Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1904-02-13

building. whose walls tower above the
crumbling debris Of what were adjoin-
ing structures, was Quilted. and the
standing wallis formed a caldron
whose flames burst at times through
the windows, but could cause no fur
Their damage In numerous other
wrecked buildings the flames played
about the debris and threatened to
weaken the foundations Of even what
few walls We're left.
Like grim Tower IN the ruins
stand the walls OF the fifteen stored
Continental Trust company's building
The walls Of the Baltimore and Ohio
building are also standing, but the
/ Pennsylvania railroad building. direct
ly across Calvert street. is razed Only
the. walls remain of the once stately
Equitable building. At the corner of
Baltimore and Holiday streets only
remnants of one wall are left Of what
was the National hotel No buildings
are left standing as far as the eye
can see down Baltimore street from
this point. All along South Gay street
Is the same picture of complete de-
struction Here d broken sign and a
tottering front wall Is all that is left of
the Maryland w G. r, T.. building.
Adjoining this was the building occu-
pied by the Iron Ship company and by
the British consulate whose building
is a complete loss. The building used
by the German consulate on this square
i is also in ruins
| While there We're no casualties to
/ speak of, the great army of fire fighters
! performed many daring feats in their
desperate efforts to stay the flames
Many times they were driven out of
close and hot places just as walls came
topping down. The last large building
10 fall a prey to the flames down along
Jones falls nearly caught five men.
They were on the roof and directing
their efforts TO an adjoining structure
| when warning shout was sent up that
| the interior of the building on which
| they, were standing was mass of
/ flames. They found their way to a tin
gutter, where one by one, they hung
on, stretched out their arms and grasp
ed telegraph pole which was planted
] NAOSt W TIC my oiih dON IL
and had not reached the ground when
the roof fell in with roar. This was
only one instance Columns could be
written of hairbreadth escapes made
| during the twenty-seven hours. battle.
with the flames
/ All the out of town fire companies,
because of the utter exhaustion of the
local men, were given. free hand.
More than score of companies were
here from New York, Philadelphia,
Wilmington. Washington and small
towns within a radius of fifty miles of
Baltimore. Their duty was TO check
the flames in their onward march
southwark. This was a rather difficult
task, as both sides of Jones falls are
lined with lumber yards and old build
ings, which proved to be no better
than finder boxes At every street the
stream is SPAWNED by Il small bridge,
and on each bridge two and sometimes
three engineSwere standing taking wa
ter from the creeE Stationed at vari-
GUS points in the lumber yards were
other steamers. also taking water from
the stream. In this manner the travel
ing fire fighters stood side by side and
strove to check the hanles. The lum-
Der yards ON the eastern side of the
| creek We're saved by the companies
stationed in them throwing great yuan
titles of water on the great piles of
lumber while the companies on the
west side of the marrow creek poured
water into the burning buildings. The
engines on the bridges also rendered
valuable aid.
Tie New York firemen, who were the
last to arrive, owing to the long dis
lance they Travelled, were the last to
stand the brunt of the flames. and
when the fire began to burn itself out
in the coal yard Of the American Ice
company seven Of their steamers were
! backed up against bulkhead of the
Patapsco river
Five fresh companies of New York
/ firemen and hundred members of
the Atlantic City volunteer depart
ment have arrived and relieved the
most exhausted of the earlier detach-
ments. The wind is falling, and the
temperature is falling also. The city
is absolutely orderly
The fire now Is entirely under con-
troll and confined to the blazing heaps
of the ruins. The firemen are steadily
forcing their way inward from the
outer limits of the burned area, maxi
I ing use OF tugs along the water front
A late estimate is that $500 build
| ings have been destroyed and an area
of eighty city blocks laid waste.
Thanks to the splendid work of the
! firemen of this city and the volunteers,
I no life has been lost so far as is known.
According TO the list of losses, it Is
4 expected that few insurance companies
] will be, forced into bankruptcy. That
danger viii be confined TO some Balti-
more companies and to a few unimpor-
/ tant outside companies.
\ The burned district is within the ter
4 ritory bounded by Liberty and Lexing-
\ ton streets. Jones falls and the basin.