Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1910-08-15
FIRE At BELGIUM
FAIR; LOSS RUNS
TO S1O0,00O,00O
Flames Rapidly Destroy English
and French Sections of the
\ Brussels Exposition
SOLDIERS DISPERSE CROWDS
Thousands Fight Desperately to
Gain Avenues of Escape from
the Disastrous Blaze
SOLDIERS DISPERSE CROWDS
ASSOCIATED Press)

BRUSSELS, Aug. 14.-Fire swept the
great Belgian exposition tonight. The
flames were driven by a high wind and
soon destroyed the Belgian, English
and French sections. 1t is believed the
whole exposition VIII be destroyed.
Two are dead and thirty injured.
The White City OF the Worlds fair,
as the Belgians called their 1910 ex-
position, is tonight mass of flames
and smouldering ruins. A spark fall
ing into inflammable matter in the
telegraph building burst up in flames,
which, driven by high wind, swept
rapidly in all directions.
Soon the Belgian, English and French
sections were destroyed. The firemen
and detachments of soldiers called to
the scene found themselves baffled by
the gale, which carried the burning
embers to all parts of the grounds.
The loss is estimated at $1O0, 600 900.
To the left of the main building.
across the picturesquero and spires of
"Bruxelles Kermesz" is a Belgian
Coney island with water chutes. to-
boggan slides and scores of sideshows.
This place was alive with Sunday
crowds and before they could be got
ten out with any semblance of order
the Kermesz was afire The crowds
became panic stricken and men, wo-
men and children fought madly to es-
cape. The exits became choked with
the struggling masses and men used
their fists to clear the pathway. Many
were trampled under foot and badly
injured.
An engine corps from Antwerp at
tempted to dynamite the buildings IN
the French section in the nope or
checking the fire. but the flames leaped
across and engulfed the Italian, Rus
sian, Austrian. japanese, Chinese ana
Norwegian buildings. Forty houses on
the Avenue Solboch, adjoining the ex-
position, were destroyed.
At the time of the outbreak no fewer
than 100 900 persons were circulating in
the grounds, and the Kermesz troops
were ordered out and came at double
quick to aid the police in clearing the
great grounds. This was accomplished
in fair order, except within the llmlts
of the Kermesz, where the vast crowds
became entangled in an almost mex
trlcable mass, fighting desperately to
find an escape from the flames, which
swept viciously through the tmderllke
structures.
LOSS OF LIFE Is SMALL
AS the flames progressed the men de-
cided to shoot the blasts, but the neat
drove them back and the animals were
left to their fate. The multitude OF
people were driven back to safe DIS
tacle of the destruction of the Whlte
city. Tongues of fire mounted high into
the heavens and flaming embens were
carried off by the wind and fell upon
the residences beyond, setting them on
fire.
When the fire was finally gotten
under control the Belgian and English
sections were in ruins, while all the
other sections, including the American,
were Dartly destroyed.
Bands of thieves engaged in plllage
and a soldier was stabbed whlle at
tempting to arrest three men VINO ne
found rifling a jewelry exhibit. Tne
aggregate loss Will be enormous. Inc
diamond exhibits are heavy sufferers.
Belgium's White City stood near the
end of the Avenue Louise, the fash-
ionable park drive, which is on the
west side of Brussels. The natlonal
building, that. of the Belgian section,
stood on a slight elevation facing the
main entrance. To the left or the main
building was the Kermesz
. A magnificent quadrilateral of the
gardens was surrounded by four con-
cessions of France, Germany, Holland
and Italy. The Italian pavilion was
built after the renaissance style or the
fourteenth century. The German sec
tion was grouped around the nam pa
vilion. Eight large halls were devoted
to exhibits of railroad companies, ag-
ricultural machinery, art and educa-
ton. The Netherlands section includ-
ed an elevated roadbed.
One of the most striking features OF
the French section was the palace of
agriculture and horticulture, specia1
pavilions being devoted to Tunis, NADIA
gascar, Algeria, Western Africa and
India China. The Spanish pavilion
offered remarkable reproduction of
the Alhambra palace at Grenada. The
Court of Lions and several of the ruins
of state were represented in which the
Spanish government exhibited some
of it's national treasures, such as
tapestries, paintings, armors and jew
els of the former royal families.
An interesting feature of the fair
was the House of Rubens, which was
the official pavilion of Antwerp. Be
sides representative exhibits of all
branches of local activity the pavilion
contained retrospective exhibition of
Flemish art of the Rubens period. 1t
was announced some time before the
opening of the exhibition that many of
the leading museums of the world
would contribute masterpieces in their
possession.
King Albert inauguratad the Colonial
section of the exhibition on April 30.
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