Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1911-05-02
BANGOR, E.,BURNS;
Loss SIX MILLION
ohE.rH,RD OF LITTLE MAINE
CITY IN AsHEs-THoUsANDs
ARE HOMELESS.
SWEEPS PATH TWO MILES LONG
Churches, Business Blocks and Public
DuIidlnss eurnsd.-uss Of Dyna.
mite unavaIIlns TO Stop
Flames. r.

Bangor, Me-, May 1.-One-third Of
the city of Bangor is In ruins, thou
sands of persons are homeless and q
property loss estimated at $6.000,OOC
was sustained az the result of night
conflagration which ragged for hours.
Starting in hay shed on Broad street,
the IRE swept along Broad and Elk
change streets through the heart OF
the city, leaving residences, churches.
schools, business blocks and all the
public buildings with the exception Of
the city hall, mass OF smoking ashes.
For many hours the firemen OF Ban.
gor, assisted by men and apparatus
from other Maine cities, battled
against the blaze before they con.
quered 1t. Dynamite proved Of little
avail. Buildings were blown up, but
the flames easily leaped the chasms
thus made and 1t was not until the
wind, which had been blowing almost
a gale during the night, shifted and
a light rain fell, that there was any
indication that the fremen would win.
Cheered by the help from this un.
expected quarter the fire fighting
forces were concentrated nearly two
miles from the start of the blaze and
there the spread Of flames was check
ed at midnight.
But while the rain and the shifting
of the wind to the east saved the rest
Of the city from destruction. 1t only
.sS>a - 49, dsooopo Afuro ~ thour . nHo
Who had seen their homes go up in
flames and who were huddled together
in the streets.
Three Lives Lost.
Three lives are known to have been
lost although the names of none Of
the victims are known. A fireman
was injured by falling wall and died
on the way to the hospital. an un.
known young man was crushed to
death when one Of the churches col
lapsed. and an elderly man from
Brewer who had crossed the river to
watch the fire was also buried beneath
falling debris.
The problem Of housing and feeding
the destitute will be q serious one, for
churches and public buildings, the usu.
al places of refuge in such disasters,
are in ruins, and there is hardly an
eating house, bakery or other store
where food can be secured. left stand.
ing. Already offers Of help have been
received by Mayor Mullen. but the
proffered aid cannot be expected tc
arrive in time to prevent suffering
The burned area follows the Ken
duskeag stream for nearly two miles
north of the starting point and spreads
out to width varying from one
eighth to quarter Of a mile differ
ent points.
Worst Since 1866.
The IRE is considered by insurance
people the worst that Maine has
known since the Portland fire in 1866
when large part Of the business sec
ton Of that city was destroyed with
loss of $1O,OO0,000 Bangor has q
population of nearly $4,000 by the 1916
census and the latest figures show Z
real estate valuation Of $16,S9S,96
Most of the best residential section
Of the city was swept away when thu
IRE left the business section. i
spread out like huge fan with III
widest part among the homes of thu
people. Just outside the fire zone tn
furniture is stacked along the curl
and guarded by the stricken house
holders.
The telegraph companies office'
were both burned early in the confa
grafton but later were established out
side the zone and communication wal
resumed ID the temporary Offices
FslephoneHand telegraph operators
stuck to their posts and sent out in
formation and calls for help. The
Observation-Disclosures operator, in the
Postal Telegraph office, sat at his key
sending and receiving messages while
the IRE ragged hardly so feet away
from him in the postoffice building.
~ aaAnHe- aen@a-A