The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1902-02-14
BIG FIRE At PATERSON, Nd.
$l0,00O,000 ESTIMATED LOSS
Destructive Flame Swept the Business
Portion of the City-onIy One Death
Reported-A Heavy Gale Blow City
VIII Look After the HomeIess-Mayo
Issued Proclamation.

Paterson, N. j., Feb. 10.-A great
fire swept through Paterson Sunday
and in it's desolate wake are the en-
bers and ashes of property valued at
$1O,O0O,0OO. 1t burned it's way through
the business section of the city and
claimed as it's own a majority of the
finer structures devoted to CONNER
cial, civic, educational and religious
USE as well as scores of houses. There
was only small tribute of life and in
jury to the conflagration, but hun
dreds were left homeless and thou
sands without employment. A relief
movement for the care of those I'M
sheltered and unprovided for has al
ready been organized and Mayor John
Hlnchcliffe says that Paterson would
be able to care for her own without
appealing to the charity of other COM
munities and states. The great manu-
featuring plants of the place are safe,
and the community, only temporarily
dazed by the calamity, has already
commenced the WORK of reorganiza-
ton and restoration.
Scores of persons were hurt and
burned, but the loss of life is not
thought to be great.
Many persons are reported to be
missing, but in the excitement and
fright most of these are supposed to
have been separated from their fam
lilies and friends.
Reuben Islib, while serving coffee to
the exhausted firemen, was hit on the
head by falling beam, and it is doubt
full If he will recover. He was carried
away by the firemen as they made
their retreat from the doomed school
house.
George FitZmaurice, a fireman, who
has been acting as driver for Fire
Chief Stage, is also dying. He was
driving an engine from Passaic, when
the horses bolted and before Fitz-
maurice could get them under control
they brought the apparatus against an
electric pole, and Fitzmaurice, who
had not waited to strap himself in,
was hurled out on his head. There is
no chance of his living
The fire lasted over twelve hours.
Every city and town within reach of
Paterson sent firemen and apparatus
to the aid of the city, and it took their
united efforts to win the battle.
A northerly gale gave the confagra-
ton its impetus and carried it's burn
ing brands to kindle the blaze afresh
at other points. The firemen made
stand after stand before the wall of
fire, but were repeatedly driven back,
and when victory finally came to them
they were grimed and exhausted.
A partial list of the properties de-
strOyed follows:
Public buildings-City hall, public
library, old city hall. police station,
No. l engine house, patrol stables,
high school, school No. 10.
Churches - First Baptist, Second
Presbyterian, Park Avenue Baptist, st.
Marks Episcopal, st. Joseph's Roman
Catholic.
Banks-First National, Second Ma
tional partially, Paterson National,
Oil City Trust, Hamilton Trust, Pater-
son Trust.
/
Columbus, Progress club, st. Josephs
hail. Hamilton club.
Office buildings-Romatine building,
Katz building, Marshall e Ball. Cohn
building, Old Town Clock, Kline
building, Stevenson building.
Telegraph companies-Postal Tele-
graph, Western Union.
Theaters-The Garden.
Newspapers-Th Evening News,
Sunday Chronicle.
Stores-A large number.
An estimate made by a general in
spectiOn of the smouldering ruins
places the number of residences
burned at 500 and the number of fam
lilies left without shelter at 1000
A re-estimate after the conflagratiOn
is abated may alter those figures.
The fire began it's work of destruc-
ton at the power house of the Jersey
City, Hoboken & Paterson Traction
company. which fronted on Broadway
and extended a block to the rear of
Van Houten street. 1t commenced IN
the car shed and was burning flercely
when one of the employees detected it.
1t was leaping through the floor and
the wind was tanning it into forks and
swirls when the fire apparatus came to
the scene. The fremen tried to hem
the blaze in, but it skipped across Van
Houten street in one direction and
Main street in another, and, gaining
vigor as it went, burned unchecked
down into the business district. Ev-