The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-01-13
BIG BURLINGTON FIRE.
Hotel Burlington and Adjoining
Block Destroyed Saturday Even.
fur

Burlington. Jan. 9.-This city suf-
fered a fire loss of about 100000 on
Saturday evening when the Hotel
Burlington and the Walker block in
the heart of the city were destroyed
with their contents.
The principal losers are Hotel Bur-
lington, Max L. Powell manager,
$65,
Mrs. W. X Walker, owner of the
Walker block, $4,000
G. L. Souie G. Company, wholesale
tobacco dealers, $35,000
Brunswick billiard parlors, Z. A.
Isham, manger, $4,000.
Rutland railroad ticket office,
81 900.
w. p. Hall, druggist, 100000
| T. F. Ahern, stationary, $4,000.
The origin of the fire is not known
definitely. 1t was discovered at about
4:30 Saturday afternoon in the bath
room of the Hotel Burlington and be-
fore the fire department could be
summoned it was communicated by
All air shaft to the roof, the upper
story being a mass of flames almost
instantly.
The guests and hotel attaches were
warned just in time to escape, but
only with the clothes on their backs.
About % weekend guests were reg
istered and most of them lost their
personal effects. The house en-
rloyes were heavy losers. The wait
resses fled in their dining room uni
forms.
| After a battle of two hours it was
thought that the fire would be con-
fined to the hotel block, in which is
also quartered the Soule tobacco COM
psny, but a rising wind again famed
the flames into fury at $3.50 o'clock
and it was soon seen that the Walk
or block next adjoining to the south,
was doomed.
Help was summoned early in the
evening from ST. Adams, WinoosN
and Essex Junction, but this addition
al apparatus with the entire Burling-
ton equipment was insufficient to cope
with the situation. The firemen who
were working from the roof of the
Walker block had to scramble for
their lives.
In the Walker block are located
the Hall drug store, the ticket office
OF the Rutland railroad, the Ahern
store, the Brunswick billiard parlors
and about 10 apartments.
/ Teh tenants saved hardly any of
their effects. Mr.. Ahern was the
only occupants to remove any appre-
cable quantity of his stock
I The loss Of the apartment holders
is difficult to estimate, but as the To-
cation is considered fashionable it is
probable that it will run into large
figures.
The Van Ness House opened it's
doors to the employees and guests of
the burned hotel as soon as the fire
started and most of them were housed
| there.
! Among the losers are clerks Walter
lothian and Ray Willis, who are
! deprived of their entire wardrobe
and persnal effects and about 500
each The Hotel Burlington was built
twenty years ago over the ashes of
the Wheeler block, which was burn
cd to the ground 81 years ago this
month.
1t was Il four-story brick structure.
Until about year ago it had been
under the management of G.. NJ. De-
lany, who was the principal owner,
but for the past year Max l.. Powell
has been at the head of the house,
with r. f. Collamer as manager.
The building has 6S rooms and its
destruction following in compare
lively short time the Turning of the
American House will greatly cripple
the hotel facilities of the city.
The Walker block was a brick
structure four stories in height and of
about the same age as the Hotel Bur-
lington.
The Hotel Burlington was built in
1887 by G. NJ. Delaney, but for some
time past Max l.. Powell has acted
as trustee. Robert w. Collamer, for
merly of the Pavilion Hotel, Montpe-
lier, has been actively in charge of
the hotel for some time. The Walk
er block was built in 1891 by Mr.
Walker and EX-Gov U. A. Woodbury.,
but was sold to the widow of Mr. .
Walker in 1903.
While the exact origin of the fire
is not known, it is thought to have
been caused by an electric wire which
was connected with the wash room,
adjoining the toilet room, Gin the third
story at the solth end of the hotel.
While the firemen did everything
in their power, theflames had made so
much progress before they We're
summoned that it was impossible for
them to do more than they actually
accomplished and they are receiving
praise on all sides for checking the
flames at the time they did.
G, M. Delaney, formerly proprietor