Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1906-06-08
SNeWS From II. M. Saunders
a Resident of San Francisco
Duzlng the Earthquake.

men heroic efforts the flre spread.
The old buildings south of Market
and east of Seventh burned like so
many boxes of matches, and the peo
pie fled before the ravaging elements
to the nearest place of safety.
Men, women and children, most of
them poorly clad, clutching Il family
picture, carrying some relic, bundle
of bed clothes, grip, or dragging
trunk, hurried away from the scorch
ing flames to what destination they
knew not.
They were actuated by but one
thought-to get away from the ter
rible fire.
The gloomy tide of humanity rolled
on, out through the Mission Road to
the cemeteries, over the hills to Gold
en- Gate Park and on to the beach.
1t was one mighty surging wave of
human faces of living grief and throb-
bing despair.
Wednesday afternoon the fire broke
out in Hayes Valley and swept on
towards the St. Ignatius College, on
Van Ness avenue, totally destroying
that noble structure.
The fire made short work of Frank
lin Hotel; it blazed in a few minutes
and fell into Market street.
The Mechanics Pavilion was an
easy prey to the flames, but the sick
and injured were rushed out to other
improvised hospitals before the fire
reached the pavilion,
East and west, north and south,
the terrible confagration ate its
way.
On Wednesday night and Thurs
day morning the lower portion of
Market street, Chinatown and Mob
Hill was one seething furnace.
Thousands of angry flames shot
high into the sky, and the cracking
timbers, the falling buildings and the
terrific roar of the fire sounded like
dozen cyclones.
Thursday morning dawned on the
dire calamity, but it brought addi-
tional terror to the stricken people.
The fire was still raging worse than
on Wednesday and the black smoke
hung over the doomed city like
shroud of death.
Thursday, Thursday night, Friday,
Friday night and Saturday the all
destructive fire continued its work of
devastation unabated.
1t was a panaroma that people who
saw it will never forget and never
wish to see again, Lut through it all
for three days and three nights the
brave fire laddies fought the merciless
element. Many of them dropped ut
terly exhausted at their post of duty,
which was quickly occupied by one of
their comrades. They stood in the
midst of the roaring furnaces fighting
the flames, and cases are on record
where police officers and volunteer
firemen had to continually play a
stream of water on the regular firemen
on duty in order to keep them from
being burned and scorched.
Dynamiting of buildings was re-
sorted to in order to confne the fire,
but the flames were no sooner subdued
in one place before they broke out in
another.
As is usual in all cases of extraor-
dinary emergency those who knew it
all were profuse with their gratuitious
advice of how things ought to be
done, and the great San Francisco fire
produced few fire experts who were
brim full of good ideas and wonderful
theories, but they all kept at very
safe distance from the fire.
Expressions were frequently heard
from all sides to the effect that if
Chief Sullivan had been well and
alive the fire would have been confin-
ed within very limited area. No
doubt there was considerable truth in
these statements. Fire fighting was
the chosen profession of the late chief
and he had made life study of the
conditions presented by a big fire in
San Francisco. In fact, he had often
stated that San Francisco could not
always escape a big conhagration, and
he had predicted on more than one
occasion the great fire with its causes
and terrible results which we have
just passed through, but which he was
not permitted to combat.
Time and again had he asked the
ex-Board of Supervisors to provide an
adequate water supply for the protec
tion of the city against fire, and as
often did he ask in vain.
But regardless of the various and
adverse comments both during the
progress of the fire and afterward, the
fact remains that every member of
the San Francisco Fire Department
battled for days and nights with the
raging elements as men never fought
before. They were also ably assisted
by the Police Department and the
Federal troops.
Cool headed persons-men who had
not lost any portion of their reason,
neither as result of the shake or of
the excitement, know from close OBJ
servation that the work of fighting
the great fire was both skillfully " dir.
ected and effectively carried out, and
if there should be any doubling
Thomases who do not believe that
such is the case let them, if they are
capable, study the fire line.
To us it seems more like miracle
than anything else that the fire was
stopped at the present limits.
The burned district extends from
Twentieth and Mission, Twentieth
and Dolores, Cough Street, Golden
Gate Avenue and Van Ness Avenue
n tha (tfu Front onl e,o,>, Al