The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-02-05
STAMFORD HAS A BAD FIRE
TOWN HALL, ONE OF FINEST IN
 STATE, GUTTED.
Aggregate Amount of Losses Placed at sI75,ooo o-Postoffiee DessrOyed-Aid Rushed from Bridgeport and Several Other PIacss-connagration Narrow Iy Averted.

ly Averfed.
 Stamford. Feb. 4.-snow lying thick upon the roofs of adjacent buildings prevented a conhagration in the busi- ness section of Stamford tonight as an accompaniment to the complete de- struction of the fine town hall on At lantic street. As it was the blaze was so fierce for a time that assistance was rushed here, in response to messages, from Greenwich, Portchester, Norwalk and Bridgeport, and was asked of New Haven but later the request was with drawn. There were many anxious mo- ments as it looked as if the Congrega- tional church on the opposite side of the street, and a nearby business block could not be saved, for fire brands rain- ed down upon them in a heavy shower. The town hall was considered one of the finest in the state and when built in 1870 cost upwards of $150,000. It is in ruins and scarcely any of it's con tents of any value were saved. The aggregate amount of the losses is not known tonight, but it is placed at $175, 1000, and the chief item of insur-  ance Is s4o,0oO held by the town on the building.
 The town hall was of brick with gran ite trimmings, and was well finished in sdie. OS the first floor were the town offices, the Stamford postoff1ce. stores of H. S. Wahler, confectioner; A. s. Kellogg, news agent and toys; Dakota laundry, Wagner & Noll, cigar makers, and William N. White, real estate dealer, and the Factory Hat store. On the second floor were the city and pro- bate court rooms and offices, and the offices of Edwin L. Scofield and H. Stanley Finch. lawyers, of the asses sors, board of relief, public works, the mayor and cty clerk. On the third floor was a large hall for public gath erings having seating capacity for ,- 200 and well appointed stage. The up- per floor was used for lodge room pur- poses by several fraternal orders.
 The fire started in the second floor, but from what cause has not been and may not be determined. It ran about this floor quickly, and by reason of low pressure in the water mains after the firemen got to work it spread to the roof. The spectacle was a grand one, for sparks were carried far and wide by strong breeze. Bucket brigades were formed at several places where it was thought smaller fires would break out, but the snow really proved the chief obstacle to a more general sweep of the flames.
 After the fire was discovered the pos tai clerks got out the first-class mail and the records, taking them to the rooms of Hobbie post, G. A. R., oppo- site, which will serve as postoffice until other quarters can be secured. Just what quantity of other mail, II any. was destroyed is not known. The town land records in the town clerk s office are safe, but there is no certainty that the court and probate records are intact, for the reason that the safes used for protecting them were some lime ago declared to be insecure and a
 own committee had plans in hand for flew deposit vaults.
 It seems certain that the contents of / all the offices and of the stores on the lstreet floor have been burned. Indi- yidual losses are not known, but $50, 900 is hardly thought to cover the aggre- gate and if the city and town records have suffered to any great extent the loss will be considerably more than measured by money The Congrega- fional church on the opposite side of the street, and which is a large wooden structure, is somewhat damaged The fire lasted for about three hours and attracted about all the townspeople in spite of the intense cold.