The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1902-1905, 1904-02-12
FIRE SWEPT BALTIMORE
SS!3lIy-III9 Blocks Of Best Business
Section IN Ruins.
Loss is Immense-Will Approximate
$l25,OO0,OOO.


moments before / O'Clock on Sun
| day morning in the wholesale dry
goods house of John e. Hurst d Co.,
! Baltimore, Md, ragged with unrc-
strained fury until almost dark on
Monday night. The burned district
bounded on the west by Liberty St.,
on the north by Lexington street, on
the east by Jones Falls and on the
south by the basin. Within this dis
trict were the big structures on Fay
cite, Gay, Lombard, Charles, Balder-
son, Elliott, Hollingsworth and
Cheapside streets. Passing southeast
along the basin the following large
)cks burned: McClure's, Patter-
sons, Smiths, Frederick, Long and
Union. Small thoroughfares which
do not extend rs far north as LeXing-
ton street, and which were in the
path Of the flames, are Commerce,
FrederiCks and Mills streets. The
district thus swept by fire comprised
| 70 blocks and nearly 1900 buildings
The burned area is u scene Of com
plete devastation. Numberless build
ings that We're the pride of Baltimore,
costly and stately, and occupied for
divers purposes, were gutted, and
only smouldering debris or walls or
remnants Of walls remain to mark
the sites.
Dynamite was used freely. The
fire apparatus was centered and all
the skill of the fire fighters called
into play to defeat the element that
had eaten up millions of dollars
worth of property. And human skill
and pluck and grit and unfnltering
courage won. The fire was checked
late. Monday afternoon. But behind
it lay a great Quilted waste of more
than 40 acres in extent,
Every street that led to the fire
area was crowded with awe-stricken
spectators. Down the narrow gulch
like streets, the black smoke hung
densely, split now and then by red
glare of flame. The crash of falling
buildings was lost in the roar of eX-
ploding dynamite, and it was used to
demolish structures as yet untouched
by fire.
The city city was under the strict
est of military control. All around
the burned area WAS stretched cor
don of soldiers, who held up all COM
ers a t the point of the bayonet. Police
brought from the neighboring cities
patrolled the district, and on every
street near the the limits of the fire
area paced armed sentinels. In the
early hours Monday morning the
army Of firefighters coped against
The overwhelming odds, and when
dawn broke the flames were raging
iiercely along the wharves and To-
cused about the great powerhouse of
the United Railways Company,
which furnishes the power for all the
street railways of the city. Then the
flames ate their way with undimin-
ished force southwark, following the
lines of Jones Falls, and were finally
checked near the waters edge at
West Falls Avenue. in the southeast
section of the city. There the flames
continued through tho night, but only
in spots and with diminishing fierce
ness. A dark gloom served to assist
the watching thousands of spectators,
held behind the lines many squares
away to locate the flames.
Throughout the terrible contest
in which firemen and fire waged for
supremacy, humanity was handi-
capped by Il gale which carried burn
ing brands far over the heads of the
workers and beyond the reach of the
hundreds of streams of water poured
into the raging furnaces. But for
the work of volunteers in seeking
out and extinguishing these embers
1t is almost certain the burned area
would have been twice larger than it
is.
Not single life has been lost, and
not human being has been even dan
gerously injured. The hospital lists
consist of minor burnt, with he eX-
ception of Jacob Inglefritz, afireman
from York, Pa. He has fractured
ieg and is badly burned.
Col. j. Frank Supplee, competent
authority on factory statistics, es-
| Inmates that the number of persons
thrown out Of employment will reach
| 10000. Others have estimated the
enforced idleness at greatly more.
Inspector of buildings Preston after
making 4 careful study of the burned
district, placed the building loss alone
ut Sl50,CO0,0OO.