The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1906-03-09
FIREMEN's WONDERFUL WORK
FIRE IN HEART OF LUMBER YARD
CHECKED AND oUENcHEp.
HOTEL GUESTS DRESS QUICKLY
Fearing That the Fire Would Leap
Norfolk Avenue in the Pacific Block,
the Pacific Guests Were Quietly No
tified-A Heroic Battle.
TFrom Saturdays Daily.l

headiest kind of fire fighting, Norfolk
was saved last night from the most
disastrous fire in its history. A wild
gale swept out of the north and
whipped the fire, which began in a
shed in the rear OF the Chicago Lum-
Der company's yard, into furious
blaze that threatened to destroy the
humber yard and the buildings on the
corner Of Fifth and Norfolk avenue,
then jump the street and carry away
the Pacific block and the Queen City
hotel. The fire department cut into
the face of the flames and the wind
with all the water they could bring to
bear upon it and, fighting it from both
sides, cut off the flames in the center
of a lumber shed piled high with dried
lumber. 1t was only this persistent
fight in a swirl of driving smoke and
sparks and flames that saved the cor
ner and perhaps the buildings across
the street.
Fire Discovered.
The fire was discovered shortly be-
fore II o'clock by c. p. Parish, who
was on his way home. He noticed
smoke coming from behind the build
ings on the corner but supposed it was
from an engine on the tracks beyond.
AS he turned the corner of the Pacific
hotel he noticed a small fiickering of
light and smelled the smoke of burn
ing wood. He Immediately turned in
the alarm and the hose carts were
hurried to the scene of the fire.
Magnificent Fire Fighting.
The two-story building, in which the
fire started, was wrapped in a mass
of flames when the hose carts reached
the blaze. The north gale beat the
flames against the adjoining shed
piled high with dried lumber and car
ried great masses of glimmering, far
ing sparks whirling through the air
and onto the roofs of the buildings in
it's path. 1t seemed like a hopeless
task for the firemen as the scorched
end of the lumber shed was blazing
in places and the wind swept great
foods of flame against it every in
stant. Streams of water were carried
in the face of the binding smoke and
sparks to bear upon the advancing
flames. 1t seemed a hopeless task to
stop but they fought stubbornly
against it as it advanced by leaps and
ate great holes into the north end of
the lumber pile. More hose was
brought and the fight was taken up
from both sides and from the rear.
A switch engine puffed up the track
to take away a string of cars from
the track behind the fire and stayed
to push them further in to make a
windbreak for the flames 1t was a
fire where the little things counted
and that windbreak stopped the furi-
ous rush of the flames. Then the
streams of water began to tell and a
third of the way down the shed the
flames were stopped and slowly turned
back toward the heart of the flames.
In the warehouse, where the fire start
ed, there was no stopping it. The
upper floor was filled with millwork
and seasoned hardwood flooring. The
fire once started in that could not be
extinguished. So the firemen held the
fire back from in front and slowly
fought it down behind until early into
the morning when there was nothing
left but a smoking mass of charred
ruins.
Hotel Guests Get Out.
At the Pacific hotel there was in
tense excitement for a moment when
the alarm was first turned in and then
everyone made hurried preparations
to leave the hotel in case the fire
should carry the corner and leap the
street. Before a dozen taps of the
alarm had been sounded a bell boy
was passing down the halls to awak-
en- each guest They were all told of
the fire. that there was no danger but
to get up and dress ready for any
emergency. Several women in their
excitement threw wraps over their
night robes and hurried to the lobby.
When they were assured of their pres
ent safety they went back to their
rooms and dressed in order. Within
fifteen minutes everyone was up and
dressed and the sidewalk was lined
with trunks and grips ready to carry
away if the fire communicated to the
hotel.
All along the sidewalks on Fifth
street and Norfolk avenue, where
there was any possibility of the fire
reaching to-, the sidewalks were piled
with trunks, grips household furnish
ings and clothing ready to carry away
If the fire spread further. Few had
heard the alarm but the telephone
first brought those who had offices
and interests in the path of the fire,
then others until large crowd stood
and gazed at the fire until the cold and
the wind drove them home, when the
danger was once passed. In every