The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-08-13
Three Buildings Of Hen
bricks Bros. Copper
Works Destroyed.
$50 EMPLOYEES OUT OF
WORK THROUGH BLAZE
House Catches Fire and Other
Property Threatened-New=
ark Lends Aid.

A disastrous fire practically des-
troyed the plant of Hendricks Broth
ers copper mills in Mill street, in the
Soho section, today The factory
was outside the Bellevillee fire district,
ard this, together with the fact that
there are inadequate facilities for fight
ing blaze in and about the factory.
caused the loss of the plant. Some
unofIicially estimate the loss at $780,
900.
Various estimates were given of the
loss, but nothing authoritative could
be obtained for the reason that MEM
bers of the firm refused to discuss it.
The blaze was discovered about $50
) ao'claek. The two watchmen, Joseph
Morrow and John Maddox and several
other employees who worked all night
saw it about the same time They
noticed small flicker in the roof of
the wire rod department close to an
iron stack leading from the furnace.
This leads to the belief that the stack
became overheated.
The employees got out the factory
hose and attached it to water tank
and endeavored to quench the blaze
The pressure. was insufficient and a
bucket brigade was organized. In the
meantime the fire spread and the
whole roof of this department was
blazing
1t. was not until 6:45 o'clock that an
alarm was turned in for the Belleville
department Box 573. at Mill and
Bridge streets, about a mile from the
scene, was pulled. The Newark fire.
men. when they arrived, were forced
to draw the water from the Second
river which runs alongside the fac
tory.
Spreads to other Structures.
The blaze was spreading to other de-
partments, some of which are story
and half in height. The home OF
Myron Cadmus, an employee of the
factory, which is located in a lane In
the rear of the plant, caught fire, and
the NeWarkers gave their attention to
the house. The truck of the Eastwood
Hose and Truck Company, which was
the first apparatus of the Belleville
-,
Mill and Quarry street by an automo-
bile and the truck was towed to the
scene.
At first the Bellevle firemen found
themselves greatly handicapped, as
the end of the water mains reached
the roadway leading to the Hendricks
home. 1250 feet east of the factory
The hose of the Eastwood Valley and
mic and
many feet of hose belonging to the
Newark department was added before
they could reach the blaze BY this
time the wire rod. sheet and refining
mills were in flames, and it was i'm
POSSIBLE to do anything to save them,
Efforts We're then directed to save the
other buildings.
In the midst of the excitement Ar
drew Conklin. of Harrison street,
Bloomfield, an employee in the factory,
who was helping to fight the fire, was
overcome by smoke and had to be car
ried out.
y, The hose of the Belleville department
was stretched across the tracks of the
Greenwood Lake branch of the Erie
railroad, and four. commuter trains for
Kew York were held up for an hour.
Battalion Chief Moore, of this, city,
Frrived at the scene about $3.50 o'clock
md directed the men of Engine No. 13.
The copper mill has been in operation
in Belleville over a hundred years and
nearly all of that time has been owned
by the Hendricks family, which has a
residence in New York, and a summer
home in Belleville. Most of the build
ings are story and a half in height
and of brick construction. A few are
two stories in height. There are $50
employees in the plant and most of
them will be out or employment, al
though some of them will be put to work
cleaning out the place.