Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-02-06
1.-TWO Millions DAMAGE.
The Business Section of Waterbury,
Connecticut, Laid Waste
by Fire.
FIRE FIGHTERS HAVE STRENUOUS TINE.
so Inrense Was the Heat ~Engendered That
Buildings Attacked by the Flames
Seemed to Shrivel Up Like Paper
Help From Neighboring Cities "A Reg
ular Panic.

Waterbury, Conn.,, Feb. 3.-ln the
hardest gale of the winter. Water
bury struggled last night with a fire
that destroyed a large area of the
business section of the city and
threatened to wipe it out completely.
The blaze started in the upholstery
store of the Reid G. Hughes dry goods
company, at 10S-120 Bank street, and
that store and many adjoining build
ings were reduced in a few hours to
smoldering embers. An estimate of
S 1000, 900 as the amount of the prop
erty loss on buildings and contents
was considered conservative by insur-
ance men. The origin of the fire is
unknown, and it was undiscovered
until it had gained tremendous head
way. AT 6:15 p. m. three employees
of the Reid & Hughes Co. were in the
store, and when they left they no
ticed no odor of smoke about the
main floor.
Fifteen minutes later flames were
seen to burst with great force from
the Window of the third floor and
almost simultaneously from the base
ment. Before anybody could ring
in an alarm the whole interior of the
building was a mass of flames.
When the 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 sec
ton of the city was imperilled.
The first building to catch from
the Reid & Hughes Co. store was a
tall structure to the westward, occu-
pied by the Salvation Army barracks
and a Turkish bath. A moment or two
later the flames leaped back to the
eastward across Bank street and
wiped out the Ryan & Fitsmauris
block, Cannon & Webster's drug store,
Davis cigar store and the store of
j. B. Billings & Son. They burned
rapidly through to South Main street,
jumped across that street, shriveling
the buildings like paper. At the same
time the flames caught the masonic
temple and travelled from the Saliva
ton Army building to the rear of the
Franklin house on Grand street, and
the entire block, consisting of seven
or eight handsome five-story build
ings, with 80 tenements, and the
large and commodius headquarters
of the Waterbury American were in
ruins before midnight.
Shortly after midnight the fire,
which had apparently been brought
nearly under control, broke out in
new places, and the efforts of the To-
cal tiremen, combined with the aid
given by fire fighters and apparatus
from Hartford, Torrington, Bridge
port, New Haven and Nangatuck,
seemed powerless to stay it's prog
ress. The blaze was wiping out the
business portion of the city, all the
fire being confined to that section,
though residential parts of the city
"SiS AL uohSSl " oPdIho ulINCH Wy
the furious wind.
In the panic caused by the fire
there were many rumors of accidents
and fatalities, but at the Waterbury
hospital, at one o'clock, it was said
that no accidents or death had been
reported there.
At one o'clock conservative esti-
mates place the loss at So, 900, 900.
In despair of being able to subdue
the flames by the usual methods, the
use of dynamite was suggested, but
the idea was afterwards abandoned,
because it was feared that the burn
ing embers thrown up by the explo-
sion would carry the flames to dis
tant sections Of the city.
T. Is reported that numerous
thieves were operating in houses
whose occupants had left them to
view the blaze. A number of arrests
were made.