The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-08-15
SOUTH ORANGE FIRE
LOW WATER PRESSURE Is
BLAMED.
Total Loss on Several Buildings Is
Placed at $4,000, Covered
by Insurance.
CONTINUED from First Pnge.)

about rebuilding. They said they
would wait till the insurance was set
tied.
Low water pressure handicapped the
South Orange firemen when they began
to fight the flames, which had gained
big Roadway before the hremen were
notified. The fire for this reason
spread, and it was necessary to tele-
phone to the Summit Water Company,
which supplies the village. for more
pressure. Village TRUSTED Rowland ID.
Perrine, after the pressure had not
been increased upol the request of the
fire chief, %telephoned to the water
company that it must either give
higher pressure at once or the village
would not continue its contract. This
had the desired effect. and the pres
sure began To increase so that it had
doubled when the combined streams of
the Orange Valley and South Orange
companies and Engine No. q, of New
ark, were turned on the burned build
ings.
1t is said that increased pressure at
the beginning would have allowed the
firemen to do better work. The pres
sure, according to Chief Harry j.
Becker. of South Orange, was down to
sixty-five pounds at the beginning,
and the streams did not reach more
than twenty feet, but the pressure
was raised later to 100 pounds.
Citizens of the village saved their
property from catching fire from fall
ing sparks by a liberal use of water
thrown on their buildings with pals
and garden hose. The damage was
thus kept down. and even the loss of
Kraus Nor was found not to be so
great this morning owing to the fact
that he had but a few hundred dollars
worth of grain instead of several thou
sand dollars worth, the usual amount
Of stock.
Mrs. Birney, whose home is next TO
the stable. moved her furniture on
the street, and in one bureau left some
valuables, together with some money.
The drawer containing the jewels and
money was taken from the bureau,
and a search last night did not dis
cover the whereabouts of the stuff.
Mrs. Birney could not be seen this
morning, and no idea of the amount
of stuff taken could be found out. 1t
is said. however, that the money lost
was $50.
Nearly 500 pigeons which roasted in
the top of the Nor Elevator were
burned to death.
Owing to the ten streams of hose
being stretched across the Lacka-
wanna Railroad tracks trains were
blocked from the time the blaze started
Until almost midnight, and the pas
sengers swelled the throng of specta-
tors to about $1,000.
!. In the Birney livery stable, where the
fire started, were twenty horses, all of
which were gotten out before the fire.
men were summoned.
The live wire connected with the
burning buildings were melted and
fell, endangering the firemen's lives.
one of the South Orange firemen, Will
lam ID. Decker, was given a slight
shock WI en- a wire fell upon him. He
stumbled over, but vas picked up and
later fought the flames. That it did
not xii. the mar is said to be due to
his having rubber boots on.
Fireman Daniel Noonan ran a nail
into his right foot, but kept on fight
ing the haInes until he was exhausted.
Edward Krebill, also of the South
Orange department, who was holding
a nozzle and fighting the fire in the
Nor building on top of a ladder, was
knocked over when the pressure be-
anne strong. He received a deep cash
in the head.
For three hours and a half the fire
burned, and every ten or fifteen min
utes a train would add itself to the
string waiting for the emoval Of the
hose from the rails. The comments of
commuters were varied. To many 1t
seemed to occur that on the Lacka-
wanna trouble seemed always to come
in threes. Almost invariably in years
past whenever there had been big de-
lays they came hat way, but, true to
the traditions and ethics of the COM
muter, they kicked and kicked hard at
the delay. They seemed in some
roundabout way to place some sort of
blame on the railroad management for
the fire being where it would stop the
trains.
Several of the village hremen had
narrow escapes from falling walls and
timbers. There was but one serious
accident, however. James Walker, a
negro hostler employed at the livery
stable, while leading some of the anil
mails from the burning building, was
kicked in the right leg. 1t was found
that one of the bones had been frac-
tured and he was removed to his home.
While the fire in the barber shop was
roaring away like a blast furnace,
Apollo Cesalia, an Italian, who lived
on the top floor, began runnig wildly
about the street and yelling at the top
of his voice. He was QUOTED by one of
the firemen, who asked what the
trouble was. He said tina he had
come down from his rooms in a hurry
and had forgotten a pocketbook con-
tanning $50. The fireman, Thomas
Fitzsimmons, without stopping for
more, rushed into the doorway and dis
appeared in a cloud of smoke.
He was one so long hat the crowd
grew anxious, but at last he appeared.
staggering through the smoke and
gasping for breath. He held the pocket
book tightly in his right hand and
handed it to the Italian. The man was
so tickled at The thought of recovering
his money that he forgot TO thank the
man who had risked his life for ii.
Ten powerful streams were playing
on the fire. and at midnight II was so
far under control that the firemen took
up their hose that crossed the railroad
track and the trains, with a great
blowing of whistles and a scattering of
the crowd. proceeded slowly On their
way.
Despite the fact that every enc of
the trains was empty and some of them
only ran as far as South Orange they