The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-02-03
A GREAT FIRE IN WATERBURY Large Part of the Business Section of the City Destroyed Losses Will Amount to Over $3, 100000. HELP ASKED AND SENT FROM SEVERAL CITIES New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, Torrington Nauga- tuck, Bristol and Winsted Responded at 0nce Special Trains Conveyed Apparatus to the Burning City---Fire Broke Out at 6:30
 Last Night in the Dry Goods
 Store of Reid & Hughes
 Buildings Soon Gutted.

Waterbury, Feb. 2.-ln the nafdes
 gale that the season has produced Wa
 terbury struggled tonight with fire
 that destroyed large area of the busi
 ness section of the city and threatened
 to wipe it out completely. The lire
 started in the upholstery department on
 the third floor of the store of the Re1d
 & Hughes Dry Goods company at loe
 to 120 Bank street and that store, as
 we'll as many adjoining buildings, were
 reduced in a few hours to smolder1ng
 embers. An estimate of $3,O0O,000 as
 the amount of the property loss on
 buildings and contents was considered
 conservative by insurance men
 The fire is of mysterious origin and
 was not discovered till it had gained
 tremendous headway. At 6:15 p. m' A.
 l.. Lyall E. T. Crooker and A. R. Burn
 ham were in the store. When they left
 there was no smoke nor smell of smoke on the main floor.
 Fifteen minutes later flames were seen to burst with great force rom the windows of the third floor and almost simultaneously from the basement Be- fore anybody could ring in an alarm the whole interior of the building was
 mass of flames. It is not known who rang in the alarm, but when the fire de- partment reached the scene flames were issuing from every window of the build ing and it was evident that the struc- ture was doomed and the entire busi- ness section of the city was imperilled.
 The fire started in a drizzling rain, with rapidly rising wind, and with the increasing cold the rain turned to snow. The wind was at first shifting, but it settled toward the east and car ried destruction with it. The first build ing to catch from the Reid & Hughes company store was tall structure in the rear to the westward occupied 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 Ryan X, Fitzmaurice's store, Cannon & Web ster's drug store, Davis cigar store and the store of J. B. Mullings & Sons. They burned rapidly through to South Main and jumped across the street, shrivel- ling the buildings like paper. At the same time the flames caught the Ma sonic Temple and travelled from the SdIVHClDn dTHly Duilulio Lo IliN i~SAi VI The Franklin house on Grand street, and the entire block, consisting of seven or eight handsome five-story buildings, with thirty tenements and the large and commodious headquarters Of the Waterbury Americans, was in ruins be- fore midnight.
 The excitement in the city was in- tense, and thousands of people thronged the main streets, many of them with white faces and wringine their hands Many were in tears and hysterical | After 9 o'clock the militia was called out to preserve order, and there was serious talk of blowing up buildings to | prevent the spread of the flames.
 Wires and poles began to fall early in l the evening, and the center was mostly | in darkness. except for gas and kero- | sene, especially after the currents were | turned off to prevent accidents. Cars stopned running to and from all points, | and there was general darkness, except l for the lurid flames. The flooded | streets and the excited populace pre- sented a scene SO thrilling that those who witnessed it will never forget it. The fire seemed checked about 10:S0 on South Main street and indications were that it would content itself on Center with burning out the long block that contained the Franklin house and the noerican office The First Baptist ,hurch opposite the latter structure was endangered. but was not burning at ate hour tonight
 Shortly after midnight the flames which had apparently been brought nearly under control broke out in new ,laces and the efforts of the local fire nen combined with the aid given by ire fighters and apparatus from Hart ord Torrington. Bristol, Winsted | ,ridgeport New Haven, Naugatuck md other places who responded at once m the call for help seemed powerless to tay it's progress. The blaze was wip- ng out the business portion of the city, II the fire being confined to that sec ion though residential parts of the city were in danger by sparks driven by the urious wind.
 Tn the paine caused by the fire there were many rumors of accidents and | atalities but at the Waterbury hospi- al at 1 o'clock this morning it is said hat no accidents or deaths had been eported there.
 At that hour the fire was still burn ng, though as viewed from the hospi-