The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-02-08

site is the postofIice, and adjoining this
is the temporary custom house, and
opposite to this Is the city hall. The
Calvert office building at Fayette and
st. Paul took fire, and the Equitable
building, which adjoins it, is threat
ened. The main Office Of the Western
Union Telegraph company is located in
the Equitable building, and the force
had to leave for a branch office.
The roof Of the building occupied by
the Associated Press took fire, and the
employees We're compelled TO vacate
though they had time to take away
with them their telegraph instruments,
typewriteTs and other valuable equip
ment. They found refuge in branch
office of the Western Union company
on Gay street, from which this dis
patch is being sent. This Office was
soon vacated, as the flames broke out
west and east Of 1t, and volumes OF
sparks and blazing cinders and splin-
ters went flying in every direction,
For fifteen hours the fire was absO-
lutely beyond control, and all the Occu-
pants of buildings in the center of the
city rapidly removed their valuabes.
At the City hospital, corner of Calvert
and Pleasant streets, patients were re-
moved to other hospitals as rapidly as
possible Seventeen injured were
brought to this hospital, most of them
firemen. They were suffering from
burns, scalds and laceratiOns. Nearly
every physician in the city is in the
fire district.
Detachn:nnts of the Fourth and Fifth
regiments have been called ont and
are patroling the streets in the yicini-
ty of the fire. guarding property and
Keeping order
Fortunately the conhagration did not
reach the residential portion of the
city, but fires broke out in East Balti-
more, and many of the residence
streets were invaded.
Not a single morning newspaper was
able TO get out an issue this morning,
with the exception of the Sun, which
has an auxiliary plant, There are five
morning papers here, three English and
two German.
The Baltimore and Ohio railroad Of
ice building has been destroyed and
,-e Maryland Institute of Art building.
The temporary custom house adjoin-
ing the postoilice was destroyed. One
hundred and fifty policemen from Phil
adelphia are assisting the Baltimore
police and military detachments.
The loss from the fire will be so 81
gantic that it is almost beyond esti-
mate at this time. In addition TO the
direct pecuniary loss will be the i'm
mense amount Of loss by the necessary
interruption to business while firms
whose places are destroyed are max
ing arrangements to resume business.
Persons familiar with its affairs say
the section destroyed includes all the
leading trust companies, many of the
principal banking institutions, all the
largest wholesale houses, many of the
principal retail stores and thousands
of smaller business establishments.
Many of them carry little or no insur-
ance, and it is doubtful II many Of the
insurance companies viii be able TO
pay their losses dollar for dollar, and
those that do Will probably require
time in which to arrange for the pay
ment.
The first attempt at dynamiting was
in, the large building of Armstrong,
Gator & Co., but It failed to collapse,
and attention was turned to the build
ing at the southwest corner Of Charles
and German streets, where six charges
of dynamite, each charge containing
100 pounds. were exploded. The tre-
mendous force of the explosion tore
out the massive columns that support
| ed the building and left it with ap-
parently almost no support, but the
walls failed to collapse and stood until
the flames had crossed Charles street
and were eating into the block be-
| tween Charles and Light streets.
The fire had meantime been cOmmu-
nicated to the row of buildings on
South Charles street between German
and Lombard streets, and all those
places, occupied principally by whole
sale produce and grain dealers, were
in flames.
Shortly before midnight the Carroll
ton hotel was In flames, and the fire
was sweeping toward Calvert street
with irresistible fury.
The firemen working on the south
side had succeeded in checking the
flames at Lombard street, and, as the
wind was blowing from the northwest,
there was no danger of its spreading
farther in that direction. The western
limit had also been reached at Howard
street, and the danger was now to the
east and north. The progress Of the
flames toward the north had in the
meantime been so rapid as to be sim
ply appalling. From structure to struc-
ture they flew, licking up the massive
buildings as if they were composed of
! manor In thp hlnpk hptWppn German