The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-08-08
SWEPTBY FLAMES
Lackawanna Terminals at Hobo
ken Ruined by Fire.
Loss of Nearly Half a Million in
an Hour.
BLAZING FERRY BOATS
FlOated in the River Endanger-
ing Shipping.
New "Fire Proof" Immigrant
Station Destroyed.
BLAZING FERRY BOATS

New York, Aug. S.=Inside of three
quarters of an hour late last night fire
swept away the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna & Western railroad companys
terminal in Hoboken, seized two ferry
boats and practically ruined them, and
for half an hour threatened the de-
structlon of the entire water front in
the vicinity, including the Hamburg
American and North German Lloyd
steamship docks at which several big
ships were lying. The property dam
age is estimated at between $500, 600
and $500, 900. So far as known no
lives were lost.
For over an hour huge tongues of
hame leaped from the wooden struc-
ture on the Lackawanna docks, light
ing the New Jersey and New York
water fronts. For a time it threat
ened loss larger than that of the
big dock fire of several years ago
Whcl the North German Lloyd piers
were destroyed with a great loss of
life
Blazing ferryboats cut from their
docks f1oated in the river, wandering
gered shipping in the river. The fire
started on an old wooden ferryboat
and spread to the main building of
the Lackawanna and then to the
Dukes house. The hotel was a frame
structure and was a ready prey for
the flames.
BY this time the flames We're spread
ing il, all directions, utterly beyond
the control of the few first fire fight
ers who had responded to the first
alarms.
Following the hotel the structure of
the public service corporation went
down before the flames.
At 1 o'clock this morning the fire was
V7Ao al rrrI, 70,
placed the damage between 100000 and
100000
The flames started from an unknown
cause on the old wooden ferryboat
Hopatchong, which had been tied up
in the open slip between the Hamburg
docks and the Christopher ferry slips.
Twenty minutes after the alarm it look
ed as if the entire lower part of Ho-
boken, including the Hamburg piers,
would go.
The two burning ferryboats were
towed out into the stream by. tugs. The
Hopatchong sunk later
Fire aid was quickly summoned from
Jersey City and New York, the former
city sending all available engines and
the latter despatching two fire boats.
With this extra force the Hoboken fire
men were able to prevent the fire from
spreading. through lower Hoboken while
the fireboats held the flames in check
along the water front.
While the fire was held by the fire.
men to the north and west it was
spreading along the freight piers to the
southwark where only tugs and fire.
boats from Manhattan could attack it.
Here it caught the new immigration
station. This building was of brick and
stone and had been occupied only two
weeks. It cost 1000 to build and was
supposed to be f1re-proof but was soon
mass of fire, the interior burning rap
idly. Only a few persons were in it at
the time of the outbreak and they were
hurried out.
Traffic Much Disturbed.
Strenuous efforts were made by the
management Of the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna and Western today to bring into
New York the thousands of COM
nuters whose homes are along it's
route and to overcome the handicap
imposed by the destruction of the
railroad station, ferry slips and ferry
boats. After a hurried consultation
with the officials of the Erie and Penn
sylvania roads the Lackawanna trade
is diverted to the stations of those two
roads in Jersey City. A hundred extra
suburban section of New Jersey to
bring the commuters to the Newark
station of the Pennsylvania. Extra
ferry boats were added to the ferry
lines of the Erie and Pennsylvania
roads to take care of the heavy in
crease of traffic thrown upon these
two lines.
To repair the damage every me-
chanic on the line who can be spared
has been ordered to Hoboken and it
was announced that within week the
Lackawanna will be able to handle it's
own traffic.