Bisbee daily review., 1906-04-27
BURNT OUT SIX TIMES
San Francisco Has Had Many Disastrous Fires Since
 1849.
WIPED OUT SEVERAL
 TIMES IN SEVEN YEARS.

In his interesting pamphlet, The Worlds Greatest Fires" George C Hale. of Albuquerque, former chief ol the fire department, gives an account of former fires that devastated the city of San Francisco. The record Is a remarkable one in many respects Six times within a space of sever years from 1S49 the city was pract1 cally wiped out by fire.
 The first large fire in the list is the one which started Christmas eve of 1S49 in Dennison's echange at 5 a. m and destroyed the principal business section of the city, entailing loss of sl, ,5OO, 900 and rendering many people homeless. This was severe man cial loss for that period.
 Four bad fires visited the city dur ing the following year and three dur ing 1861, though the loss was com paratively small in two of them.
 May i, 1850, big fire started in the | United States hotel in Portsmouth square. spreading and destroyin | every building in the block bounded | by Clay, Washington, Kearney an | Montgomery streets. Finding that the | fire was impossible of control in an. other way the firemen destroyed every building on Dupont street from i Washington to Jackson. The proper ty los was s3,OO0,000 but no lives wero reported lost.
 July II, 1850, fire broke out in tho ] kitchen of the Sacramento house anT l before it could be controlled swept evn~v huiIding from Clay to California street and from Kearney street to the waters edge The loss in this fire was HE 100000.
 October 1, of the same year, | s5Uv.vvU. fire destroyed 150 buildings most of them of wood. The fire "; N'~"'-~1 Nv h1cwing up large build ing with powder. This fire wGs tb l. 'iaries.
 The year 1850 went out with a blaz ] of flame. December l5, just ninC . thon the bad fire of tn year before. fire broke out in the nev
 ' Cook Bros. & Co.,, at tn, ot of Sacramento street. and, despit work of the firemen. property worth S1,OO0,000 was destroyed.
 The irst of the three bad fires of 1851 occurred March ,, when tn steamers Santa Clara and HartforC were burned, simultaneously with [ fire that broke out in Samson street and did S15,OO0 damage.
 Two months later, May 3, 1851, oc cured the most disastrous fire in tho history of the city, until the present disaster. This was to San Francisco what the great fire of twenty years later was to Chicago. It broke out in paint shop on the west side of Portsmouth square. In five minutes tho bryildinO in thf adjoining structures were all of wood they burned like chaff. It has been estimated that not fewer than 2,50C buildings were destroyed and that more than three-fourths of the city was laid in ruins. Many frightful scenes were witnessed, as the method o fighting fires and rescuing per sons had not reached the perfection of the present day. No estimate O the less of life Is given, but it is stated that hundreds of persons perished a vain effort to escape The loss tc property was s17,000 OO0
 Another baptism of fire occurred il June p of the same year and loss c 3,000,000 was occasioned. This fire broke out in Pacific street and 30( buildings were consumed before it wa etinguished.
 San Francisco enjoyed a mercifu respite for almost two years. May 1853, just three years to a day iron the s3,000,000 ire of 1850, fire brok' out in the Barret house, which wa destroyed, together with other build ings. The loss was but S100,000 o! this occasion.
 June 27. 1895. s2,OOO,OO0 fir started in a bo fact0ry and left man. people homeless be. lore it was unde control.
 Three years late November 23 1898. another s2,0OO,0OO fire broke ou in Baldwin hotel an1 theatre. Ther were $50 guests in the hotel and abou