The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-02-19
WATERBURY, SWEPT BYF|RE
Loss Of Property Estimated at From
s4,OOO,OOO 10 $5,OOO,O0O.
SEVEN CITY BLOCKS IN RUINS
When the First Fire Was Under Control
n Second One, Supposed to Be of In
cendiary Origin, Broke Out-Governor
csns Out the Troops to Prevent Loot
ins-The Cause of the Disaster.

Cslls Out the Troops to Prevent Loot
ing-The Cause of the Disaster.
= Waterbury. Conn.-The city of Wa
terbury, which was one Of the most
f1ourishing in the Nutmeg State, now
stands devastated by fire. The loss,
according to estimates Of conservative
business and insurance men. Will run
between S4,OOOOOO and $5,O0O,OOO.
With all this great destruction there
has been no loss of life, and few acci'
dents have been recorded The city's
heart, taking in a triangle, bounded
on the north by Exchange Place, on the
west by Bank street, on the south by
Grand street and on the east by South
Main street, has been nearly wiped out.
The fire burned over four acres.
Mayor A. E. Killduf made the fol-
lowing statement:
"This is uAquestionably the worst
fire that has occurred in this section
Of New England. The property loss
will amount to $5,O0O000, and 100 fam
lilies have been rendered homeless.
1--WE opened the City Hall as a tenn
porary shelter for those whose homes
were destroyed, but at 4 o'clock. when
the Scovill House caught fire, the in
mates Of the City Hall were forced to
seek shelter elsewhere.
II do not think that Waterbury will
have to appeal to other towns for aid
in our distress. The manufacturing
concerns, with factories located in the
edge of the city, have promised to come
+ to the assistance Of those whose needs
are greatest. 1t is a hard blow, but
Waterbury will recover in time"
The fire originated at $50 p. m. in
the upholstery department on the third
floor Of the store Of Reid & Hughes
Dry Goods Company, and that store as
well as many adjoining buildings, are
in ruins. The origin Of the cOnfiagra-
ton is not known. The fire was not
discovered till it had gained tremen-
dous headway.
When the Fire Department reached
the scene, flames were issuing from
every window of the building, and
it was evident that the structure was
doomed and the entire business section
of the city was imperiled.
The fire started in a drizzling rain
with q rapidly rising wind, and, with
the increasing cold, the rain turned
to snow. The wind was at first shift
ing, but it settled toward the east and
cssE:ad destruction with it. The first
building to catch from the Reid &
H1ghes store was a tall structure
to the rear and westward, occupied by
q Salvation Army Barracks and a
Turkish bath. A moment Oh two later
the flames leaped back to the east
across Bank street, and wiped out the
Ryan & Fitzmaurice block, Cannon &
Webster's drug store, Davis cigar
store, and the store of J. B. Mullings
s. Sons. They burned rapidly through
to South Main street, and jumped
across that street, shriyeling the build
ings like paper.
At the same time the flames caught
the Masonic Temple and travelled from
the Salvation Army building to the
rear OF the Franklin House on Grand
street, and the entire block, consist
ing Of seven or eight handsome five
story buildings, with thirty tenements
and the large and commodious head
quarters of the Waterbury Amerio n
were soon in ruins.
:. Shortly after midnight the fire started
in new places, and the efforts of the
local fremen, combined with the aid
given by fire-fghters and apparatus
from the other cities, seemed power
less to stay its progress. The blaze
wiped out the business portion Of the
city, all the fire being confined to that
section, though residential parts of the
city were in danger by sparks driven
by the furious wind.
About the time the fremen supposed
they had placed the first fire under
control another was discovered in an
other quarter of the city, near the City
Hall and the police station. The Sco-
vii House, the city's leading hostelry,
remodeled a few years ago at an eX-
pense Of about $4,000, was discovered
to be on fire about 4 o'clock a. m.
This handsomely equipped hotel. one of
the most noted in New England, was
wreck at daybreak.
~ tAC Oul0Sl VI lue DtttLC It's OCSu-
pants were forced to seek the street
in their night clothes. With theringing
of second alarm the entire city was
thrown into q panic. And when it
was learned that the historic hotel was
on fire there was CONSERVATION. The
sparks, thicker than the falling snow
dakes, covered the entire business GEN.
tire Of the city like an umbrella, and
occupants Of buildings located in the
pathway in which the wind was blow
Ing prepared to leave them.
The fire burned over four acres of the
city's choicest business section. Among
the prominent buildings totally de-
stroyeds are the block occupied by the
Reid L. Hughes Dry Goods Company,
the entire plant Of the Waterbury
American, the beautiful Masonic Tenn
pie, the two leading hotels, the Scovil
and Franklin houses, the clothing store
Of Jones, Morgan & Company and j.
B. Mullings, the Hansom-Sellew Furni-
ture Company. the New England Engi-
ueering Company, the Sapaline- -Hoff-
man Company, the w. L. Douglas Shoe
Company, Ryan & FitZmaurice, the
Johnson block, occupied by Cannon 4
Webster; Perschels' Turkish bath and
Peace Talk May Result in Nothing.