The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-11
WATER SHY AT YGRNISH FIRE
ssyo,OOO loss AND BT9 BLAZE IN
LONG ISLAND CITY.

UbLIGu ~ Nv
Creek-Al Railroad TramC Held Up.
Are which started In the Pratt a Lam
hart vauish factory in Borden avenue,
Long Island City, last night, whirled through
q andleaped through the lumber yard. store
house and factory OF the J.. +. Blapchard
door and window casing mandatory,
bnrninE itself out by destroying h Booth
drop forge factory, had the Fire Depart
ment OF the city more helpless h any
other blaze for a long time. The only
water available at the time was from an
IS inch main running through Borden
avenue, which four engines sucked dry
In n few minutes. Many valuable minutes
elspsed before the freboats David A.. Body
and Abram 8. Hewitt could worm their
way through muddy Newtown Greek and
Law hose lines to the blaze. a hundred yards
away, across the tracks Of the Long Island
Railroad.
The railroad service was held up entirely
ghile the Are was going or because Of the
hose pipes across the tracks. In addition
30 this, the FIRE burned up the telephone
and telegraph wires strung on poles along
the avenue, and this embarrassed h fire.
men in sending to Brooklyn for more en-
zines. The blaze did damage that mounts
70 somewhere near $3.50 900.
The Pratt a Lambert Building was almost
new. having been put up only six months
ago. 1t and the other three buildings in a
row TO the west Of the varnish factory were
viped out. The flremen had to concen-
trate their efforts on saving the building
Of the Columbia Paper Box Company,
directly to the north OF the varnish factory,
and the gas tank in the yards Of the Long
Island Railroad, across Borden avenue to
the south.
II was a brilliant blaze. The flames were
no hot that the nremen we're unable to do
better than work in relays of five or ten
minutes at a time. and while they were
playing streams on the blaze others had to
stand back and throw water on them.
/, The burning varnish cast out black fumes
and smoke, which choked the ireighters
and covered all OF Long Island City in that
quarter.
Five hremen were hurt badly, besides a
dozen or so who we're overcome by smo ke.
Joseph Bridges OF Engine Company 100.
while hurrying across Borden Venue on
that ~company's tender, was thrown from
his place on the rear by a collision with an
other tender and was taken to st. Johns
Hospital, Long Island City. He had three
ribs broken and a fractured right clavicle.
The fremen who were overcome we're
dragged way from danger by Father
McGrogan. the Catholic fire chaplain OF
the Brooklyn fire department, who sent in
calls to the st. Johns, st. GATHERINGS and
Eastern District hospitals. Seven ambu-
lances came to the fire and the men were
attended to there. Bridges was the only
one who had to be taken away.
The fire started at $40 o'clock in the rear
Of the first floor OF the varnish factory.
About a dozen workmen were there, when
a pail OF t~urpentine began to blaze sud-
denly. Just how il started no one knows.
The blazing stun ran along the floor and
caught some casks Of turpentine standing
in the corner. The workmen ran out and
before they had o n a dozen yards they
could see that the whole first fool was
blazing.
An alarm was sent bv a policeman from
the Vernon avenue station and Chief Lally,
who is in charge in Brooklyn and Queens,
came over with the first lot OF engines.
He turned in a third alarm, and set
the engines to work at nee from the hy-
drants. There we're only a few engines
there, but they had all the water sucked
out Of the e~ighteen-inch main before any
impression at all could be made on the
flames. There is no reservoir system in
Long Island City. The water comes from
artesian wells, and for that reason IL was
easv to see how the water could run short.
The water company which has the on
tract to supply the water from the artesian
wells has been in the habit, the bremen
said, of turning Town the pressure in the
mains after 0 O'Clock, at which N the
factories usually shut down.. They leave
about enough head to furnish water for
drinking and washing. This was con-
sidered one of the chief causes for the low
pressure furnished for the engines.
Lally's third alarm brought Chief Croker
across the ~Thirty-fourth street ferry and
as soon as he-got there in his ned automobile
he called for engine companies from New
York and brooklyn, as we'll as for the fire.
boats, Three Of the biggest companies in
New York-No. S, from East Fourteenth
street; No. 10, from East Twenty-fifth street
and No. Fl from East Fortieth street-came
across the ferry and soon were deployed
near the blaze. Six companies were called
by means Of the fire alarm system from
Brooklyn.
The Pratt 4 Lambert Co. factory is
furthest east Of the burned buildings on
Borden avenue, which runs direct from
the ferry. II il not far from a small bridge
for trolley cars and other afic across
Newtown Creek. Those burned are in
between Oliver and Van Alst avenues.
The Columbia Paper Box Company on
jackson avenue, which runs paralh to
Borden avenue to the north.
The two freboats worked heir vay up
from the East River into Newtown Creek.
the fremen on shore all the time baking
feeble efforts to keep the flames from
spreading to the west to the Blanchard
lumber yard. When the hose lies were
stretched from The fireboats it vas found
that they we're too short and mis- took
up more time, while the tenders patched
things together and got a disable line Of
hose.
BY that time the fire had dom its will on
the varnish factory. 1t was nothing but a
ruin Of burned brick. but still sending out
occasional flames as the tanks Of turpentine
exploded. The heat from the ruin was in
tense, and when il was swept by a stif
breeze toward the firemen they we're doubly
helpless. The flames from the lumber
yard swept quickly 10 the factory Of the