The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-02-08

streams of water that the firemen were
able TO turn on them proving utterly
Intellectual to even halt the destruction.
Here across, the street were the ruins of
John Il. Hurst x Co, and next to 1t s.
Hecht, Jr., & Sons. were in flames. Ad-
joining was the large building owned
by the William Koch Importing com.
pany, which was also quickly destroy.
ed.
Across the street the Stanley &
Brown Drug Company building was
quickly in ruins, while frontlngon the
Baltimore street side of this block were
the Roxbury Rye Distilling company,
the building occupied by SiIbofntGn &
Todes, the house OF Allen & Sons, which
has hardly been completed, while next
to lt was the establishment of NJ. Moses
& Co. On the corner was the building
occupied by Messrs. Sugar & Shear
and several other smaller concerns.
All of these were swallowed up in
fame, and, in fact. the whole block was
nothing but caldron of hre.
Mullins hotel, a seven story struc-
ture at Liberty and Baltimore streets,
was soon in fomes from garret to eel
lar and the great height and narrow
ness acted as a torch, which, as a sort
of flue, converted the doomed building
into huge and dreadful torch. All
the guests Of the hotel had been order
ed out of the building shortly after
the fire broke out in John Ilirst's place,
There was no panic or confusion, and
no one was injured
Though every hit of fire fighting ap.
paratus in the city was caIled into req
uisition. MS the flames eoptinued TO
spread the firemen realized that they
had task before them which was too
great for them to combat. ,Telegrams
for fire engines were sent to. Washing
ton and Philadelphia, and six engines
arriving from Washington and four
from Philadelphia joined in the battle
with the flames.
Engines from stations in Baltimore,
Howard. Anne Arundel and Hartford
counties also arrived as soon as possi-
bic, some Of the apparatus travelling a
distance of thirty miles and more.
Water plugs in every section within
a radius of half a mile from the fire
were in use and it is roughly estimated
that there were $50 hose lines all play
ing at one time upon different parts OF
the connagration.
Owing to the great congestion Of fire
apparatus. the crowds Of people and
the general confusion many Of the en-
gnes from out Of town were unable 70
find a place where they would be Of
any service.
All kinds of wires had to be cut TO
clear the way for the fire fighters, The
block bounded by German, Liberty,
Sharp and Baltimore streets was early
found to be doomed, and the firemen
turned their attention to saving the
buildings on Baltimore street east Of
Sharp.
The fire was beyond their control, and
the flames ran from one building TO an
other in spite of the fact that the fire
men had done their best to check the
progress of the flames by soaking the
structures with water.
A tremendous explosion of about 100
barrels Of whisky stored in the upper
floors of "a Hanover street hurled tons
of burning matter across the street on
to the roofs of the buildings opposite
which the firemen were drenching
with water in "a vain effort to make
Hanover street the eastern boundary
line of the conflagration. The flames
quivered for a few moments under
the water, but soon ate into the build
ings on the east side.
Two truck wagons caught fire and
were consumed, and an engine was
buried by a falling wall, the tiremen
fleeing for their lives.
The whole city was notified of the
conhagration by a terrific explosion.
A sharp, splitting roar went up with
reverberating thunder. This was fol-
lowed by a peculiar whistling noise
like that made by shrill wind. The
churches in the central section OF the
city were filed with worshipers, many
of whom became frightened, and while
no paniCS ensued hundreds OF men
and women left their seats and went
outside to see what had happened. In
a few moments the streets and pave
ments all over the city were crowded
with excited people Another deafen'
ing crash occurred, and dense columns
of cinders and smoke shot up over the
central section of the city and in a
huge brown column moved rapidly to-
ward the northeast.
The fire department was helpless
with flames steadily travelling east
ward on Baltimore. and FayettC
streets. The Union Trust building soor
fell in. The Carrollton hotel theI
caught The Herald and News build
ings being apparently doomed, the oc
cupants moved out. The Sun also wa'
forced out of its office Clouds of burn
ing cinders cover the whole city.
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