Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-01-18
FIRE AT DEXTER.
Blaze Starts in Bakery, Caus-
ing About $4,000 Loss.
Looked as If Whole Business Section
Was Doomed.
Firemen Do Good Work and Preeeure
Excellert-The Insurance.

| Dexter, Me, Jan. 17.-(Speciap- AZ
40 Satuiday morning, the residents OF
Dexter We're awakened by the fire bells
and on looking from their windows
were startled to see large fire in
progress in the business portion of the
| town. DeXters business street is made
up almost wholly of wooden buildings
built so closely as to make one con-
| tif.uous block. 1t has always been
prophcsied that if ever Il fire got n
good start it would sweep the street
saturdays fire. however. shows that
the facilities for fighting fire are equal
| 10 requirements, although had there
been Il high wind, instead OF a calm
| the results might have been much more
| disastrous.
The fire caught in the rear Of one
story building called the bakery" and
when The. firemen arrived it was blaz-
ing through the roof: two-story
building adjoining on the east used BY
:. w. & +. s. Hoyt as IL meat market,
a story and Il half structure adjoining
Oh the vest. occupied as :; workshop
and for storage by G. II. Wym2n, fur
niture dc:iltr. as well as the grist mil!
shed on tie south We're all well ablazc.
and it looked Is though nothing could
prevent the fITe from spreading to other
wooden buildings adjoining.
! In short order however. the firemen
| had seven strC iE1S on the fire and after
an hours hard fight got it under con-
| troll. oorI,iinr il to those buildings
which were blazing when they arrived
| Oh the scene.
Tic fircrnCn of Dexter deserve great
| praise for the energetic and Skilfui
| manner in which they handled this
IRE. Il was a very difficult fire to fight
as he bull iinf:5, particularly Wyma Ms,
| were of p very combustible nature, ana
divided of with wooden partition, made.
| il very hard to get the water where it
was nee del.
Several times it appeared az If the
| progress of the flames had been ca"ck-
cd when they would break out III Il new
spot with renewed vigor. Some Of the
| furniture was taken from the Nyrral
store but luckily The fire itself did not
| reach the main part of the store so
| that the principal damage done to this
] Dlrt WAS bN tiit SIilpht fiIlt- " 'Nt'i. i''
| annex WAS n total loss 50 far as the
building * concerned which Is from
$1,000 +, $1,000. Mr. Wyman estimate;
| his loss on the stock at 5000. he car
| riGd $2jn0 insurance on the buiidih%
ana Se,no On the stock, 50 that lis loss
| is fully covered. There was a barber
| snop IN the annex occupied by Edmund
Ponlcr. whose loss was small.
| In the bakery everything is a tota! loss
as it was here that the fire was the here
est Nothing whatever WIS saved from
| this blriiding, ard even IL" clothihS I'll
| Mr. ana Mrs Lcvcnsciar was destroyed
by the flames Mr. LcNenscliar h&d re-
Gently taken charge of this business an"
was preparing to put in Il much larsti
| stock. There was no insurance on M
contents Of This building.
| Nr IcvpnstlIar'.s loss was about SN'
and comes particularly hard. as he has
;ust boucht the place and Invested az
hi, rnorrv in it. Some of the citizens
started a subscriptions for his benefit sat
urfay.
Tho IToyts lived OYER tie market anc
I'M }, WV narrow escape The kitchen
was an ablaze ana was working into th'
smonc. lie succt eded in closing me
! Kitchen door. thus combining il I" iha'
!, room ana the attic. Til" daH'2g' I" INC
, huil,iipr WAS fully covered by Insurance
. which was 5000. The damage TO u'
| stock in tho market was wholly hE water
ana vas not. probably. over S5F' uhih
s,red the insurance having been d'ofpet
| several months ago.
Dexter has lately installed a pubic W.
ter system. making test Of hey hE"rah
/ service only last Friday. The water pres
| sure was found to be moro than c"ul'
| h. uscd with safety. the largest streams
II Icing easily thrown Over the h'Shcs
| buildings with half or two-thirdS pres
sure. Great care had TO be exercise"
/ Saturday morning. in turning on 'h'
pressure Dexter certainly got her Wate
works mono too soon. for al agree INA
hut for this the lower section OF th'
street would certainly have been doomed