Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-08-17
THE FIRE At OLD ORCHARD.
Continued from Page One.)


Among those. who escaped loss by the
fire were Harry White and wife of
Boston, who were staying at the Sea-
shore House. Mr.. White was sitting on
the piazza of the hotel when he saw
the fire break out from the Hotel En-
erson annex. Mr.. White said that in
fis opinion there was less excitement
among the guests than might have
been expected. The fire seemed danger
Gus from the start and many in the
nearby hotels at once began packing
up. AS the confagration spread the
baggage was removed. Not a few, how
ever. suffered loss by having their
goods carried to the. beach at low tide
AS the tide rose considerable property
was either ruined or swept away. "A
large number of persons took refuge oii
the iron pier and when the flames were
sweeping through the Head house, they
ripped ND the planking and saved the
famous structure from serious daniaes.
Mr.. White remarked upon the actlVity
NJ Mayor FITZGERALD of Boston IN di-
ractinp firemen and the movements OF
the summer visitors and also In secur-
ing fire police aid from other cities.
trrad T Luce one of the assessors OF
ola orchard. looked over the burned
s;,,~;c, Friday morning and estimated
,not the total loss would reach $780,
4 GOO about one third of which is cover
ed by insurance.
The hundreds of people who Were
driven fro mthe hotels were compelled
TO spend the night on the beach and
with but very little protection from
the stiff breeze from the sea many suf-
fered from the cold. Brushwood fires
--yere kept going all night.
3 Comparatively few losses of money OF
tewelry were reported, and the hotel
clerks had sufficient time to empty the
/. safes before driven from their buildings
by the flames.
1t Is believed that greater part of
the burned district will be built before
the next season.
During the forenoon word was re-
ceived from Pittsburg that young Part
ridge was the son of Rev. Warren j.
Partridge, pastor of the Fourth avenue
Baptist church of that city. The body
will be sent home. 1t has developed
that the young woman, Miss Minard.
who was at first thought to be a resi-
dent of Pittsburg, lived in Poughkeep-
sic, N. Y.
,fsSol0e Of the hotel prOprietors when
!. fl,ey came to a realization of the extent
Z ~ their losses Friday morning were
very much depressed and J. III. Staples
of the SeaShore House, was so badly
AFFECTED that he collapsed and had to
beStaken away.
All the buildings We're of wooden
construction and We're therefore an easy
prey of the flames, which spread with
remarkable swiftness, reducing to ashes
n section Of so acres within three hours.
The burned area extends from Old Or
= chstrd avenue eastward between Milli-
ken street and the beach for nearly
( half a mile and in it were included
some of the finest guest houses and
J, residences of this popular resort.
The fire started in the annex of the
Olympia House on Milliken street and
! had gained such Roadway when discOv-
cred that the Ole Orchard fire depart
ment. consisting. OF small steamer and
force. was una bIes-tusstay it's progress.
Famed with q brislSsesouthwest wind.
the fire communicated to block OF
wooden buildings occupied as stores
along the board walk bordering the
= Boston &c Maine railroad tracks and
: thence jumping across the tracks, dew
astatei q large district crowded Will
hotels, boarding houses and cottages.
Aid summoned from Portland, Bidue-
ford and SaCO arrived within an houl
after the start of the fire. but the fire
men from these cities were hampered
for n time in rendering efficient service
by difficulties with couplings wh:1f
MI n n Old Or1hD ri
hydrants. 1t was not until some build
ings had been blown up by dynamite
creating a gap in the path of the flames
that the conhagration was blocked
shortly before midnight however. the
blaze was declared to be under control
The Boston & Maine railroad station
situated just at the west of the limit OF
the burned area, was damaged TO some
Il extent. hut was not completely burned
! The explosion Of a soda tank in Hor-
I yan's drug store on Old Orchard avenue
: oppositc the railroad station. caused tn
Z instant death of one man and serious
injuries to two others. The dead mar
& has not been identified. The injured are
Newton Merrill, % Green street. Sa'
s lem. Mass. a Boston Maine Kali
road engineer
IL RufuS H. Jones, pastor VI IiHii'1
j s church, Saco.
81 Both men were badly hurt. Rev. Mr.
Jones was removed to the Trull hos
pital in Biddeford for treatment.
When the explosion occurred, a
{ crowd Of people stood on the opposite
OF OLD Orchard avenue from the drug
store watching the fire. Mr.. Merrill
and others were standing on Veran-
da In front of Porter's block. The force
Of the explosion sent the tank across
the wide street and into the CROWD
deca2ita ting one man. while two others
We're thrown violently against the
building Mayor John E. Fitzgerald o.
Boston, who was passing along Oic
Orchard avenue at the time. had mar
row escape from injury. He was slight
" scratched by flying fragments OF
post which the tank struck In III
course. but was otherwise unhurt.
The upsetting of lamp in the upper
story of the annex of Hotel Olympic
which was occupied mainly by servant:
employed at Hotel Emerson is supposed
to have been the origin of the fire.
After the fire had burned itself gu
IN tl,o ,r,J l;,,,if IF the short dis.