Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-02-09
FIRE CONQUERED.
Continued from Page 8.

SIDE walls. ACROSS South street, Wlere
stood the Baltimore Sun building, only
the pillars that marked the front re-
main. Entire blocks just below there
are wiped out without in some cases d
wall left standing. From Fayette
street down Holiday street as far as
German street there is no building left
t1ve the Corn and Flour Exchange, at
the corner of German street. That
building, whose walls tower above the
crtmbling debris of what were adjoin-
ing structures, was Quilted, and the
standing walls formed a caldron
whose flames burst at times through
the windows, but could cause no fur
Their damage. In numerous other
wrecked buildings the flames played
about the debris and threatened to
weaken the foundations of even what
few walls were left.
Like a grim tower in the ruins
stand the walls of the fifteen stored
Continental Trust company's building.
The walls of the Baltimore and Ohio
building are also standing, but the
Pennsylvania railroad building, direct
ly across Calvert street, is RACED. Only
the walls remain of the once stately
Equitable building. At the corner of
Baltimore and Holiday streets only
remnants of n wall are left of what
was the National hotel. No buildings
are left standing as far as the eye
can see down Baltimore street from
this point. All along South Gay street
is the same picture of complete de-
struction. Here a broken sign and a
lettering front wall is all that is left of
the Maryland w. G. 7. U. building.
Adjoining this was the building occu-
pied by the Iron Ship company and by
the British consulate, whose building
is a complete loss. The building used
by the German consulate on this square
is also in ruins.
While there were no casualties to
speak of, the great army of fire fighters
performed many daring feats in their
desperate efforts to stay the flames.
Many times they were driven out of
close and hot places just as walls came
topping down. The last large building
to fall a prey to the flames down along
Jones' falls nearly caught five men.
They were on the roof and directing
their efforts to an adjoining structure
when a warning shout was sent up that
the interior of the building on which
they We're standing was q mass of
flames. They found their way to a tin
gutter, where, one by one, they hung
on, stretched out their arms and grasp
ed a telegraph pole which was planted .
lclose to the structure. They slid down
and had not reached the ground when
the roof fell in with a roar. This was
only one instance. Columns could b.
written of hairbreadth escapes made
during the twenty-seven hours battlt
with the flames.
All the out of town fire companies
because of the utter exhaustion of tho
local men, were given a free hand
More than q score of companies were
here from New York, Philadelphia
Wilmington, Washington and small
towns within a radius of fifty miles O
Baltimore. Their duty was to checl
the flames in their onward marcel
southwark. This was, a rather Difficult
task, as both sides of Jones' falls arc +
lined with lumber yards and old build
ings, which proved to be no better
than finder boxes. At every street the
is spanned by a small bridge
and ON each bridge two and sometimes
three engines were standing taking wa
ter from the creek. Stationed at vari
Gus points in the lumber yards were
other steamers, also taking water from.
the stream. In this manner the travel
ing fire fighters stood side by side. and
strove to check the flames. The lum-
Der yards on the eastern side Of the
creek were saved by the companies
stationed in them throwing great guam
titles of water on the great piles of
lumber, while the companies ON the
west side of the narrow creek poured
water into the burning buildings. The
engines on the bridges also rendered
valuable aid.
The New York firemen, who were the
last to arrive, owing to the long dis
lance they Travelled, were the last to
stand the brunt of the flames, and
when the fire began to burn itself out
in the coal yard of the American Ice
company seven of their steamers were
backed up against a bulkhead of the
Patapsco river.
Five fresh companies of New York
tiremen and a hundred members of
the Atlantic City volunteer depart
ment have. arrived and relieved the !
most exhausted of the earlier detach- |
ments. The wind is falling, and the
temperature is falling also. The city
is absolutely orderly.
The fire now is entirely under con-
troll and confined to the blazing heaps
of the ruins. The fremen are steadily
forcing their way Inward from the
outer limits of the burned area, max
ing use of tugs along the water front.
A late estimate is that $500 build
ings have been destroyed and an area
of eighty city blocks laid waste. |
Thanks to the splendid work of the |
firemen of this CITY and the volunteers. |