The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-07-14
BIG ORANGE FIRE
RAzES MILL, CUTS
HOME, R0UTs MANY
Destroys Essex Box Factory,
Threatens Hat Shop District,
Imperils Sleeping Families.
NEW PAID DEPARTMENT
SAVES NO NAME PLANT
Chief and Firemen Suffer Burns
in Stiff Fight-Flying Sparks
Set Roofs Blazing.

Oranges new paid fire department
had its real test of efficiency early to-
day, when a spectacular blaze which
threatened havoc in the hat shop
district of the valley section, de-
stroyed the old Essex box factory In
South Jefferson street. at Stetson
street; Quilted the HON of Thomas
Davis, across the way, and burned his
horse and two vehicles, with harness;
Kelly & Losey's machine shop. and
Tony Molinari's saloon, and scorched
more or less seriously several adjoining
residences.
The department did such good work
that the big No Name hat factory, ad-
joining the RACED box factory, and
wooden structures next the burned
buildings were saved.
Chief Matthews and several of his
men are burned and blistered. None
is seriously hurt.
Neighbors had difficulty In rousing
Davis and his wife and young child,
who slept as the flames ragged, but
Davis finally awoke, and with his wife
tried to get cut the front door. The
heat cut them off and egress was made
via the cellar through a rear door.
Davis put on his clothing In the yard.
He was unable to get a purse contain
ing $16S, which nae been hidden under
a radiator. However, he found the
money intact today, his practise of
keeping the radiators filled with water
during the summer having kept the
purse from burning.
Antonio Molinari got his family out
of the house, but he could not get to
the cash register In the saloon, in
which were his days receipts and
watch. The wooden bottom of the reg
lister was burned and the v%aluables de-
stroyed.
SUMS Rays Made Mill Easy Fuel.
The fire started in the old box fac
tory which has not been occupied for
some time, shortly before 2 o'clock this
morning. The excessive heat of the
past month had made the structure
where formerly were made hat boxes
and blocks for the Orange shops, like
a finder box, and Mrs. Mark High, see
ing the blaze from her home, tele-
phoned the alarm. The Valley engine
company and apparatus were out in a
jiffy, their house being but two good
blocks from the fire, but before they
arrived the flames had leaped across
the way to the Mollnari saloon. The
men started for a hydrant at Jefferson
and Mitchell streets to lay hose to the
engine, but were unable to get back to
that apparatus through jefferson street
and had to go around through Stock
nan street, a block away, owing to the
walls of fire on either side of the thor
oughfare.
Chief Matthews sent an alarm for all
the city companies, and in a short
time had two steamer streams n nine
lines from the hose companies, includ-
ing two laid by the West Orange de-
partment, which had been summoned,
as the blaze was on the line Of that
town.
One of the biggest problems was the
saving of the No Name hat factory
and Captain Joseph Beamon, of No. l
company, and assistant chief of the
department, stationed himself n sew
eral men between the doomed box fac
tory and the back shop and with two
lines of hose kept the big structure
from catching fire. The men withstood
the terrific heat until, danger had
passed.
The hat factory, which employs hun
dreds of women and men was kept In
tact though the fire was but a few feet
away. Across the way is a machine
shop in the real of h Davis home and
with three extinguishers Davis and his
men kept vigil. The owner asked Chief
Matthews to save that structure as 1t
was much more valuable than the
house and the latter could not be saved
The shop today does not show n
damage. The houses In SSetson street
next to the Molinari building are of
wooden construction n the fremen
worked hard to prevent a spread to
these, succeeding so well that none
was burned.
Sparks Set Homes Afre.
The sparks from the wooden box fac
tory were being sprinkled in the air
and incipient blazes broke out in sew
eral of the wooden louise in the neigh
borhood. The most serious 'laze was
in the house of Antonio Mast, in South
Jefferson street, at the rear of the
box factory. This is a wooden build
ing and was pretty badly burned on
the end nearest the factory. Mast to-
day said his loss was 50, 300 on furni-
ture, with 81, 900 insurance. and $500 on
the building. which had recently been
repaired and had no insurance.
The blazing roofs of the homes of
Paul Vollmer and Mrs. Mary Spottis-
woode, in Scotland street. required at
tention from No. 8 Company, but the
fire was extinguished with small dam