The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-04-13
City Hall Swept Away.

ing the great bell in the tower, and crept
down into the main structure.
City Hall Swept Away
Next the elements secured control of the
interior of the city hail. and then the
entire structure was swept away and a
dozen new buildings in the vicinity had
ignited from the sparks and neat.
Within half an hour in this one square
four churches and the city hall were lev
( eled to the ground.
/ Down Maverick. Congress and Essex
/ streets the fire went by leaps and bounds.
4 A four-story brick building at the cor
ner OF Congress and Shurtleff streets was
seemingly far removed from danger and
| had been sought by many families as
temporary storage for their effects. Sud
denly came the cry that the block was
Attire. Again men, women and children
but a few moments before congratulating
/ themselves on their distance from dan
( GER were hurrying into the streets with
all they possessed. Half an hour later
the block was fiat.
Cut of From Help.
/ II was the same story throughout the
whole southeast side. Down to the water
/ front the flames swept. Factories along
Maverick and Marginal streets were en-
I Veloped in flames. Behind the banks OF
( flames families were cut off for time
from help and escape. East of Shawmut
avenue. on Maverick and Congress streets
were scores Of families, burned out and
homeless. who were helpless to convey
their possessions to a place OF safety
Steadily thew were forced back by the
flames which were being hurled down up
on them by the gale, until 1t became nee
essary, in order TO save their lives TO re
treat around the wharf frontage toWarC
Revere Suddenly there was a terrific ex
plosion, and the oil tanks or the 1lde
water Oil company, on the water front
/ hurst into flames. Thousands OF gallons
of oil were soon burning, and Slganti'
) ] Of cIITIPd
to the sky, making it as night all over tn
east end The smoke was seen as IA
away as Portsmouth, n. II.
Fire-Swept Area.
From the western part of the city, wher
the fire started. TO the burning oil tank
on the water front, was distance o
something like mile and quarter.
breadth the fire covered an area some
thing like three-quarters of a mile wide
I cutting the city diagonally from north
! west TO southeast, between Chelsea squar
: on the southwest, and Sixth. Library an
rockingham streets on the northwest
AS the fire made its way rapidly 10
ward the waterfront, where considerable
shipping was tied up, there was mucn ex
citement among captains and crews. seV
eraJ tugs were dispatched to the scene
and all the vessels in that portion OF TN
Threatened waterfront were pulled out I
isafetv Although two schooners tied u
near the oil company works were begin
Ming 10 blaze the flames were extin
guished without much damage being done
Flames Reached East Boston.
Ffrebrands were swept across Chelse
/ creek to East Boston and five dwelling
in Wadsworth street and vicinity wer
consumed. The East Boston works of tn
Standard Oil company were in close proS
unity to the burned buildings and for
time II was feared that they would b
reached bv the flames. The work of tn
firemen was directed especially towar
preventing an explosion of the oil tank
This work was difficult and for a Ion
time its success was doubtful. as burnin
oil spread out over the water and blaZin
embers constantly were being driven b
the gale across the creek
Heroic Stand Of Firemen.
While the flames were sweeping ont
the waterfront in the Chelsea fire, Ii
firemen were taking a heroic stand {
Chelsea square to prevent further pro;
ress toward the south. II the blaze one
broke away in that direction ii SCENE
certain that the district between Esse
street and the waterfront. including
large coal pocket. the Magee Furna
company's plant the Austin & Your
Biscuit company and shipyard with
number of large vessels on the ways f
Tepatrs would quickly be swept clean.
At O'Clock word spread among q
F weary fireInen that the stand ct q
square had succeeded and that the II
at last was under control
Two Bodies FounI.
1tadicat Examiner MacGrath said at