Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-08-25
Had to Stand and Watch
While Two houses Burned, with
No Water.
FINALLY GOT ENOUGH, WITH THE HELP
OF BUCKET BRIGADE, TO
SAVE THE THIRD.

FINALLY GOT ENOUGH, WITH THE HE'LL
OF BUCKET BRIGADE, TO
SAVE THE THIRD.
Two houses on Pleasant Street, South
Paris, opposite Norway Pine Grove
Cemetery, burned early Saturday morn
ing, and a third was saved by the hard.
est kind of work, while for an hOul
empty lines of hose waited for the water
which would have had the fire under con
troll in few minutes, and a crowd Of
spectators stood and watched, with nc
means of extinguishing the blaze except
pals of water carried from nearby wells
And If the blaze had started among the
high buildings in the thickly built par
Of the town, we should have watched il
burn for many more hours.
The house in which the fire started
was owned by w. V. Redding of Sumner
and was occupied by Fred w. Lee, and
the other was owned by Mrs. w. V.
Redding, and was occupied by Mrs. Kate
Howard. There was 5000 insurance on
each house, which is less than two-thirds
the loss.
1t was 2:35 O'Clock in the morning
when the fire alarm of five blasts was
sounded by the whistle of the Mason
Manufacturing Co., and the firemen and
many other citizens quickly turned out
and were on the scene. The fire started
in the rear of the house, probably in the
vicinity of the kitchen stove, and if water
had been available, even at low pressure,
when the firemen were ready for it with
their hose, ten or fifteen minutes would
have got the fire fully under control, and
the total damage would not probably
have exceeded three hundred dollars.
As every body knows. the villages of
Norway and South Paris have been with
out water most of the time for more
than two weeks. A break in the intake
pipe of the Norway Water Co. drew
sand into the pumps and damaged them.
New valves were procured and set
Thursday, and the pumps were started.
The pipes were flushed to clear them of
the shoe factory brook water pumped
into them at the Norway fire the pre-
ceding Saturday, and the water was on
for an hour or more Friday evening, then
it was shut off again entirely.
Chief Engineer Bowker procured a
team as soon as possible after the alarm,
thinking he might have need of it,
and drove to the fire. Finding that there
was no water on, he drove on to Norway
to see Mr.. Andrews, the president and
superintendent of the Norway Water Co.
In response to request by Mr..
Bowker TO turn on the water from the
reservoir at Norway, Mr.. Andrews de-
clined, saying that they had no water to
amount to anything, and he should not
turn it on. There was some talk about
turning on the water from the new res
ervoir in Paris, and Mr.. Andrews would
give no orders to have that done, leaving
it to Mr.. Bowker to act his pleasure.
Mr.. Bowker Immediately drove back
to South Paris. Mr.. Bell, foreman of
construction on the Norway Water Co.'s
new work, boards at Walter II. Swett's
near the new reservoir, and AL attempt
was made to reach him by telephone to
get him to turn on the water, but did
not succeed, and Mr.. Bowker drove on
toward the reservoir, which is mile
from the village up hill. On the road
he met William j. Wheeler and Stanley
Wheeler, coming from the Johnson farm
with their automobile, and they turned
around and carried the message to Mr..
Bell.
Mr.. Bell turned the water on, but said
that it would be half an hour before the
pipes would fill and the water reach the
fire. His estimate was pretty accurate,
aud it was almost exactly an hour after
the alarm was sounded that the water
began to dribble through the nozzles.
Meanwhile good job of fighting was
being done by the firemen with what
they had to work with. The house
where the fire started burned very slow
", and fortunately there was no wind.
The hand tub would have done no good,
as there is no reservoir to pump from
in that part of the village. There was a
we'll and pump in the yard of the How
ard house, and other wells at houses in
the vicinity. Water brought from these
in pals was used to keep the Howard
house wet down, but it was so near the
other that all the work that could be
done could not prevent the house from
catching fire, and after while it had to
be abandoned, and after the house got
started, i, burned rapidly.
Effort was then directed to wetting
down the buildings of Charles P. Will
son, which stood next the Howard
house, the stable being quite near.
This stable was smoking for some time,
but was kept pretty wet, and before the
danger was over the water began COM
ing through the hose.
At first it ran just enough to fill a
pail, and pals of water filed by this
means were thrown up against the
building by the firemen, who had to
work behind screen made of parts of
the other buildings which had been torn
away. Then after while the streams
were powerful enough to reach the
caves, and one of them was carried up
to the ridgepole and the water was allow
ed to run down over the roof. The fire
was then under control. The two houses
were burned up very clean, no water be-
ing put on them until the danger at the
Wilson house was past.
A large part of Mr.. Lees goods were
saved from the house where the fire
started, and practically everything from
the other house. The Wilson house
was also cleared.
Mr.. Redding, the owner of the burned
houses, had come from his home in
Sumner Friday with load of lumber,
to make repairs on the houses, and stay
ed that night at Mrs. Towards. He
thought he got rather warm reception.
The house where the fire started was
nearly destroyed by fire one winter
morning few years ago, when owned
and occupied by Hosea BOnney, and on
that occasion the damage was much
larger than it otherwise would been, on
account of frozen hydrants.
Chief Engineer Charles w. Bowker
and George II. Davis, chairman of the
village assessors, visited the Norway
reservoir between I and o'clock Satur-
day morning. Without having taken
any measurements, they estimate that
there was at least eight feet of water in
the reservoir, which holds seventeen
feet when full.
The water was turned on to the mains
while Mr.. Bowker aud Mr.. Davis were
at the reservoir, and we have had water
at low pressure, since that time.
The people of South Paris, who are
| badly dissatisfied with the service of the
Norway company under the best of con
ditions, are in state of mind bordering
on evaporation as the result of this fire
| WHAT Mr.. ANDREWS SAYS.
S. D. Andrews, the president and
superintendent of the Norway Water
Co., was seen by the Democrat few
hours after the fire. Asked regarding
the conversation with Mr.. Bowker, be
said.