Evening journal., 1904-05-30
RAILROAD PIERS
SWEPT BY FIRE
Great Structures of Lackawan-
ma Line Destroyed.
LINERS MENACBD AT HoBoKBN

Fire Which Ragged For Several Hours
on the Jersey City Water Front Final
" Checked BY Heroic Work Of Fire.
neu-Loss over 100000.
New York, May 30.-The water front
of Jersey City and Hoboken for half
dozen blocks was swept last evening
by another fire, the third since the dis
astrous North German Lloyd fire Of
June, 1900 The freight terminal Of
the Delaware, Lackawanna and West
ern railway was practically wiped out,
six piers being entirely destroyed.
-Four men We're seriously injured
and carried to ST. Mary's hospital, Ho-
bOlen, in ambulances. From twenty
to thirty barges were burned and sunk
at their moorings between the burned
piers. Scores Of barge men and their
wives and children had narrow escapes
from the doomed boats and lost every
thing they possessed except a few val
uablcs which they We're able TO carry
with them in their flight
The loss is variously estimated from
]
is large. mostly in a mutual insurance
company sustained by the railroads
with terminals on the New Jersey
shore.
Ocean Liners In Peril.
For two hours the city of Hoboken
with the great terminal piers Of the
Hamburg American, North German
Lloyd and Holland-Amerlcan lines
was in grave danger. Only the stub
born work of the fire fighters ahoat and
ashore, which was concentrated on
pier O. which is on the line between
Jersey City and Hoboken, prevented
a sweeping fire. In spite of their best
efforts the fire repeatedly jumped the
iron pier. at which the firemen were
determined it should stop, and time and
again Hoboken buildings caught fire.
The fire started a little before
O'Clock on the barge Allen c. Churchill
Of the Starin line, which lay on the
souu side Of pier u, at Thir-
teenth street, Jersey City. No one
could be found last night who knew
any cause for the flames on the barge
. !
in the flames spread to pier -
Barrels Of oil stored on the end Of the
pier gave the hre a chance and by the
time the first hose cart of the Lacka.
wanna's private fire department had
reached the pier the barges which
choked the space between piers
u and IL were ablaze Sparks rose
high and fell on the adjoining piers tC
the northward. Soon the entire freight
terminal was ablaze.
Bsraes Mate Missing.
1t is believed that the second mate
who was the only person on thu
: Churchill. went down with her. Johi
Donovan, the Waterman Of the pier
: made a patrol trip just before the fir
a started and talked for some minute
with the mate, whose name is no
e known. The mate then went aboau
the boat and was not seen afterward.
Most Of the credit for checking th
, spread Of the flames TO the northwarI
belongs TO the tugs of a rival railwa.
company. the Erie. And Hoboken owe
a uebt of gratitude. no one can say how
great, to the unknown heroes wit
stood by their pumps in spite Of sti
fling smoke and blistering heat, keep
. ing streams of sea water flowing OF
T. the new pier.
The shortness Of pier 6 gave tn
a tugboat men a chance to get alongsid
= Of pier .. at which the fire was stoI
ped. The heat from the coal piles
the burning trestle and cars on pie
! Z was terrible, yet the tugs But
y falo. Rochester Westwood. Elmira an
Dunmore polSed their noses into tn
Il gap Of clear water and turned o
e every possible stream. Again an
again the woodwork of the pier wa
e on fire, and as often it was put out b
r we'll directed streams The paint o
e the corrugated iron siding and roc
u was bIistered, but the tons of waite
\ poured upon it prevented any fire will
in.