Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1904-04-22
WEDNESDAYS HOT BLAZE
FIRE IN DONNEll G. DAVISS
BASEMENT HARD TO QUEll.
Gave the Local Department Halt
Hour Of Lively Work Wednesday
Afternoon--Smoke and Water Does
About $4,000 DAMAGE.

About $4,000 Damage.
fire in the basement of Donnell
& Davis's millinery store in Union
block kept the local department ex-
tremely busy for about half hour
Wednesday afternoon, and before IL
was extinguished practically the en-
tire stock in the store had been rend-
cred valueless by smoke ana water.
The shop of h. Mancini. shoemaker,
In the front part of the basement was
literally flooded, while smoke dld con-
siderable damage in Hollender q
Yeaws bakery as well as In Greene
drug store. The total loss VIII amount
to about $4,000, probably, everything
being covered by insurance with the
exception of Mr.. Mancinfs stock Inc
damage to Donnell & Daviss stock
alone will amount to about S4ooo as
there was an unusually large guam
tity of goods in the store. The stock
was insured for $500 and the fixtures
for 500.
No one knows just how the fire
started but it must have gained great
headway in a very short time. When
Miss Emma Mixer went into the small
room i'm the basement shortly after
one o'clock to put away her wraps
there was no sign of fire. Hardly hVe
minutes afterward Miss Elizabeth
Newcomb noticed smoke issuing from
The door al the foot of the basement
stairway and Immediately gave the
alarm. She and Miss Mary Donnell
and Mrs. s. w. Edgett at once
snatched extinguishers and opened the
door al the foot of the stairs, but
they were met with a sheet OF name
which slnged their hair and eyebrows
and slightly blistered their faces
When the extent of the fire was seen
nm alarm was Immediately given on the
street and a. d. Findlayson, clerk IN
Holden's drug store, pulled IN an aIarIa
from box 80. Meanwhile smoke had
begun to pour from the front oil lhe
store and from the basement Before
the alarm had ceased ringing I. X.
Crosby was on hand with an ex-
tinguisher He CROPPED ms way
through the smoke which fnied we
front basement and found that the
flames were confined 10 the small
room, separated from the rest Oh tiie
basement By a partition, In which is
the heater which warns the store
above. When the door connecting
this with the main basement was
broken down the room was found 70
be one mass of flame and the contents
Of the extinguisher checked the hre
only temporarily.
By this time the chemical engine
had arrived and the contents OF us
tank were poured on the flames WITH
out checking them materially Two
hydrant streams were then brought 10
hear upon the fire but they seemed
ia have very little effect, smoke pour
ing forth in great volumes and tlliii7
tba easements underneath the bakery
and Greene's drug store II looked
for Il time as II the fire was gong
TO prove as stubborn as that in the
basement of Morris & iresgs store
few years ago. At length two lines OF
hose from steamers and were car
ried through the bakery and their
streams brought to bear on the blaze
from the rear basement window. Az
first this drove the smoke out OF the
front basement in greater volume
than ever and made 1t look as II the
fire was gaining headway but very
soon the water began TO have its ef-
feet After several minutes of steady
drenching the decreasing smoke gave
evidence that the flames were being
subdued, and in a comparatively short
time after the streams were brought
TO bear from the rear the fire was I'M
der control.
Although the blaze was confined al
most wholly, to the small room where
II was discovered il was an extremely
warm proposition for a short time as
the heat was great enough TO blister
large portion of the ceiling of the
store. Ii is supposed that the flre
started among a quantity OF paste
board boxes which were Temporarily
stored in the basement When the
smoke had cleared away sufficiently
to allow entrance into the store IL was
found that the stock was almost en-
tirely spoiled. Water stood TWO or
three inches deep on the floor and the
smoke had permeated nearly every poN
and drawer. In Mr.. Mancinis por-
ton of the basement the water was
vet deeper and all of his STOCK was
utterly ruined. The damage III the
bakery was mainly to the flour and
lard which was rendered useless by
the smoke. The walls and fixtures IN
Greene's drug store were badly tar
nished by smoke but no goods were
damaged.
The remarkable rapidity with
which the flames spread is proof that
they were fed with some very in
aammable material. Had the fire
started in the night it would have
been extremely difficult to save the
block even if the blaze could have |
been conquered without going furth- |
.r. AS it was, the damage to the |
block itself is trivial compared to that |
% the stock. The partition which |
divided the furnace room from. the |
.est of the basement was burned down |
md the floor of the store badly char
ed just above.