The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1902-02-07
FNO MILLIONS DAMAGE.
The Business Section of Waterbury,
Connecticut, Laid Waste
by Fire.
FIRE. FIGHTERS HAVE STRENUOUS TIME,
buildings Attacked Iiy the Flames
Seemed TO shrivel Up Like Paper
Help Prom >eighboring Cities A Reg
uiar Panic.


Waterbury, Conn, Feb. 3.-in the
hardest gale of the winter. Water
bury struggled last night with fire
that destroyed large area of the
business section of the city and
threatened to wipe il out completely
The blaze started in the upholstery
department on the third floor of the
store OF the Reid q Hughes dry goods
company, at l0s-l2O Bank street, and
that store anl many adjoining build
ings were reduced in few hours TO
smoldering embers. An estimate OF
S2.0OO.oOO as the amount Of the prop
erty loss on buildings and contents
was considered conservative 10y insur-
ance men. The origin Of the fire is
unknown. and il was undiscovered
until it had gained tremendous head
way. Al 6:15 p. IN. three employees
of the Reid q 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 we're
seen TO burst with great force from
the windows of the third floor and
almost simultaneously from the base
mcnt. Before anybody could ring
in an alarm the whole interior of the
building was mass Of flames.
When the department reached the
scene, flames were issuing from
every window of the building, and il
was evident that the structure was
doomed. and the entire business sec
ton of the city was impcrillcd.
The first building TO catch from
the Reid & Hughes Go. store was a
tall structure to the westward. occu-
pied bv 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. l.. Billings & Son. They burned
rapidly through to South Main street.
jumped across that street, shrivcling
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 fve-story build Z
ngs. with 30 tenemcnts, and the Z
large and commodus headquarters
n the Waterbury American were ia
ruins before midnight
Shortly after midnight the fire.
which had apparently been brought
nearly under control. broke out in
lew places. and the efforts Of the To-
al firemen. combined with the aid
riven by fire fighters and apparatus
rom Hartford, Torrington. Bridge
bort. New Haven and Naugatuck,
seemed powerless to stay its prog
'ess. The blaze was wiping out the
BUSINESS portion Of the city. all the
ire being confined to that section.
hough residential parts Of The city
we're in danger by sparks driven By
he furious wind
In the panic caused by the fire
here were many rumors Of accidents
md fatalities, but at the Waterbury
hospital. al one o'clock. ii was said
hat ms accidents or death had been
eported there.
At one O'Clock conservative csti-
mates place the loss at 5000 600
In despair Of being able 70 Subluc
he flames by the usual methods. the
Sc of dynamite was suggested. but
he idea was afterwards abandoned.
because X was feared that The burn
ng embcrs thrown up by the explo-
ion would carry the flames TO dis
ant sections ~ the city.
II is reported that numerous
heves were operating in houses
whose occupants had left them 10
lew the blaze. A number Of arrests
we're made.