
clans care. Fitzgerald fell through a
window while fire-fghting and was also
struck by falling timbers.
Repair Department Destroyed.
All that was saved of the repair depart
ment was a boiler shed and a boiler. The
origin of the fire is unknown. 1t is sup
posed that benzine in the paint room be-
came ignited by spontaneous combustion
after the mechanics had left the place for
the night. Although the furnace in the
tempering department was close by it had
not been in service for several days. That
was not the source Of trouble, so the rail-
road men believe.
Whether any of the machinery will be
serviceable again cannot be ascertalned
until the metal cools and the debris from
the burned building is hauled away. The
railroad people are fearful that every
thing in the building will be total loss
and will have to be sold for old junk The
machinery alone was valued at more than
100000 This loss, with that to the build
ing and material on hand will make the
total close to $125 900.