Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-03-19
H()DOK[N PIERS BURN
Fire Destroys Docks. Several
Lighters and the Ship
British Queen.
Portions Of New York Threat
ened by the Flames-Pic-
turesque Scene.
Boats Cut Adrift Float Down
Stream, Causing Scramble
for Open Water.

| New York, March 19.-The pier of the
Phoenix line in Hoboken was destroyed
| by fire last night. The steamship Brit
fish Queen was totally destroyed and
several lighters were burned. The fire
threatened the Campbell stores and for
a time it looked as of the flames would
reach the Holland American line docks.
The Maasdam of the latter line was
towed safely into the stream.
The latest information is that no
lives We're lost, tho it is asserted that
the chief engineer on the British Queen
is still unaccounted for.
The fire started at S:34 o'clock near
the end of the Phoenix pier nearest the
North river. among cotton bales, with
which the entire pier was crowded. The
whole structure, which was q wooden
one surmounted by u frame shed, was
enveloped.
The steamer British Queen, owned by
the Phoenix people, was tied to the
south side of the pier and the flames
quickly leaped to her upper decks.
These decks We're covered with cattle
pens, which being built of light timber,
were the means of at once spreading
the fire over the vessel. There was no
chance to cut her loose from the pier
until II o'clock, when tugs laid hold
of her and got her into midstream.
Her crew had a narrow escape. Cap
tain Pattison was not aboard, having
become i'll yesterday and gone to hos
pital.
In IA eli n, ha
were a dozen or more lighters cotton
laden. These caught fire and only one
or two We're saved. partially burned.
The captain of the lighter Tonawanda
saved himself, wife and children by
pushing cotton bale into the water,
placing his family and himself on it
and padding into the river. The crew
of the United States training ship
Portsmouth got them ashore.
From the lighters the fire got into
the Barber line pier. The steamer
heartburn of this line, just in from
Hong Kong with tea, was hauled out
into the stream with fire spreading
over 1T. At II o'clock half dozen tugs
were pouring water into her in an eff
fort to put out the blaze. The captain
and crew escaped.
South of the Barber line pier is that
CT the Rotterdam line. 1t began to
blaze about 1926 O'clock. AT it was
the big freighter Maasdam. The cap
tain had steam up and soon had his
vessel safely in midstream.
AT 1880 the fire on the piers and on
the lighters left in the slips was under
control.
The Heathburn and several lighters
were floating down stream all ablaze
The first estimates of the loss, neces-
sarily hurriedly made, follows:
Piers, 100000; British Queen, $780,
900; cotton and lighters, 100000
Seven lighters are more or less dam
aged.
About midnight Chief Croker of the
Hire department of New York city be-
came alarmed for the safety of the
piers on this side of the river. The
burning barges from Hoboken were
ioating to this side, and the chief
thought it best to get large force of
engines and other apparatus lined up
along the river front near the Ameri-
IAN line and other piers which are on
The water front between Cortland and
Murray streets.