The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-08-11

IN Great Danger.
New York, August S.-Inside three
quarters of an hour late tonight, fire
swept away the Delaware, Lackawan-
ma and Western railroad company's ter
minal in Hoboken, seized two ferry
boats and practically ruined them, and
for half an hour threatened the rest of
the water front in the vicinity, iuclud-
ing the neutrality-suspicious. and North
German Lloyd steamship docks at
which several big ships were lying.
The loss to property is estimated at be-
tween 100000 and $500, OOO. SO far as
known no lives were lost.
For over an hour huge tongues OF
flames leaped from the wooden struc-
lures on the Lackawanna docks, light
ing the New Jersey and New York
water fronts. For a time it threaten
ed a loss greater han that Of the big
dock fire of several years ago when
the North German Lloyd piers were
NNStIoSOu Win q great itSS VI I1lS.
Blazing ferry boats. cut from their
docks f1oated in the river, wandering
fire ships which for a time endangered
shipping.
The fire started on an old wooden
ferry boat and swept by a northerly
breeze communicated with the ferry
house, spread to the main building of
the Lackawanna and hen to the
Dukes house, a famous Hoboken hos
telry. The hotel was a frame struc-
ture and was ready prey for the
| flames.
BY this time the flames were spread
ing in all directions utterly beyond the
control of the few first fire fighters
who had responded to the first alarms.
Following the hotel the structure of
the Public Service COrporation-the
street car operating company Of Ho-
boken, Jersey City and nearby places,
went down before the flames.
At 1 o'clock this morning, the fire
was under control and the big steam
ship piers had been saved.
a remarkable feature Of the great
| blaze was that inside of 20 minutes
after its start it had seized upon the
Lackawanna's terminal and swept>its
600 feet of train sheds, booming them.
The flames started from an unknown
cause on the old wooden ferryboat Ho-
patcong, which had been tied up In
the open slip between the Hamburg
docks and the Christopher street ferry
slips. The fire was discovered about
II o'clock. 1t was then leaping from
the boiler room below the main deck
through the engine room and attacking
the wooden Superstructure.
A Waterman on the ferry dock turn
ed in calls for the city department and
also for the Lackawanna fire brigade.
Almost before the company's men
could lay a line of hose and before the
city iremen could reach the scene, the
flames had leaped to the ferry Office
building between the piers and her to
the brand new ferryboat Binghalnpton,
which was lying in the northern slip
of the Barclay street line. From these
it leaped in a few seconds to the high
frame structure above the waiting
rooms, and in five minutes after the
fire was seen, the entire buildings COW
ering many acres were burning. Twcn-
ty minutes after the blaze was first
seen the high tower, which surmounts
Tx DulluluS, CIdSucu uoNu dIl dDldLO.
Twenty minutes after the alarm it
looked as if the entire lower part of
the Hoboken, including the Hamburg
piers would go.
There were four slips With high pill
ings and these burned fiercely and sent
the fire southwark into the freight
piers. These had been destroyed for
the most part by a great fire on May
%, 1904, and had just been rebuilt.
From the waiting Don the flames
leaped into the train shed, and so rapid
was the spread there that engines
which We're drawing out the cars there
to be ready for use in the morning a
to be hurried out. Seven coaches were
left behind, but there had been time
enough to save about thirty others.
The two burning boats were lowed
out into the stream by tugs. The Ho-
paticong SUM later.
Fire aid vas quickly summoned
from Jersey City and New York, the
former city sending all available en-
fire boats. With this extra force he
Hoboken fremen were able to prevent
the fire from spreading through lower
Hoboken, while the freboats held the
flames in check along the water front.
To the southwark the flames caught
the new emigrant station. 1t cost $7O,-
900 to build, and was supposed to be
fireproof, but was soon a mass OF hre,
the interior burning rapidly. Only a
few persons We're there at b time or
the outbreak and they were hurried
out.