Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1911-05-19
LUCAS BLOCK AND
STABLES GUTTED BY FIRE
Early Morning Blaze Broke Out in
Rose Bowling Alleys, Having Big
Start When Discovered by Police
man Reyston = General Alarm
Sounded-Horses and Carriages Re-
moved.

Fire from an unknown cause and
supposed to have started either in the
Rose bowling alleys in the Lucas build
ing or the Troy laundry adjoining on
Water street, between Shetucket and
| Market, broke out this morning about
i 2.4e O'Clock, and soon spread to the
greater part of the two four-story
| brick buildings. The alarm was rung
| in from box 16 at the corner of Main
and Market streets by Policeman John
Royston, who saw the glare on the
| sky as he was passing along Main
street, and pulled the box at once.
| When he arrived at the Water street
side of the Lucas building, the flames
were blazing fiercely in the Rose alleys
ON the third and fourth floors of the
! Lucas building. at the end where the
pin boys stand
| The department responded quickly,
and by the time they had arrived the
| fire had broken out through several
| windows. of the alleys and was show
| ing under the roof of the laundry
building. Three streams were quickly
shot up from Water street through the
alley and laundry windows, two fight
ing the fire in the alleys and one in
! the laundry.
| Owing to the hazardous nature of
/ the surroundings. the Reynolds and
American house stables. and the G.
H. Davis Co. pork packing house ad-
! joining, Chief Stanton rang in a spe-
eia1 alarm very shortly. bringing out
/ ali the department.
| The flames spread with great rapid
ity through the upper story of the
| laundry building, shooting out of two
windows OF. the west side of the build
| ing on the fourth story and one stream
| of water was shifted to check it here.
| 1t also made rapid progress through
| the alleys, spreading over the ceiling
4 of the big room and bursting out
| through a dozen windows on that side
| of the building.
Two streams of water were also
brought around on the Shetucket
street front and ladders were run up
to the roof of the Reynolds barn.
| The proprietors of the American
house stables and of the o. H. Rey-
| nolds stables took early precautions
| for the safety of their horses moving
them all out soon after the fire start
1 ed, .t.gcther v it'll. the carriages and
| teams and much other voveab1e prop
i erty- Some of tlae office holders in the
| Lucas building tried to get at their
1 third floors, and partially succeeded in
1 doing so hut the smoke was SO dense
that it was Impossible to penetrate
far into the building
| The general alarm was rung at 2.55,
and at once brought out big crowds of
| people from all parts of the city, fire
| lines being esta ablished to keep the
| crowds away from the walls, which
| We're in danger of falling.
The Lucas building was four-story
brick structure, formerly the property
of the late states attorney. Solomon
Lucas, belonging now to his two
| daughters, who were his heirs. Its
! occupants were r. F. Smith, retail
| grocer; s. Mikolasi, tailor; Arthur M.
Brown. coroner; Franklin H Brown,
| Congressman Edwin W. Higgins,
Charles W. Comstock. all attorneys,
with oftces there; Civil Engineer
| George e. Pitcher; Rose bowling al
leys, J. ]. G. Stone. proprietor Cen
tral Labor Union hall, Carpenters
hall. and a private club room.
! The Troy laundry building was a
| four story brick building with a small
! one-story addition, occupied by the
| Office. The whole building was used
by the laundry, whose proprietor is
Albert A. Fournier.
| Policemen Royston, Driscoll, McFad-
| den and Ebberts were on hand and
aided the special fire police in keeping
/ the crowd out of danger and out of the
| way of the firemen. The streets had
| to be roped off to keep the crowd out
| Of danger.
Roof Goes Down.
| With the flames helching forth from
] the Little Water street side of the
building, the roof fell in. taking with
| it part of the side of the building. This
| was at 3.15, and it was realized that
it would take heroic work to keep the
I FIRE from the stables on the south SIDE
| of the building.
| Efforts to fight the fire on that side
| were unfruitful, for it did not take
| long to get into the wooden struc-
| tures, and the Reynolds barn was soon
| ting into the Brady stables. and the
| American house was threatened. The
I carriages and harnesses had all been
| taken cut of the barns by the willing
| hands and the streets were filled with
| wagons. carriages and humanity The
| horses had previously been taken out
of danger.
| Engines at Steamboat Wharf.
The extra apparatus was prompt in
! responding and both engines located
| on the steamboat wharf and were in
| opera ton by $50, some difficulty be-
| ing met in getting sufficient city water
| to feet them.
| The rear walls of the Lucas build
| ing mad fallen and the fremen from
! the roofs in the rear of tht pork pack
/ ing establishment were engaged il.
checking the fire in the stables. A
hfe wall IN the Lucas buildlng. half
way on the Little Water street side,
kept the fire from the front of the
building with the aid of the four
| streams directed into the building
| from that side.
Aerial Truck in Use.
| The areia1 truck was stationed in
| Little Water street and raised for the
| use of stream. from the steamer.
| The streams on this side of the build :
! ing could not do effective work
| through the fourth story windows, there
| being but a six inch main through
| Shetucket and into Little Water street.
| The efforts of the department were
directed to saving the business blocks
| on the north side of Little Water street
where the f1ve-story block of Lee &
! Osgood Co. and the Eaton Chast Coz,
besides the building occupied by n.
! S. Gilbert & Sons, were in the most
| danger soon after the fire started.
Flame shot out from the Lucas block
! half way across the street. Those
were particularly hazardous buildings
I and the f1remen succeeded in saving
them fom harm. The pork packing
| establishment west of the Lucas block
was also saved by the same determin-
ed effort.
Att o'clock the American house had
i not caught and the indications then