New-York tribune., 1906-04-23

|
houses with wine The plucky fire fighters
saved their homes
HOW THE MINT WAS SAVED
landmark of San Francisco that escaped Do
struction though every building surrounding II
was destroyed. is the United States mint. at 9th
and Mission streets. This splendid granite
building was erected by the government in 1874
| Harold French, an employe of the mint gave
! graphic account of how the flames were sue
cessfuIly fought He said:
! Nearly $500, 100000 in coin and bullion
stored in the vaults of the mint and for the
preservation of this prize devoted band of en-
until they baffied the flames. For seven hours
a sea of fire surged around the mint and it's lit
| tie garrison was cut off from retreat for hours
at time.
After the fire had swept past the Mission
street side, and the certainty of its returning
i from the north became apparent the captain of
| the watch, Mr.. Laws. ordered everything the
! roof that would burn thrown into the yard. Sol
| diers and Mint employees worked with utmost
| haste throwing great timbers and tank slaves
into the court Here there are some thirty tanks
| of blue vftrtol, the surfaces of which were soon
| covered with wreckage. into which increasing
showers of cinders fell. Fortunately the Mint
possesses good WELL and Engineer Brady at
| his post, pumped water to the fire fighters as
| sembled on the roof. OF these forty Were Mint
| employees. and they were aided by company of
Coast Artillery.
AS the fire swept up 5th street the heat in
creased TO dangerous degree as Metro
polilan HAL and the historic Lincoln School
burst into flames reinforced by the roar
| ing furnace of the Emporium. On the west ths
block bounded by 9Th and Market street
| gave the gravest concern. Famed by
| roaring northerly wind the flames roted
| through the structures stretching from the
Windsor Hotel to the Emma SpreckeIs build
| ing, and sheets of fire two hundred feet high
| licked up the intervening houses in Mint ave-
nue.. Augmented by these tinder boxes. the blast
| OF the fire burst fercey on the northwest corner
| of the Mint
A few desperate fighters under former Chief
Kennedy, of Oakland, were driven from between
the tottering chimneys where the determined
men had been throwing buckets of water upon
the blazing roof over the refinery. 1t is largely
due to the experience of former Chief Kennedy
| tha. tie tar covered roof, the weakest spot of
all. was saturated with sufficient water to stay
! the flames.
! When TIE fire leaped Mint avenue in solid
masses of flame the refinery men stuck to their
windows as long as the glass remained In the
| frames. Seventy five feet of an inch hose
| played slender stream upon the blazing win
dow Sill, while the floor awash with diluted
sulphuric acid: Ankle deep in this. soldiers and
| employees stuck TO the floor until the windows
! Were shattered and the inner walls began to
burn: Binding and suffocating smoke necessi-
| tated the abandonment of the hose, and the
| fighters retreated to the floor below Down in
the treasury vaults artierymen. ringed with
blanket rolls and leaning on their rifles, coughed
| In the strangling smoke.
Then came a lull; the walls of brick buildings
| across the street had fallen in. There was
the fire fighters returned, led by Superntend-
ent Leach, who by example and words encour-
| eXtlngulSh blazing inner
woodwork Of the refinery.
The roof was next swept by hose. cooling
| the copper sheathed surface until it became
Passable for wet acid soaked feet An army
| officer axe in hand. tore up sections of blaz-
ing tar roof beneath which a stream OF water
was directed. At length. as dawn drew near
the Mint was pronounced out of danger, and
handful of exhausted but exultant employees
stumbled out on the hot cobblestones to learn
the rate of some of their homes.
The Mint presents a scorched and glassless
front on the north and west, nd the tower
Ing smokestacks to be tori down, but the
@ ouliolng is intact, and the plant is unharmed
and ready for resumption of work
Ihere We're sensational rumors OF at
TACK OF thieves upon the Mint, in which four
teen were killed in the attempt, but it is need
less to say that the garrison of the Mint is
equal to any emergency that may arise.
PART OF WATERFRONT UNTOUCHED
South Of Market street the loss on the water
front is comparatively small. Several sheds will
have to be entirely reconstructed but beyond
this the property loss is insignificant. There is
nothing to interfere with the unloading of ships
and steamers south of the ferry building
Large quantities of coal, sufficient to supply all
the needs of the city, stored in bunkers south
of Market street. Additional supplies OF coal
are in the harbor. and in a few days the coal
laden vessels will be towed to their docks and
unloaded
At the Masonic Cemetery receiving vault all
the valuable records of the city are stored along
with the dead. The vault is guarded by a spe-
cial detail of troops
DEATH OF FIRE DEPARTMENT CHIEF.
| d. J. Sullivan chief of San Franciscos Fire
department, died this morning from the effects
or injuries received on the morning of the earth
| quake. Chief Sullivan and his wife were sleep
ing in the frehouse adjoining the California
| Hotel, in Bush street. The earthquake shook
down the chimney of the hotel and sent it crash
ing through the f1rehouse. Chief Sullivan and
MS wife We're carried with the wreCkage two
stories to the ground floor, where they were ex-
| tricated after great difficulty Mr. and Mrs
! Sullivan were at taken to the Southern
Pacific Hotel but when the flames reached the
Mission they were again moved this time TO the
General Hospital at the Presidio II was found
that Mr.. Sullivan suffering from fractured
skull four broken ribs and other injuries
Eddie Graney, the we'll known referea of
sports was with Chief Sullivan from the time
the wounded man was removed from the fire.
house until Mr.. Sullivan's death. Mr. Granev
to-day stated that Chief Sullivan never knew
there was a fire After recovering consciousness
the Chlef took great interest in the affairs of
the city, being always apprehensive that fire
would break out He knew from the first that
ne was dying from his injuries but never forgot
lhe interests OF his department. His mind seemed
TO dwell on the need of a salt water fire fighting
Piah1' ana ne repeatedly spoke TO his friends
OF the increasing necessity of such an adjunct
70 the Fire Department of the city Mr.. Suui
van was native OF Randolph Mass. where he
was formerly druggist
mrs sullivan who suffered serious injuries