Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-12-28
THREE ALARMS
THREE ALARMS
For Fire Which Destroys Old
AleIphi Hall, New York.
fIremen Have Hard Fight With Flames
in the Biting Cold.
Man Severely Burned-SeyeraI Women
Narrowly Escape.

New York, Dec. 27.-Fire which
wrecked the West Side Lyceum, the
historic building once known as Adel-
PM Hall at Fifty-second and Broad
way, started, at noon Saturday, and for
three hours, working under adverse
conditions, bursting hose and fierce.
pltlnS winds, the firemen fought for
supremacy. Three alarms were sound
ed in quick succession, calling all the
apparatus from Thirty-third to Sixty-
seventh streets.
Inc blaZe originated in the kitchen
ON the second floor of the building.
where Mrs. Lena Lawrence, the caterer.
and her employees were engaged in
cleaning up after the Tilford dinner
given, yesterday, in the hall to the
| Little Mothers" An automatic alarm
gave the first warning. E. K. Bimberg,
the lessee OF the building, which is
owned by Lee Schubert, rushed into
and was severely burned while endeav-
oflng to put out the flames. All the
| women reached the street in safety,
| as did the few other occupants in the
| hall at the time.
| When the first companies arrived on
the scene smoke was pouring from
every window in the big building, and
! the fire,ren had great difficulty in
locating the halze. To add to their
difficulties, one of the first lines of hose
stretched into the buildmg-that in
| was locatod-burst.
| This was but one of q number of
similar accidents during the early mo-
| mo, of
there was no external evidence of fire
| beyond the huge and dense columns
of smoke which poured from every out
let ard drove back the firemen.
] Suddenly from the top floor, Oh which
was stored d lot of theatrical costumes
Land stage properties" flames shot
| forth, and, famed by the high wind,
burned fercely. In the meantime a
second alarm had been rung in. and
was followed in Il few minutes by q
third.
1t was feared that the flames would
| communicate to the adjoining depart
ment houses and to premises of the
Central Electric Company, which adj
joins in the north and in which are
stored number of gasoline machines.
With the arrival Of the apparatus;
called cut by the second and third
alarms came ambulances from Roose-
welt and Flower hospitals. There was
he vever, 40 need for their services, no
casualties being reported.
On the southeast corner of the build
ing is large cupola surmounted by a
towering flagstaff. The fire burned
most fiercely at this point, finding an
outlet in the natural fue formed from
| the second floor upward, and fearing
that accidents might result when it
fell. Chief Kruger ordered the firemen
lana others from the immediate vicinity.
| a water tower, meanwhile, had been
brought into play, and with several
| lires of hose, streams We're directed
uron this as the objective point In Il
| few moments the sides of the cupola
began to crumble and with a crash the
whole suddenly tOppled over and fell
| to the interior of the blazing building.
| Despite the biting winds which rem
Idered the cold wave intense and caused
great suffering, the firemen fought
| calamity, and with the arrival of addi-
| tionaI engines efforts on the part of the
fire fighters were directed to prevent
| ing the spread of the flames.