Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-01-26
HANCOCK HAS v '
A BIG BLAZE
Carl Block Totally Destroyed Bank
and Other Property Threatened

The town of Hancock, Md, 20 miles
west of Martinsburg on the main line
OF the Baltimore and Ohio railroad,
was visited by one of the most destruc-
tive fires in its history at an early
hour Thursday, and it was by the
merest good fortune that the blaze did
not prove even more disastrous.
AS it was, the entire Carl business
block, owned by the heirs of the late
Daniel Carl, and tenanted by Matthew
Hughes, who conducted 4 grocery and
provision store, and Conn Bros, dry
goods and notion merchants and the
household effects in the upper story
which was used as residence by the
storekeepers.
The blaze also communicated to the
building occupied by the Hancock
bank, which was damaged about the
roof, but not seriously injured.
The fire was discovered in the Carl
building about midnight and an imme-
diate alarm was given. Owing to the
inadequate facilities for fighting the
flames, the blaze quickly spread to all
parts of the Carl building which was
soon a mass of flames.
Directly in the path of the fire,
which was being famed by strong
ba hti
ing occupied by the Bridges store and
that of the Hancock bank, and beliey-
ing that this valuable property would
also be destroyed unless the fire was
checked, telephone message vas sent
to Hagerstown for assistance, as was
also message to Cumberland. The
Hagerstown firemen promptly respond
ed and the Enterprise boys were soon
on their way to Hancock on a special
train over the Western Maryland rail-
road with their steamer and plenti-
full supply of hose.
In the meantime every effort was
made to remove the yaluables from the
Hancock bank building, and in short
time everything but the contents of
the vault was taken to place OF safe
ty. The vault was regarded as fire.
proof and was not opened.
BY the time the Hagerstown firemen
arrived on the scene the blaze Lad de-
stroyed the Carl block and its con-
tents, and had been checked by the
high brick walls of the bank building.
The latter was on fire about the roof
once or twice, but the efforts of those
who We're endeavoring to check the
spread OF the blaze prevented any Sc
rious damage to the building.
There was nothing for the Hagers
town boys to do, as the fire had prac-
ideally burned itself out but the visit
ing firemen remained awhile in order
to extinguish the fire should it break
out afresh. The Cumberland firemen
were caught before they embarked,
and did not make the trip.
An Incendiary Blaze.
A telephone message 20 The World
said that the fire was probably of
incendiary origin, although this could
not be definitely stated. Another the.
DRY is that the building was fred by
sparks from a passing engine on the
Western Maryland railroad, the build
ing being only a short distance from
the tracks,
The Carl block was of frame and
log, and was valued at about $4,000.
1t was insured i'm a Hagerstown agen-
cy for about half that amount. The
value of the contents of the building
which included the stocks of the mer-
chants and their household effects
could not be ascertained. but it is be-
600, with about $4,000 Insurance The
bank building is insured, and the dam
age to that building is fully covered.
The Spangler hotel, which was
threatened at one time, escaped with
out injury, as did the building occu-
pied by the liquor and grocery store
of Rafe Tommy Some drug fixtures
belonging to the West Drug Co, which
had just vacated one of the rooms in
the Carl building We're DESTROYED, en-
failing q small loss.
The fire created the widest excite
ment in Hancock, owing to the high
wind that prevailed, and it looked at
one time as If the entire block in
which the Carl building was located
would be destroyed. Fortunately the
wind abated considerably, and to this
fact is probably due the comparatively
small loss.