Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1904-03-31
A Double Nine
FIRE IN new YORK
The Most Spectacular Daytime
Blaze Seen in New York
in Many Years.
GENERAL ALARM WAS TURNED IN
MAlNLY AS PREVENTIVE measure.
The Fire Occurred In Some Old
Fashioned Five-Story Buildings,
Occupied by Express Companies,
to Which the Department MAN.
aged to Confine 1t.

New York; March 26.-All Wall
street and the downtown section of
New York were thrown into unusual
excitement, Saturday, by fire which
started in the building at 81 Broadway,
occupied by the Morris European and
American Express Co. When the
neighborhood in which the fire oc-
CURED is taken into consideration, it
was the most spectacular daytime
blaze that has occurred for a long
time in that part of the city. Thou
sands of people poured from the
thickly- populated financial district into
the narrow canyon of Broadway and
massed back for squares above and
below the blaze The towering sky
scrapers that faced the fire held q
group of faces at every window.
The Burning Buildings.
The burning buildings reached
through to narrow alley on the rear,
and as the wind eddied through it
swept clouds of smoke into Broadway
SO thick that only occasional flames
could be seen. The smoke rolled up
the street hemmed in by the buildings,
and burning brands fell thickly in the
crowds.
Closely following the first alarm, a
-four was turned in, and then, with
the warning of the Baltimore fire In
mind, a "two-nine," the dreaded gen.
eral alarm, followed. Engine after
engine, followed by their hose trucks,
water towers and ladder trucks swept
changing down Broadway, the only
street of access to the fire, bringing
in their wake added thousands of peo-
pie to swell the crowd that already
packed every inch of standing room in
the vicinity Bursting hose and back
roll of choking smoke now and then
drove them back and aided the police
reserves to clear the streets.
Started In the Basement.
The fire started in the basement Of
Gre of the three express company build.
ings which adjoin each other. Smoke
was first seen coming from the tagging
of the sidewalk, and almost immedi-
ately flames burst forth. driving en-
ployes from their desks and necessi
tating hurried efforts to save books
and effects.
Trinity church is just north of the
fire, and as the crowds began to pack
the streets they overflowed into the
historic old churchyard with its ancient
graves and monuments. An attempt
was made to clear them out and lock
the gates, but without much success.
The fire ccurred in two numbers
of a series of old-fashioned fve-story
buildings, of the iron and glass charac-
ter that was common over 20 years
ago. The two burned buildings were
on the extreme south of the block
bordered by Exchange alley. On the
north these buildings reached to the
big skyscraper known as the Empire
buildings, from which the tenants were
ordered out just before it was seen
that the fire was under control.
A Precautionary Measure.
Dtputy SHlcl DiuHS cApldiuSQ tudt
he turned in the "two-nine' alarm in
order to get as large force of men
as possible at work at the rear of the
buildings, foreseeing that if the blaze
were not checked there it would rage
until it burned itself out.
The character of the neighborhood in
the rear justified this belief. For sew
eral blocks, in fact, clear to the Hud-
son river, is mass of very old build
ings, many of them used as warehouses
and of an extremely infiammable char
acter. Once we'll started there, it is
probable that the fire would have
eaten it's way 10 the river and the
wharves, ferry docks and other valu-
able property that line the rivers at
this point been imperiled.
The flames spread to the adjoining
building occupied by the Adams Ex-
press Co., but the fire was brought un-
der control shortly after one o'clock,
nearly two hours after its start, and
at that time the loss was estimated by
an underwater at s400, 900, but nothing
could be learned regarding the insur-
ance