Waterbury Democrat., 1902-02-04

could do and look as if they might be used again without any repairs to speak of This proves the necessity of putting up stout walls. It is said that if the other buildings destroyed had been put up with a greater view to safety the damage would not have been half so serious as it is; but this is nothing but mere conjecture. Most people are wondering why the losses were not greater. There seems to be no doubt, however, but the wooden yerandas helped the fire to spread, and it is a question if the fire would have succeeded in forcing it's way back to- wards Leayenworth street had it not been for their presence on the rear of the brick structure.
 What Is true of Brook and South Main streets so far as activity dis played in the matter of clearing up might also be said with reference to Band and Grand streets, though. to be sure, the street department had not cleared the street at press hour, opera tions being confined to the other places and necessarily so, too. because the difficulty in subduing the fire in some of the Bank street buildings was so great the firemen had to remain at their posts and little could be done to- wards cleaning up until this afternoon.
 G. G. Baker has secured the contract for removing the debris from the Whittlesey block and went to work at 1t to-day. Others are hustling and it is thought that before Sunday most of the wall now standing will have been. leVelled and the work of getting things in shape have progressed so that things Will not look quite so ghastlv as they
 The cause of the fire is still mvs- tery Neither the heads of the police or lire departments have the slightest idea as to it's source. An old man named Fitzgerald, who is accustomed to drop in occasionally upon the fire
 men at the Leayenworth street engine house and talk of old times in the fire uepartment. says that he was passing Dy Re1d & Hughes few minutes he Ioret the alarm was sent in and heard loud crash as if an explosion had occurred inside the building. A mem per or the firm of HamDsons stS Sellem who were burned out on Grand streat IS also said to have heard this eYnlo- sion. But apparently neither of then pald any but passing attention to if at the time. This is all that Chief Snagg knows about the source of tb4 nre. He was always aware. as wera the nremen in general, that if ,aver .ne Reld x Hughes building took fro ehe department would have ifs hands iull ln taking care of 1t, on accoun+ of the tall buildings in the rear Tba police do not apparently receive Inc idea of incendiarfsm
 The insurance houses cannot under. stand why the destruction of pronertv was so widespread and general wifi, so strong a force of water as was em- ployed operating on the flames. {7binf Snagg explains this by saving thai While the supply of water is all that could be desired. there being 129 pounds pressure to the inch. there vvn,.o so many streams in play that the fric- ton in passing through the hose caused loss of eight pounds pres sure. People wondered at seeing an- parently a powerful stream iss,ine from the nozzle of the hose and poino all to pieces, so to speak. so that # did hot even touch the flames.
 There were used in the fire siv mil non gallons of water according to he TecKoning of City Engineer Cairns. lie says that there were that many gallons over and above the usual con sumption registered on the machine used for this purpose at the Wigwam reservoir.
 superintendent O'Brian said there was no scarcity of water, nor any danger of there being any. Water was running over the dam all the time during the fire and Chief Snagg is confident that the supply could not have been better. The main element the department had to work against was the wind. which was blowing at the rate of sixty miles an hour.
 During the confagration Chief Snagg was requested to blow up one or two of the buildings that were threatened and thus cut off the fire, according to the calculations of those who made the request. The chief re- fused to do so unless at the request or permission of the mayor. The chiefs theory, which is founded upon written authority is that such a pro- position to stop fire only adds to 1t.
 The work of removing the standing ruins is we'll under way, indicating that the work of rebuilding will begin as soon as practicable This part of the work is in charge of Chief Snagg, who handed 1t over to contractors.