The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-02-03
GALE ADDS TO
FURY OF A FIRE
Waterbury, Conn.,, Suffers From
a ConfIagTation.
MANY BUILDINGS BURNED
BUSINESS SECTION OF THE CITY
Is GREATLY DAMAGED.

++%A%%R&AAA4AA44A44
= Waterbury, Conn, Feb. s. 40 =
a. m--Flames thirty feet high are =
y leaping from the roof of the SEQ =
= Vile house, which caught fire aft =
= er the flames had been thought =
= under control The guests in the =
= ScOVille house and the Exchange >
= hotel have fed in their night =
= clothes. The second fire has =
= placed the city in a panic. >
i%AA@%A@AA4A@AAA4AAA
NIATERBURY, Conn, Feb. Am
w the hardest gale OF the winter
Waterbury struggled tonight
with a fire that destroyed a large area
of the business section of the city and
threatened 20 wipe it out completely.
The blaze started in the store Of the
Reid & Hughes Dry Good company
at 11S-120 Bank street. and that store
and many adjoining ones were reduced
/ in few hours TO smouldering embers
An estimate Of S30000 600 as the amount
/ Of loss on buildings and contents was
considered conservative by Insurance
men, The origin of the fire is Un-
/ known, and il was undiscovered until
| 1t had gained tremendous Roadway.
Breaks Out Anew.
Shortly after midnight the fire. which
had apparently been brought nearly
under control. broke out in new places,
and the efforts OF the local fremen,
combined with the aid given by fire
| fighters and apparatus from Hartford.
/ Bridgeport, New Haven and Naugatuck
seemed pOWerless to stay its progress.
| The blaze was Wiping out the business
( portion of the city all the fire being
confined 10 that section, though resi-
dental parts of the city were in dan
/ ger by sparks driven by the furious
/ wind
In the panic caused by the FIRE there
were many rumOrs Of accidents and
fatalities. but at the waterbury hospit-
al at ] O'Clock it was said that no ac-
cidents or deaths had been reported
there.
At that hour the fire was still burn
( ing. though as viewed from the hos
pital, which is on an eminence com
handing the city, it appeared that its
yigor was abating- Hope was eZ-
pressed that the worst was over. and
that the fire would soon be under con
troll
At 1 o'clock conservative estimates
place the loss at S2,000000. In despair
I of being able to SUbdue the flames
( by the usual methods, the use Of dyna-
i irate Ras gastd. 3ui tae idea was
+ atterFvaTd abandoned II 81 ported
1 that numerous thieves were operating
/ in houses where they had been let in
( to view the flames.
How the Fire Started.
The fire originated in the upholstery
] department on the third floor of the
| store Of the Reid & Hughes Dry Goods
/ company at 10S-112 Bank street The
/ origin is not known The fire was not
/ discovered until it had gained tremen-
/ dOUs Roadway. At 6:15 p. m. A L.
| Lyau, z. X Croker and L. x. Burn
| ham were in the store. When they left
| there was neither smoke nor smell OF
/ smoke in the main floor. Fifteen min
/ Utes later flames were seen to burst
/ with great force from the windows OF
/ the third floor and from the basement
! almost simultaneously. Before anybody
/ could ring in an alarm, the whole in
/ terror OF the building was a mass Of
! fame.
! When the department reached the
| scene flames were issuing from every
| window, and it was evident that the
! structure was doomed, and the entire
! business section Of the city was i'm
/ periled.
The fire started in drilling rain.
I with a 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 building to catch from the
Reid & Hughes cOmpany's store was a
/ tail 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 & Fitzmaurice- block.
! Cannon & Wehster's drug store, Davis
Z cigar store and the store OF J. 3. Null
/ Inns & Sons. They burned rapidly
; through to South Main street jumping
/ across that street, shriveling the build
ings like paper.
Entire Block in Ruins.
At the same time the flames caught
/ the Masonic temple. and Travelled from
/ the salvation Army building To the rear
( of the Franklin House on Grand street,
and the entire block. consisting Of
seven or eight handsome fve-story
buildings, with thirty tenements and
I the large and cOmmOdiOus headquar-
/ tiers of the Waterbury American were
/ in ruins before midnight.
/ After o'clock the militia was called
! out to preserve order. There was seri-
! Gus talk Of blowing up buildings TO
! prevent the spread Of the flames Inc
/ fire was partially under control at 1890
/ o'clock. It has been checked on South
/ Main street. and indications were that
I il would confiue itself in Center street
| in the long block that contained the
/ Franklin House and the American Of
/ fee The losses are.
W. II. Camp, block in which was 10
Gated Reid & Hughes store. SO 600;
/ Masonic temple, $4,000; OCOnnOr
/ block. S35. 600: Greeuburg & Buckner,
/ $50. coo: Old American block, Charles
! Miller owner. $4,000; Johnson block,
I $4,000: Jones. Morgan & Co. clOthiers,
/ $50. 900: J. r. MullingS & Sons, clothiers,
I 500. 600 Camp block. in process OF
/ demolition. 50.000- New England Engi-
I neeri0g company. $4,000; Franklin
I House. totally destroyed $40 600; Turk
/ ISL bath. ". c. Schlegel. proprietor.
| SOC. 600: Jean Jacques block, $4,000.
/ Mrs. w. C. Banners block, occupied
/ bv Arson Fellow company, $4,000;
! George E. Judd block. occupied by La
] Paine Hoffman company. S30.000- Wat
I erburv American. loss on building $50.
( 0OO: Schlitz Brewing company $4,000;
! Conlon Bros. $4,000: Edward
! NcGraw. two blocks, $4,000;
1 Meigs block. $4,000; WhitlesS
block. $4,000: Boston Furniture COM
/ pany. $40. 600; Bronson block, $4,000;