The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1908-04-16
So, 900, 900 Fire Loss Sunday In
Chelsea, Mass.

significant fire into vast confiagra-
ton Sunday, completely obliterating
one half of the city Of Chelsea, de =
stroying 500 dwelling houses and pub
lie buildings, drove 1900 families
from their homes and ten thousand
people homeless. The city solicitor
estimates the loss at SS,000,000.
The fire area which was in the form
of an eclipse, extended for mile and
a half and was only ended when the
water was reached at Chelsea creek
Starting from a backing factory at
the northwestern end of the city at
about 1890 a. m. Sunday it marched
relentlessly through the business sec
ton and destroyed tenement houses
ON either side by the hundreds. As
sistance from all the nearby cities
was called in but the great battery of
fire apparatus was unable to stop the
flames until nearly dark. In the
meantime, the fleeing inhabitants
were met by such vast crowd of
spectators that it was necessary to
call for troops and the L. S. govern
ment and the State militia were
drawn upon to maintain order and
keep the fire lines clear for the fire.
men.
All the banks more than three quar-
tiers of the churches, fully half of the
business section and nearly all the
school houses were wiped out.
Among the structures destroyed
were 13 churches, two hospitals the
public library, city hall, five school
houses, twenty business blocks. near
" score of factories and upwards of
300 tenements and dwelling houses,
most of them of cheap construction.
Among the places burned were:
Frost hospital; Children's hospital;
Fitz public library; st. Stanislaus Pc
lish church, Chestnut street; First
Baptist church, Central Avenue, First
Unitarian church, Hawthorne street;
St. Luke's Episcopal church <old
building Hawthorne street; First
Methodist Episcopal church, Carey
Avenue; Allen street synagogue;
Walnut synagogue; Chelsea Presby-
terrain church; Peoples African
Methodist Episcopal church, Fourth
Fourth Street Universalist
church; Fifth Street Congregational
church; Shurtleff Street Methodist
Episcopal church; Second Adventist
church; New England Telephone and
Telegraph Co.'s central Offices, Austin
q Young's cracker factory; Chap
man & Soden Car Co.'S shops; Rosen
felt Bros. three story rag picking fac
tory; The Chelsea Oil cos three i'm
tanks, near the easterly end
of Marginal street.
The exact cause of the fire is not
known, but it is supposed that spon-
taneous combustion among the rags
was responsible.
A high wind, blowing at As miles an
flames from the rag heaps directly up
ton Backing Co.
The fire burned over an area of
about one square mile. II started
near the corner of Cypress and Third
streets, and the northwest gale sent it
straight to the southeast, which
spread out as it advanced until it's
boundary reached the east
ern division of the Boston x Maine r.
r. along the tracks of which il eX-
tended to the junction with the tracks
of the Boston & ALBANY 4. r. over
which it swept until stopped by a
small creek.
Fortunately the weather was mod
Grating, so that the suffering from eX-
pUsure was not severe.
The greater number of buildings
destroyed were of wood. 1t WAS easy
therefore for the fire to jump over a
block and start afresh beyond the
reach of the engine, stationed at the
last point of attack.
Rescue work during the exciting
periods of the fire was one of the fea-
lures. Many persons refused to leave
their homes until dragged out by the
police and militia, while at the Frost
hospital, which was directly in the
path of the flames, patients were re-
moved with great difficulty and 20
babies were taken out of the day
nursery by patrolmen only a few
minutes before the building caught
fire.
Revised figures obtained Monday
night indicated that the losses were
divided according to the various
classes of property destroyed as fol-
lows:
Churches and schools, S525,000
Public buildings, $4,000
Factories, business blocks
and contents, $4,000
Dwelling houses, 3,750,0G0
Total, S5,575,O00
The insurance of $4,000, 900 is divid
ed among about so companies