The Scranton chronicle. (Scranton, Miss.) 1897-19??, 1904-02-13
Departmer' .,ided BY Engines From
Washinsto Philadelphia and
Wilmington.
Daily Record, American, Sun and
News Put Out of Business.
The Continental and Union Trusts
Co.'s Massive Office Buildings
Were Destroyed.
The Fire Is Still Cutting Down
Blocks of Buildings With
Irresistible Force.

Baltimore, Md, Feb. 8, a. m. Mon
day.-At this hour the fire is utterly
beyond control and the residential dis
tricts are in imminent danger.
The burned area is three-quarters of
a mile long and from two to eight
blocks wide. More than fifty blocks of
business buildings have been con-
sumed.
The Monumental theater is burning
and the fire has reached Jones Falls.
Directly opposite lies the old residen-
tial section of the city. 1t is thought
nothing can save it.
The firemen are absolutely power
less to stay the sweeping of the
flames Almost all the telegraph of
fees are burned and the city will soon
be cut off.
While it may be days before an ap-
proximate estimate of the damage can
be made, it is believed that the loss al
ready aggregates s100.000,000.
Latest Estimates.
PROPERTY Loss ......SIe0. .OO0, 900
LIVES LOST ............ 20
PERSONS INJURED ..... 100
BUILDINGS RUINED ....... Loco
FiREMEN KILLED ...... s
Area burned, one square mile.
Baltimore, Md, Feb. S.-The fire
which broke out few minutes before
II o'clock Sunday morning in the
Wholesale dry goods house of John e.
Hurst & Co. has ragged with unre-
strained fury continuously, and is
steadily eating its consuming way east
ward on Baltimore street, after having
destroyed almost all of the large stores
and warehouses in the wholesale dis
trict around Hopkins place and all the
buildings on both sides of Baltimore
street from Howard to Holiday street.
from Charles and Baltimore to Charles
and Lexington, and on Fayette street
from Charles to Holiday, including a
total Of about twenty blocks of the
most modern and substantial buildings
In Baltimore, involving loss which
cannot now be estimated, but which
mas certainly already reached 0,000.-
900 or 40.oO0. 900.
Dynamite Used to Check Fire.
After since about 6 o'clock, when
darkness came, the fire department, al
though aided by engines from Wash
mgton, Philadelphia, Wilmington and
me surrounding suburbs. has been ut
'erly powerless to make any effective
resfstance TO the consuming element,
lhSugh for hours as many as 400
streams of water were thrown into the
names. Indeed. so terrific has been
lhe heat ever since the fire started,
and SO dense and suffocating the vol
une OF flying sparks and burning Gin
GERS, that 1t was difficult for the fire.
men to stand long within fighting dis
lance OF the flames, while early in the
afternoon several trucks and engines
were hopelessly disabled by timbers.
AT O'Clock the situation was so des-
perate that Chief Horton decided that
me only thing left to do was to dyna-
mite buildings at threatened points,
and thus prevent, as far as possible. a
further spread of the flames.
Fire Department Helpless.
IN pursuance of this plan, a number
oi buildings on South Charles street
between German and Lombard were
oloWn up. Subsequently the splendid
structure Of J. w. Butts & Co, notion
oealers at Charles and Fayette streets,
vas dynamited, and then the Daily
record building, Ross drug store and
otners- But this heroic remedy merely
ueiayed. but did not Seriously impede
me onward march OF the confiagration,
snd Tor two hours or more the Ere de-
psFtment had stopped. practically