Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-08
ALMOST$10.O00
Lost by Wednesday Morn
ing's Fire.
Randolph Suffers by Castardly
Work of Incendiary.
Details of the Fire and the Losses by
individual Owners.

| t!te latest ire. whose origin can De
! traced only 10 the result OF the das-
| taruly work of tire fiend. That inn
| mediate action viii be taken by the
| city and St9te authorities is a certain
~. ana no stone will DC left unturned
to apprChend the criminals response
Die for the Randolph blaze.
At 3.43 o'clock Wednesday, morning
4 1eiated citizen passing through Ran
! i"iph square discovered Il great sheet
OF Hames belChng out from the
warped doors Of CunnOrs stable. not 100
yards from the bridge entrance. The
alarm was hastily sounded and the
! i!ecla Hose Company responded
Whom the tiremen arrived on the scene
il was too late to attempt to save the
stable, and efforts were directed
| toward the surrounding property
Word was sent over the bridge to this
city, and an alarm sounded at 4
| O'Clock. one steamer, the hook and
| ladder company and the hose wagons
| res ponGed and made record time across
| the bridge. Three lines of hose were
! thrown upon the IRE ana the blaze was
fought tlrcctually from every point
about the square. Adjoining the
-Nf''l' va t'i' N''ltI' - g tiiICN Floi
blIck building owned ~ the Sc;lrl,S
state The upper portion of the
building is occupied by c. F. Brown as
| a boarding house. When the fire was
nrst discovered there We're 20 men
asleep i'll the rooms. Mr.. Brown. aWak-
cit-ti by the shouts of people in the
street. CROPPED his way through the
snnk"-lillcd corridors and alarmed his
dodgers. one mHn, asleep in Il room
facing the burning stable did not
come to-" until til" heat of the llamc:
broke the windows in his room. a
hasty exit saved him from DEATH
All of the rooms on the north side of
the house are badly burned, and not Il
spot in the entire building is free from
.;at.r. Yesterday forenoon ii carpet OF
ice, 4 half inch thick, covered every
lhiHg. bedding. furniture and walls
alike The ground floor of the build
.'s2s is occupied by Max Goldberg who
operated Il general store. Goldberg
lI.uNtd into The place about 10 days
ago ana claims to have no insurance.
His stock. quite extensive is badly
damaged by smoke and water and his
loss will be in the neighborhood of
5000
The low wooden building ut the end
Of the Gardiner Randolph bridge,
| owned by the Searlc5 estate and occu-
pied by Fred ii. Dunning as variety
store. is il total loss. The roof and
hooring fell through and the heavy
stock carried by Alr. Cunning is a total
loss. Mr.. Dunning carried 500 insur-
dnce on his stock. but a large invoice
| ,F 4 1c ,t,njN,41 This week
viii bring his loss up to $500. The
Randolph office Of the kennebec Jour
l;l was also located in this building.
Dut the Journals loss is small.
1t is difficult to estimate. at the pres
ant time the loss sustained by the
owners of the ConnOrs stable. Six
valuable horses persisted in the flames,
and a number Of wagons. sleds. car
ridges etc, were lost. 1t is under
stood that a valuable hearse was also
lost a conservative estimate Of the
loss Of the horses. carriages. harness,
etc. in the stable is $1,000. Insurance
for nominal amount was carried on
The contents Of the stable. The build
ing was owned by George Blackman,
whose loss will be total one of $500.
Mr. Blackman carried small insur-
anCc
To the north Of the stable stood a
two and one-half story frame house.
The lower floor was occupied by ;. c.
ToWlc as Il variety and confectionery
store Nj. ToMIe was one OF the first
on the scene of the fire, and with the
assistance Of the firemen, removed Il
portion Of his stock and fixtures to the
sidewalk before the flames devourcd
the building His loss will not exceed
S2un. The tenement above the T"WIe
shop was occupied by the family Of
Samuel Lewis. whose furniture is a
total loss. Two hundred ana fifty dol
lars Will probably cover the loss suS-
tanned by Mr. Lewis The building
was owned by the Moody estate ana Is
4 total loss. also. The building was
worth $l5C0, and the owners were pro
. tcctcd TO some ,xtent by insurance.
The theory. generally accepted, is
that tho fire Wa< of nccndlary origin
and II is supposed that the tire-buS' 5
torch was applied to the ConnorS
stable A rigid Investigation by the
state authorities will be made.
| The work of the fire department WAS
most commcHd4blc and sustains the
reputation Of tho Gardiner men, upon
whom, grcater portion Of the work
fell. The Randolph department,
limited i'll men and apparatus, eNerivd
every effort to cope with the growing
blaze ana lent valuable and appreciate
ed aid IL the laddies from across the
| river Citizens of both the town and
this city, donncd rubber coats and
helmets and rlunged into the work
> with a Will. a squadron vas stationed
on the roof of the brids" shed and for
three hours trained a stream ont" the
burning ruins. 1t was not until long
after ten O'Clock, Wednesday morning.
that the hremen were released from
their stations, and YEARLY returned to
their respective homes.
The loss. as estimated Wednesday. is
as follows:
Moody estate $3.50
, Geo. Blackman. Sl20C
Searles estate, $1,000