The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-11-26
FLAMES WRECK NEW BRIDGE:
The Most Spectacular Fire Ever Seer
in New York CITY.
BLAZING PILLAR $50 FEET HIGH

bftoRo Will DO Deiayeu oSeE AeeE.
Three or the Four Cables Seriously
Danassd.Tkoussnds OF Lives Placed
In Psril-Loss. 100000.
New York City.-Fire has damaged
the structure Of the new East Eircr
bridge to the extent Of about $jOO.oO0
in four hours. Two Of the four great
E1ain cables destined to sustain tie
weight Of the structure. 1t is feared.
have been so seriously impaired iy
heat that they may have to he re.
placed. Each Of these main cables Is
eighteen and a quarter inches In diam.
eter and consists of 1696 steel strands.
the thickness of eaci Of which Is three.
sixteenths Of an inch. The total value
Of the four main cables Is $1.20O.O0o.
Upon the John \. Roebling Sons
Company will probably fall more than
$500. 900 of the loss. They are the con-
tractors for the structural portion Of
the bridge proper. The day practi.
cally marked the completion Of their
task. and on tie following day the
Pennsylvania Steel Company. Of Steel.
ton. Pa. was to have begun the work
Of constructing the main roadways Of
steel. Much Of the material which
they had on hand ready to begin work
with Is also total loss. and that com.
pany, Il is estimated. will suffer from
5000 to 100000 damage.
As q spectacle the fire was one OF the
most remarkable ever witnessed In or
around New York City. Starting at q
point 200 feet higher than water could
reach effectively. 1t spread along the
wooden footway and out over the
East River like a festoon of fire. FL
nally the foot bridges parted In the
middle. deluging. under a rain OF
sparks. brands and ponderous red.hot
steel bolts the decks and superstruc.
lures Of half a dozen river craft. For
two hours river traffic was practically
suspended.
Mr.. Hallenbrand. the man in charge
of the Roebling Work on the East
River bridge. and who Is In position
to know. declared that no lives had
been lost. He said he had personally
heard from the four men reported to
have been killed.
Peter Bradley. Inspector Of the bridge
cables for the Department OF Bridges.
said: "Three Of the cables. In my opin-
lon, will have to be replaced. and per-
haps all four Of them. The heat has
ruined the two cables on the southerly
side and the inner one on the northerly
side. OF that am quite sure"
Breaking out as II did at just the
time when working New York was
vending Its way home in full force the
fire attracted universal attention. and
great throngs Of people rushed toward
the water front 10 get as close a view
as possible Of the novel spectacle.
From close range 1t was one Of the
most terrifying fres the city has ever
known. and as a matter Of fact II was
declared by the freEen to be one OF
the most dangerous to human life.
It placed In jeopardy whole blocks.
full Of people In the vicinity OF the pier
and the lives Of many thousands OF
people crossing the East River en-
ferryboats or travelling on Sound
steamboats, outward bound.
When the danger was realized peo.
ple were driven out Of tenement houses
for blocks around by the police. and
traffic up and down and across the
river In the vicinity Of the bridge was
stopped. Some Of the ferryboat lines
ceased doing business just at the hour
when the homeward rush Of people
was grea atest, and several Sound steam.
ers turned back to their piers.
The great danger was that one or
more Of the four main cables would
break because Of the intense heat. II
one had broken. engineers on the scene
said that the ends. instead Of falling
straight down. would have made huge
outward sweep. crushing high build
ings as II they were made Of paper.
In a word. the main results Of the hre
were:
A loss estimated at S6O0.0
A delay in the completion CT the
bridge estimated at one year.
Serious injury to three Of the four
Immense cables. which have taken
more than year to weave.
A possibility that the steel work OF
the main tower has been so warped
and twisted that substantial parts OF
II will have to be replaced.
uoovy loso In construction material