New-York tribune., 1902-02-10
SOLDIERS GUARD CITY.
THE BURNED AREA A FOR.
RLDDEN LAND.
rHF TOWN IN COMPLETE DARKNESS
CROWDS FLOCK TO THE STRICKEN
TOWN FROM NEARBY PLACES.
rBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE. ]

rBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNEl
Paterson y. J, Feb. Patterson is in dark
,.ss tonight on account OF the fire. The town
q ,oliced by the militia Of the Third Battalion
:. che 1st Regiment, the regular police and
...bles About s o'clock this evening Com
-, n from Passaic, arrived for detail duty.
> Ii+e Of the fact that the Mayor had issued
-roclamation setting forth that no one would
- allowed within the lines of the detail, thou
sands OF persons tried TO break through a to
-et ,+ the centre of the burned district The
,hrongs on the street were somewhat noisy, bat
n m way unruIy, and the soldiers had little
trouble in preserving order.
Id TO 10 o'clock no arrests had been made for
c,se+ine a disturbance at the lines Some Of
+be soldiers were frequently jeered by street
,,rch,ns but none OF them lost their temper. It
scanned as il most of the residents living In
nearby towns are in the city tonight. After
mon trains from New-York and stations along
the Erie Railroad were crowded to the platform
raf1s 4 number of women were seen standing
in the baggage car Of the 3 o'clock train from
New-York while Others more fortunate, were
seated upon trunks When Paterson was reached
about ten men who had ridden several miles
On the top Of the coal box of the tender were
-he first to rush to the scene Of the fire
The district in which no one without permit
ing was bounded by Paterson Market, Prospect
St and Broa dway, comprising bout twenty
blocks.
Company K the first to go on duty at s
o'clock. At o'clock Company c relieved Com
pany K. and at 10 o'clock Company NJ went on
duty. Each company had four hours on duty
at the arr1ory and two hours in the burned
district. The strength Of the companies is. 225
They are under command of Acting Brigadier
General Edward c. Campbell n. G. n. ].
The armory was thrown open TO the homeless
81 II o'clock this morning by Captain A Van
walraven of Company NJ. Later the messrooom
was got in ship shape and meals were served to
all the sufferers who applied for aid. This room
was in charge of Sergeant BlauveIt Thirty
persons, old and young, Wer fed at the armory
this evening. While they were eating a number
Of persons called and offered to find comfortable
quarters for some Of the more unfortunate ones
One Of the offers came from Baptist society,"
Many Of the sufferers were privates of the regi-
ment
Improvised beds were laid on the floor Of some
Of the armory rooms. and these were used by
many Of those who We're homeless and who
called at the place for shelter. So quickly did
the fire spread that none OF the afflicted people
were able 10 save more than their wearing
clothes and few household effects. Among
those who ate in the messroem this evening
we're Sergeant William McCue, his wife and
their-little girl. who We're among the first to be
made homeless by the conha grafton. Sergeant
MccUe lived at No 2S Park-ave. He and his
family had narrow escape from being hemmed
in by flames and smoke. Mrs McCue's father
also suffered the loss of his home by the fire
Other members of the regiment who were
among the fire sufferers were Charles Pandolf
Of Company NJ; Dickran Desgetoor, a salesman
and Hermann Stratton.
One of the heroes of the calamity is Andrew
.Elvin, Sergeant of CompanyM. He lives at No
a93 State-st. When he was routed out of his
home by flames he saw that the adjoining
. houses were in danger OF being quickly reduced
. 70 ashes, high was the velocity of the wind
and so great the swiftness of the blaze. He ran
into Park-st. and aroused people living in many
houses in the line Of the fire. He had some hair
breadth escapes. but luckily he was neither
burned nor overcome by the smoke About
year ago the house in which he lived was burned
70 the ground, and he saved nothing but few
clothes.
Herman Stratton, also a member Of the bat
talon, was awakened by the glare of the flames
reflected on the window panes of his house at
lZs30 o'clock. When he reached the street the
Baptist Church steeple was about to fall and a
few minutes later the steeple Of the building
toppled into the rear wall of the Lucky Flats, at
;,os 90 and % Broadway, in which mats he
lived. In less time than he takes TO tell it the
nalS were burned to the ground.
Dr. John :. Yates, coroner of the county Of
Passaic, has his office on the first floor of the
building. The second floor Of No So Broadway
"as occupied by Mrs. II. B. Lupton. She
rented number Of her rooms TO several per
sons, among her tenants being Mrs. Margaret
McCay, Camelia VWenstra and William Brown
The second floor of No Sc was occupied by Mrs.
hale- Under her automobile store. 1t
IS alleged that there was combustible oil
stored in the buildings in an iron tank, and that
ne tank exploded and blew up the buildings.
Tie explosion, IL is said, aided the FIRE and
opcned path for the flames to spread quickly.
A peculiar coincidence is that on March y,
1871 the Lucky fats were burned TO the ground,
together with the adjoining building which is
known as The Guardian" Some of the people
VINO we're made homeless by the burning Of the
fats to-day suffered similar losses in the previ-
Gus fire. The Lucky fats were considered to be
one Of the best fre-proof buildings in the city.
Soon after Company a of Passaic reached the
srInory an old man hobbled into the place and
asked If he could get something TO eat there
pne Of his hands was wrapped in a handkerchief
ana. his eyes were bloodshot. He said he lived
IN Market-st. and had not been awakened yes
terday morning until the adjoining building was
about TO fall 20 the ground, mass of burning
Stockings and without any coat. Some one near
1ne scene Of the fire furnished him with heavy
nlothIng. He said he later learned that his ben
sIactor Was one of the persons who had lost all
ne owned by the fire.
There was ruInor that another battalion of
me State Militia might be ordered TO report for
octy here tomorrow, the police force is some
ard being duty the greater part of to-day.
II vas almost impossible tonight TO get a drink
y the city, the majority Of saloons being closed.
Only one car line was in operation in the after