Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-05-01
BANGOR IN RUINS.
CONTINUED from Page One.)

feet of the burning structures and at
times the roof was burning. The West
ern Union, which was burned out early,
established two or three circuits in tenn
porary office at the Maine Central Rail-
road station which was out of the are
zone.
Telephone and telegraph operators stuck
to their posts and sent out information
and calls for help until they had not a
moment to spare to make their escape
The Postal Telegraph Cos. operators sat
at their keys calmly sending and receiv-
ing messages while the fire ragged hardly
50 feet away from them.
The fire spread with such alarming
rapidly that buildings We're consumed
almost before the watchers realized
that they were in flames. The Morse
Oliver building, Stearns building, Ora
ham building. High school, Univer-
salist, Central and First Congregation
al, st. Johns Episcopal, Advent and
First Baptist churches, Menduskeag
building, Norombega hail, in which
was located the Gaiety theatre, Elk
change building, containing the Uni
sversity of Maine school of law and
ed to the list of burned structures.
AS soon as it became apparent that
the central office of the New England
telephone & Telegraph Co. must be
abandoned, the company took steps to
repair the damage which caused tenn
porary interruption of the service. A
new switchboard was ordered from
New York and tonight was on it's way
- ID. r. =
outside the fire limits.
BY tomorrow morning the company
expects to have its through toll lines
from Boston to St. John again in work.
ing order, although these lines togeth-
er with all the local lines were put out
of commission by the fire.
All the construction men who could
be recruited from the surrounding
cities have been started for Bangor to
assist in the work of telephone repairs.
At IL o'clock the fire had swept west
ward nearly to Hammond street on
Franklin. The fire fighting forces con-
centrated at this point, aided by
modern fire wall on the rear of the
Bass block, halted the onward march
of the flames. All the territory to the
north and east of that point is mass
of blazing ruins. At least quarter
of the city has been laid waste.
Most of the best residential section
of the city was swept away when the
fire left the business section. 1t spread
out like a huge fan with its widest part
among the homes of the people. Thou
sands of homeless are walking the
streets. Just outside the fire zone tho
furniture is piled in along the curb
and guarded by the stricken house
holders
Portland, Lewiston. Augusta and
Waterville sent negines on special
trains which arrived at 10 o'clock. The
reinforcements We're Immediately sta
toned in the business section in the
vicinity of City hall, as the fire threat
ened to eat its way to that building
The fire appears to be checked within
$50 feet of il.
At midnight Mayor Charles w Null
len, in reply to a proffer of aid from
Mayor Fitzgerald of Boston wired that
he believed the fire to be under con-
troll. To The Associated Press, he
said: 1.-The city has suffered a terrible
blow. but have every confidence that
Bangor will come back"
Just before midnight light rain began
10 fall and this. combined with shift
in the wind to the east. enabled the nre-
men TO check the progress of the flames
and they believed they had the fire under
control
The burned area follows the Kendus-
leag stream for nearly two miles north
of the starting point and spread out to
n width Carrying from one-eighth to one
az milo al inf
AT one time ii was feared that a large
portion Of the residential district would
be burned out but the sudden shifting
and while many houses were burned the
fire was mainly confined to the business
section.
Three men at midnight We're report
ed killed. Their names were not known
then. Death in each case was caused
by falling walls. A fireman died on the
way 10 the hospital. An elderly gentle
man whose home was in Brewer, just
across the Penobscot river, was killed
when the wallis of the seven story
Morse oliver building fell.
A Young man was crushed to death
by the falling walls of one of the five
churches burned.
Early reports that the Bangor News
was burned out Were incorrect, the fire
not spreading south of the telephone
building on Exchange street.
only the walls remain of the Gus
tom house and post Office, which were
located on a small island in the mid
die of Kenduskeag stream and form
ed the very heart of the business dis
triet Generally speaking the fire zone
was confined TO the easterly side of
kenduskeag stream, except for the
destruction wrought on Central street.
destruction wrought On the left hand
side Of Broadway, going north, were
burned after which the confiagration
spread through Center street and f'r
nearly q Hile up French street. One
estimate was that more than zoo res
tdeEces, among them some of The best