The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-12-29
ice CHUNG TO THEM
FIRENIEN FOUGHT FLAMES UNDER
DISADVANTAGES
FOUR HOUSES DESTROYED.
EARLY MORNING BLAZE ON EAST
BROAD STREET.

boarding House of Mrs. NJ. Davis and
Thomas Griffin Destroyed with
Two New Houses Near Huntin z don
Street.-The Had Half an Hour
start on the Firemen and Then
There Was u Lack of Water-Sec-
ond Alarm Called Out Additional
Apparatus-Fire Fighters Had "A
Close Call.
While their clothes were being frozen
the men from fire stations 3.
and and Hose Company
No. 1 battled with flames on East
Broad street at O'Clock yesterday
morning. For half an hour it was
doubtful if the firemen would be able
to cope with the flames, and the fight
was a hard one.
The frames of two two-story houses
being built by Rivers & Gibbes on East
Broad street. near Huntingdon
were burned to the ground, with the
frame houses at Nos. 521 and 523 East
Broad street. No. 529 was occu-
pied by Thomas Griffin and
used as a boarding house. Mrs. NJ.
Davis was the occupant of No. 521 and
also ran boarding house. A one
story house in the rear on Bohan
street, occupied by Henry Parker, col
ored, was slightly damaged and the
residence of M. Egan, at No $40, adj
joining his grocery, was scorched and
damaged by water. With the excep-
ton of the houses being built by Riv-
ers & Gibbes, the burned property is
owned by Mr.. Egan. The loss is esti-
mated at $4,000, only partly covered by
insurance With the odds decidedly
against them, the firemen fought hard
and managed by efficient work to save
the residence and grocery of Mr. Egan.
Alarm Sounded Late.
The fire had been burning for prob
ably half an hour before an alarm was
finally sounded from box No. Al, on
Huntingdon and Price streets. The APP
paratus from stations and and
Hose Company No. 1 responded
promptly, but the fire had already got
ten beyond control. The flames had
started in one of the new houses and
had been famed against the side of
the boarding house adjoining. Large
piles of dressed lumber around the new
buildings also caught, and in this way
fire was started in the One-Story house
on Bohan street. The flames were
moving in the direction of Egans
grocery and the East Broad Street Col
ored School, and it looked as if there
was going to be a serious fire.
Chilled to their bones, the firemen
were further handicapped by a lack of
water when they first reached the
burning houses. For several minutes
il was impossible to get a stream on
the blaze, and it looked as if the fire
was going to work its way through
the block. Fire brands as large as eggs
We're blown through the air, and for
time surrounding property was in
danger. When Fire Marshal George
Mouro reached the scene and saw the
situation he sent in a second alarm
that called out the apparatus at sta
ton No. g. on Oglethorpe avenue.
Had Narrow Escape.
Two firemen were at work on the
East Broad street side of the new
buildings when the side of one of the
houses fell outward with a crash The
hremen had a close call and the hose
that they had been holding was dam
aged by the burning timbers. The
men had gotten directly under the
house in order to reach the flames with
the weak stream of water.
The eastern side of the structure
tottered for a moment and shout
from the crowd that had gathered on
East Broad street was all that saved
the firemen underneath from serious
injury. They jumped out of the way,
Just as the burning timber fell to the
ground. a minute later another sec
uon OF the same house fell and one of
the firemen was forced to jump from
aladder in order to. save himself. With
the arrival of additional apparatus,
ana stronger pressure of water. the
work of conquering the flames was
more effective
Fought From Four Sides
The fire was fought from all four
SIDES, and from the inside of the two
burning boarding houses. In this
manner the flames were kept from
communicating to the Egan residence
and grocery. With streams of water
being poured on the fire from every
direction the men who were handling
Inc lines were necessarily drenched to
the skin. Despite the fact that the
water was freezing on them they held
up and kept the blaze in check. Super
intendent Mcguire arrived on the
scene early and directed the men in
1900 WI n W hAiG SlfltlS INSTRUCTION
TO several hosemen a stream of wa
ter struck the fire chief full in the
lace and staggered him. He was thor
oughly saturated. Not one of the
men who returned to the fire station
two hours after the alarm was sound
ed wore dry stitch of clothing.
According to the negro Waterman
employed by Rivers & Gibbes the fire
spread with remarkable rapidity. He
had gone to the rear of the buildings.
he stated, for few minutes and when
ne looked back ten minutes later one
OF the new houses was enveloped in
flames. The Waterman declared that
he had aroused the sleeping persons
an the adjoining house and had assist
ed IN moving out the contents The
flames were burning fiercely all the
while, and the reflection was seen on
Liberty and Bull streets by two be-
lated newspaper men nearly twenty
minutes before an alarm was sound
ed. mounted patrolman riding the
eastern section of the city finally
sounded the alarm.