Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-09-16
Halt a Million Loss in
the City Of Halifax.
Terrific Storm Famed Blaze
Along Great Dock Front.
Woman Killed and Two Iniured-F;re.
man Probably Fatally Hurt.

ha an
t!leieSS IaE"o along the harbor front
i"f io' HaicS ana burned half million
dollars worth of wharf and Warehouse
property on lower Water street in tho
business center Of the city.
Before the conilagrAtion WAS finally
got under control by the fire depar,.
mcnt. assisted by dctachmcnts of sai,-
orS and soldiers, the whole CITY fir.
department Was engaged together with
Il number ni tuSbo;;ts ANA engines ana
cruSIdcrahl" apparatus from the Dart
mouth IRE department. Truro Wind.
Sor and other towns held fire lighting
apparatus i'll readiness to be moved
i'to the capital by Special trains. For
an hour ii appeared certain that tn,
Whole city would b. destroyed
\ detachment of 200 sailors with tor
pei" apparatus was landed from IL. NJ.
Ships Ariadne and interchangeable, ana
armed marines patrol!ed the streets in
The Vicinity of the co.Iiagratiom. TIVE,
hundred engineers and infantry wer.
turned out from the garrison ana
i'clpcd 10 save personal property ano
rendered valuable assistance to check
he spread of The fir. by dynamite ana
i'l"wina up several buildings.
Admiral Sir Archibald Douglas per-
SonaiIy directed the operations of th,.
sailors in protecting imperial govern
ment property in the path Of the
ilam.S.
y change Of wind diverted the flames
from the city out over the harbor and
the fire then ragged along the water
fnr
wharveS, two coal piers. two hotels. :;
dozen large warehouses ana Il number
of retail shops ana temcments. The
real estate With its contents is esti-
mated at about S50o.oo0, with 500. 900
insurance.
fireman was perhaps fatally in
jurcd by contact with d live electric
wire ana another WAS seriously hurt
by falling roof states. A large tree
blown down by the hurricane which
accompanied the fire struck IL party of
three young women. Flora Ring aged
2>. was instantly killed. and her two
companions, Emml Halliday ara Mag
gle Crunr. pinned to the ground with
broken limbs and other serious in
.urics.
L
en- buildings three ANA four stories high,
many Of them built years ago. when
Halifax merchants dealt so heavily in
fish. Many of the buildings We're at
ta"hed and fire communication impos-
sible to shut off.
When the fire started the wind blew
Il gale from the south driving smoke
and flame toward the city. but shortly
nf fyn,, ta,,l,- Il Ia;
probably saved d large section of the
city from being burned as at first, the
flames We're tanning buildings in the
opposite block. The fire started in a
building just between Water street and
the harbur and ut the entrance to n and
NJ streets wharves, fanned by such a
gale, the blaze fairly leaped and licked
the buildings adjacent on both sides
which were soon ablaze.
The French House, Il hotel on Water
street was soon Il mass of flames and
the tiNc fish stores of Grand & Fish. the
largest fish dealers i'll Halifax. who had
u Sto, X valued ut about Sl50,O00. caught.
Crowds. who had rushed down to
Smiths Wh;trNcS, We're now hemncd in
With the fire on one side and water on
the other aud were taken off the
wharvcs by torpedo launches from the
warshirs.
In the meantime though all the fire
apparatus of the city and Dartmouth
departments and the military were
placed at work. the fire worked north,
s0rtl, and the smoke could be seen for
miles. The flames leaped and roared
and the dozens of streams of water
uouring upon them seemed futile. \
Collins nrovisiOn store and Glairson'S
liuuor store caught and went quickly.
Then the fire spread to the Dominion
coal cos. coal stores on Campbell's
wharf to the south and worked right
across Smiths warehouses to the q. P.
Mitchell COS. on the north with the
fire burning on the Dominion Coal Cos.
wharf.
The Plant Steamship Line pier and
stores became in danger and there
stood between them and attached Mel
wins large cooperage which faced on
the coal wharf. The cooperaSe caught
and soon the ire communicated to the
Plant stores and office buildings. There
wore four firms located in the Plant |
building M. Neville, lobster packer, Do
minion Packing Co, canned meats, etc,
Office and stores; Hon. William Ross,
NJ. p. Office and stores. the Plant Of
flee and warehouse.
All the buildings on the north side of
the Plant wharf We're destroyed and
fire communicated across the lower part
If the wharf to A. G. Jones & Cos. |
warehouse, where it was checked.
The storm reached it's height at
o,c1ocL when the fire broke out, the |
gale was at its height. blowing from
tho southwest with almost hurricane !
force
The fire started in fish store on
Fader's wharf near the foot of Sack
,,;I,e Greet and the next wharf north 4
~ the Plant line steamship dock.
Theare was succession of wooden |
.+oras and buildings FOR a hundred 4
Yards north and south. On the east
continued on page 81