Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-01-07
$4,000 or $4,000
Fire at Edwards Mill.
Damage Confined to Mill No. I,
Built in 1845.
Sturgis' Stable Ruined-Stiil Alarm for
Masonic Temple.

when the Meonitn hall block was
destroyed and two others badly dam
| aSeo, and which resulted ill :, loss of
nearly $2c".oop. came another. yesterday
morning. which, while the damage
| done Will rot figure up nearly as much
| as that due to the first tanned fire.
Threatened. for awhile the partial des-
tructIon ANA Gripping Of the largest
| manufacturing establishment of the
| city. the cotton mills of the Edwards
Co.
| But luckily. through the determined
| night n!:,de by the firei!lcn, and Il good
| supply Of water, the lire was confined
l" the room in the mill where il origi-
mated, and WAS drowned out before il
worked its Why to the other floors, but
not before it had caused an amount OF
| damage which will require the outlay
| of many thousands of dollars Ia re-
| pair.
| The fire was caused by :n Overhcated
| mule head, in the mule room, on the
third floor of mill No. l. which is the
J oldest mill of the plant. and was dis
i covered at abOu; 80. The Edwards
Co. maintains Il fire department COM
posed OF thc mill operatives, and the
| 10 tht. scene. Their hose was coupled
| to the hydrants in IN" hill yard. AMI
as it was thought that they could take
| care of the blaze i'll the mill without
| the assistance of the city department.
no alarm was pll!cd IN.
| Blu, the fire was hotter and more
serious than they anticipated, and al
| though the mills are supplied with 4
sprinkler system, the fire gained upon
| the irentn, and after Il fruitlcss en-
d.avnr OF about 20 minutes. it WAS de-
| cidCd TO call upon the city department
for aid, and an alarm was rung in from
| box 20. on the mill office, at 1.4S.
1t was a bitter morning, the Their
nlnmeter registering ~ below zero, but
| tl... hose teams and the hook and tad-
| der track responded promptly. and al
| though there Vas some little trouble
| with .wo OF the hydrants. which was.
| how,"er, soon overcome. the boys soon
had plenty Of water with which to
| work.
The chief obstacle encountered in
lighting the tire was the difficulty in
getting lines nj hose into the room
wl!er,. the fire was. owing to the dense
smoke which filled the room, ana
| worked its way through to the different
rooms in the mill. The flames could
| he seen from the mill yard. working
their way through the room. and Chief
Engineer Kicker, realizing the gravity
of the situation. ordered the general
ALARM. rung III at 1.55 calling out the
entire department.
I. was the wors, day for fighting fire
u. Ont n
,ount.rrd for Il year. owing TO the
extreme. COLI the water froZe almost as
soon as it left the pipe and the iireinen
were soon cncaSed in ice. and nuch
difficulty WAS experienced in handling
! the. hose. II was not until the big del
uge set was coupled on that decided
advantage was gained over the blaze.
which was at that time burning briskly
in the south end OF the mill.
But when a two-inch stream Of wa
ter with the combined force Of two
lines of hose behind it. WAS directed
into the end of the room where the
fire was, the blaze was soon drowned
out. and danger from that source was
over The ircmen continued TO pour
tons Of water into the building until the
last possibility of Il lurking tongue OF
flame was destroyed. and it was about
| 10 o'clock when the order to timber up
was given The all out was rung in at
1917. The discovery of the fire was fol-
lowed by the closing of the plant until
afternoon.
Inc ruin wrought by the fire is the
| smaller portion Of the loss. the princi-
pa! damage being due to smoke and
| water. the former having worked its
way to the rooms above. and the latter
| flooding everything to the basement.
| AS to the amount of damage resulting
| from the fire. Il is of course. at this
| time, impossible to state, although II is
| thought that ii will figure up some
| whcr,. between $50 900 and $4,000. The
loss is covered by insurance. in :: fac
tory mutual organization.
| The mill where the fire occurred is
the oldest mill in the great plant of
which it forms Il part. II was built in
1915. being commenced in June of that
year, and completed during the follow
ing winter. Its capacity was 10000
spindles. and the mill was pu, in VIPER
alton in the summer of 1916. 1t was
! purcha sed by the Spragues. in 1867. and
| by the Edwards Co.. in 1882.
1 IL is q five story pudding with
basement The first and second floors
are occupied as card rooms. and the
| other three as mule rooms. while in the
| basement is n large apartment which is
used for the storage Of mill supplies.
| AZ stated above the water made its
way down from the third floor to the
! basement. drenching everything and
making a nasty mess. and leaving ruin
in it's path which will of course put
the rlill out OF commission until it and
| the machinery can be cleaned. and
| such of the machinery as was damaged
is repaired. About 200 people were
| employed in the mill.
As to the effect Of the fire on the
operation of the rest Of the plant
Agent Pratt stated to the Journal. yes
ter,lay afternoon. that the other mills