The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1910-10-20
A TEN THOUSAND
. DOLLAR BLAZE

which only the herOlc eIOrLs OF
the fredepartment prevented from
s ossS,lming the proportions of con-
sogration with loss of five times
% great brought not les sthan ff-
te teen 3 hundred people to the depot
At about 2 o'clock this morning.
where - they witnessed one of the
most spectacular fires In the his
torv of Hendersonville.
Five store buildings and one
nr;vate residence furnished food
FIR the fire, entailing a loss of be-
tween eight and ten thousand dol
lars, only small part of which is
covered by insurance.
The fire was discovered bv Fred
Guy in the building occupied as a
restaurant by Mary Weheler.
The alarm was Immediately given,
and the fire department was soon
IN the scene. A Southern freight
train had just pulled into the sta
tion and helped to arouse the town
for if ever its siren whistle split
the atmosphere it certainly did
about 2 o clock this morning.
The fire boys, under Chief of
Police Maxwell showed excellent
Judgment in fighting the blaze,
and their unceasing efforts con-
fined it to the area burned. Adj
Joining are several new brick
structures and many old frame
buildings. Some of these caught
several times from the showers Of
sparks which fell upon their roofs
but which were extinguished be-
fore any material damage was
done.
The buildings destroyed were:
An eight room residence, the
property of Mr.. j. M. Lanning,
valued at about $4,000 with $40O
insurance. This building was the
last to burn, and, it is said, had
the water pressure been heavier,
the house might have been saved.
Mr.. Lanning had removed most of
his household goods before the
building was destroyed.
Captain M. c.. Toms lost an un-
occupied frame store building, on
which there was no insurance.
Pete Barrow lost two frame
buildings, with no insurance.
Noah Wheeler's restaurant
building, occupied by Mary
Wheeler, in which the fire was
discovered.
These buildings were occupied
by barber shop, a pool room and
a restaurant.
A brisk breeze was blowing all
during the fire. Clouds of sparks
flew heavenward and alighted on
buildings even as far away as
Main street. Mr.. S. Johnston s
handsome residence had a very
narrow escape from destruction.
The flames rolled to the skies In
great billOwing clouds, and the
marvel of it is that the men were
able to stand so near the inferno
OF heat as to make the effective
hight they did. Had the fire once
gotten beyond their control, the
loss would have been not less than
hfty thousand dollars.
Adjoining the scene of the fire
are number of great old trees,
utilized by chickens as sleeping
apartments. When the blaze was
az It's height the hundreds of spec
Iators watching it were amazed to
witness these foolish chickens
uellberately fly into the very
Eentre of the great furnace. Of
purse, they suffered severely from
lnelr experience, although they
're e. not alive to tell the story.
Inc tre department, composed
= The following men, were on the
ao "1tnln lew minutes after
le nre was discovered, and to
pe!n vote of thanks is due for
Lelf very effective work. The
apartment is composed of the fol-
S"Ing men: Hilliard Maxwell, A.
= brown, Sylvester Maxwell, H.
- ipuffy, G. W. Brooks, B. Pruitt,
V6n on Clayton, Det Reece.
h O9e OF the minor tragedies of
! IRE was the dreadful death of
~uISg-caught between two heavy
au moeFS y; and burned to a crisp be-
M re | tne Mortified eyes of specta-
nd M helpless to save. It's terrified
= - ia iserrlfc barking, finally chang
a. : iuCo a weaker and more pene-
6o1 sslng cry of distress, was heard
! s,s s The cracking of the flames,
aa noarse cries Of command and
ri s'Ier confusion of the scene
E5aaD %nOt be soon forgotten by those
1VoG S01Ic rro,na L