The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-01-29
BUSINESS SECTION oF
 M0ODUS IS DESTROYED
COMPLETELT WIPED OUT BY FIRE EAKLK SUNDAY
 MORNING.

Loss Will Reach About $30,OO0--Starts
 in General Store of Purple X SiIliman
 Spreads Rapidly to Other Buildings
 Thieves Believed to Have Started
 It-Church and Min Bells Rung to
 Warn the Inhabitants
 Moodus, Jan. 2S-The business sec tion of this town was completely de- stroyed by fire early to-day. The loss will be about $30,ooO, partially covered by insurance.
 The fire was discovered about 8 o'clock this morning in the general store of Purple & silliman, which, with two other stores of similar character, were located at the business center of the village, by q Polander named John Tursick, who immediately turned in an alarm, but by that time the fire was beyond control and spread rapidly to the other two stores occupied by T. R. Spencer and by H. Lavensky Purple & Silliman's loss will be about $S,000, Witl insurance at $6,500; Spencer's loss will be $10000 with insurance at 5,500. Lavensky's loss Is placed at $12,000, with insurance of $8.000 The building, which was occupied by Lavensky, was known as the Music Hall building, and in it was located the postoffice, but Postmaster c. P. Lecrenier, succeeded ir getting out all the mail and the office effects. In the building occupied by Purple & Siliman was located the office of Albert E. Purple, judge of pro- bate, and it was feared for time that all the probate records had been de- stroyed. It was found after the fire had burned out sufficiently to allow getting at the safe, which had been in the pro- bate office, that all the records were safe. T. J. Higgins, barber, and Frederick B. Clark, cigar manufac- tur, both located in the Music hall building. suffered about $1OO damages each. It is believed that the fire was started by thieves who dad entered the store of Purple & Silliman,and who had lighted some matches in order to see. No trace of them was found, but a short distance away from the stome some mems hosiery was discovered marked with Purple & Silliman's mark, and as 1t is said that no sales had been made of these goods, which had just come into the store, 1t is believed that they were part of the booty taken by the supposed thieves Tn addition to the three stores some barns and sheds in the rear of the Spencer store were also destroyed by the fire
 Moodus is not supplied with any fire fighting apparatus. As soon as the alarm of fire was given all the church bells and mill bells were rung, and the whole male population turned out to fight the contiagration, Seeing that nothing could be done to save the three stores they at once turned their atten- tion to preventing the fire from spread ing to buildings nearby. A bucket brigade was formed and line of men stretching from the Moodus river, some twenty rods away from the burning buildings, to the home of former State Representative r. B. Clark, began to pass water along in buckets to the Clark house, where 1t was poured over the building thus preventing the fire from gaining foothold. As soon as this was accomplished the brigade turn ed it's attention to other buildings. A light rain was falling at the time and this added to the fact that there was no wind stirring aided the fire fighters materially in contlning the fire to the stores No one was injured,