Evening star., 1908-01-24

& Enrich Company machinists. northeast
corner Holiday and Saratoga streets:
LeonharCft Wagon Company. adjoining
Flynn & Enrich Company: old City Hall
building: Sunday School building OF Zion
Lutheran Church; William l.. Hollings-
worth Company adjoining Register build
ing on Holiday street.
Disaster Was Swift.
Tho blaze started on the third moor OF the
building on the southeast corner OF Hoi'l-
day and Saratoga streets. occupied by the
j. REGISTER Sons Company, plumbers sup
plies. Other occupants of the building
were the Baltimore Bell and Brass Com
pany, and the Wm. l.. Holhngswortn
Company, machinists. Upon these three
the heaviest losses fall. The fire had ap-
parently been burning some time before
it was discovered. The first alarm was
quickly followed by a general alarm
which brought most of the fire apparatus
in the city to the scene. A strong wind
from the northwest and very low tenn
perature made the work of fighting the
fire more than ordinarily difficult, and the
flames spread very rapidly.
In an incredibly short time after the
blaze broke out of the windows on the
Saratoga street side of the REGISTER build
ing and without the slightest warning,
large section of the north wall of the
building fell. 1t was this that scattered
death and injuries among the firemen,
who were working close to the building.
The rain of bricks also put out of COM
mission an extension ladder truck. upon
which some of the men had been working.
Saratoga street at this point narrows
sharply. A fraction of minute before
the wall fell q hose burst. sending num-
Der of policemen and reporters scurryins
east on Saratoga street. But for this
number of them would almost certainly
have been injured by the flying bricks.
Feared It Would Spread.
For time It seemed that the fire would
sweep diagonally through the block to
CAY street and a number of people liv-
ing on that thoroughfare moved their ef-
rects Changes in the wind. however,
helped the firemen and enabled them 20
conline the damage, in addition to that
already mentioned. to the plants of the
r.. b. Read & Sons Co.. printers. and the
Flynn & Enrich Co. nlachinists, located
in a. tive-story building on Saratoga street
| in the rear of the Register building: the
Lconhardt Wagon Company, Saratoga
street, opposite the building in which the
| fire originated: the old city hall building.
and the Zion School building. In the old
| city hall building Valuab maps
and records of the water, Typographical
| and other city departments. These were
/ removed to place of safety under the
| direction Of Mayor Mahool.
| When the wall of the Register building
| fell members of the fire Department and
| policeman utterly dsregarded the fact
| that another section of the building
| seemed about to toople into Saratoga
| street. and worked frantically to rescue
| their injured comrades and recover the
| bodies OF the dead. The latter were badly
| nlutilated and the former were in some
| instances almost stripped of their cloth
| ing
| Chief Horton Better.
| Chief Horton was reported better. It
/ was added that he was not as seriously
| hurt as at first feared. The physician
| in charge of his case said he believed
! the chief would be out in a few days
! 1t is not expected that any of the in
| jured men will die The two most Sc
| riously hurt received their injuries in
| the collision of the apparatus on the
| way to the fire. They are Frank J.
| Dawson. engine company No. 23. who
sustained a broken leg and Charles j.
| Miller of the same company. Who suf-
| fered internal injuries.
Revised estimates reduced the asgre
gate loss TO about 100000. covered by
| insurance. The heaviest individual loss
| falls upon the j. REGISTER Sons COM
| pany. 1t was placed at S66,00O; insured