Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1909-02-01
Barclay Street School Threatened by Blaze Started BY
Thieves Who RfIed DesksTwo Rooms Cannot Be
Used damage About 81, ,5oO-four Persons in DAN
ger as Morrssevs Hotel at kreischervi|Ie ST.. Is
DectroVed--, ,-arson's Loss Is Placed at S5OOO
LARSON BROS.
MEAT MARKET
IS DESTROYED

At 2.15 O'Clock Sunday morning Will
liam Quigley proprietor of a cafe on
State street, while passing Larson
Brothers butcher and delicatessen
store at 333 State street, noticed a
blaze in the rear of the place. He tried
to break open the door and succeeded
in smashing the glass, but was unable
to climb inside. He then shouted
+" FIRE \ at the top of his voice and Pa
trolman Quinn who heard him, quickly
appeared. Patrolman Dunham also came
upon the scene and while the policemen
and Mr.. Quigley tried to get in the
store he ran to box 81 at Smith and
State street and pulled the box.
The fire, which seemed to be on the
lee box when first seen by Mr.. Quigley,
spread rapidly and before the dremen
arrived clouds of thick black smoke
filed the street.
Former Chief Eugene Mullen, one of
the first fremen to arrive ran to the
apartments of Mr.. and Mrs. Jeppe Son
dergaard over Barnekov & Petz' drug
store which adjoins the burned store on
the north, to arouse them. The place
was filed with smoke and Mullen fear
ed that they were suffocated. As he
called, Mr.. Sendergaard answered "All
right" and with his wife made hur-
ried exit to the street, after securing
few articles of clothing.
The fremen bnding that the fire was
in the back of the store ran several
lines of hose around to the back and
prevented the flames from spreading to
the wooden addition and laboratory Of
the drug store, and the rear of A. Beck
offs hardware store, ON the south. The
flames were near the drug store addi-
tion at one time and only for the ex-
eellent work of the fremen, it would
have caught. AS it was kept eontinu-
ally covered with water it was not even
scorched although the heat was in
tense.
The fire and water ruined the inside
of the store and burned up through the
roof before It was put out, after the
hrsmen had been on duty over two
hours. There were many small wooden
buildings adjacent to the store in the
rear, and had they become ignited the
entire block might have been consumed.
While the cause of the fire 10 not
known, II is believed to have been
started by defective electric light
wire as the blaze did not start on the
floor, which is only slightly damaged.
The stock and fixtures are ruined and
Lars Larson said this morning that he
estimates the total loss at over $4,000.
The store, which was in one-story
frame building, was owned by Lars and
lJ. p. Larson. The former conducted a
butcher shop on one side of the store,
and the latter a delicatessen store on
the other side. The lot is owned by the
heirs of the estate of Mrs. John Nc
Cluskey.
| Lars Larson and J. P. Larson, the
owners of the building, had 81 200 in
surance on it with F. L. Brown. Lars
Larson had 81 900 insurance on his fix
lures and J. P. Larson $500 on his fix
lures The insurance on the fixtures
is held by Pierce & Watson.
The total insurance of $4,000, Lars
Larson said this morning will cover
about half of the loss. The store will
probably be rebuilt of brick and in the
meantime pending the adjustment Of
insurance, the brothers will suspend
business and not start up in temporary
quarters.