The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-05-11
HOW ONE BRAVE
WOMAN SAVED The
TOWN OF W0LC0TT
WifeSOf the Fire Warden Checked
Disastrous Blaze - Says it
Was Good Fun
waterbury American.)

If Bristol ever needs an organizer
for a Fire Department all it will have
to do is turn around and place its
hand on Mrs George Rowe, wife Of
the Fire Warden Of Bristol, who spent
about as active q day fighting forest
fires yesterday IS any veteran would
want to put in.
Mrs. Rowe isn't suffragette,> but
probably she could handle baNQf
all right. Her husband was called
out at noon yesterday to fight fire
in the west end of Bristol, a brush
fire which was causing considerable
damage, when the telephone rang in
the office Of Selectman Fred Manross,
and voice at the other end Of the
wire shouted out that Wo1cott was
in the path of fierce forest fire
which could not be managed.
Mrs. Rowe was in the office of the
selectman at the time. Her husband
could not leave the west end fire, so
she hurried to the office of Chief OF
Police Belden. From there she
phoned around the town for autos
with which to get to the fire in VOL
colt. Soon the touring cars of Geo.
B. Parsons and J. M. White along
with a big truck from the New De-
parture Company pulled up before
the Police Station.
Meanwhile Mrs. Rowe had gone up
and down the streets of Bristol re-
cruiting the fire fighting force from
anywhere and everywhere. She Or
dered them to report at once to AS
sistant Fire Warden Howard 7. Stone
and about so in all responded. BY
this time her husband was able to
leave the west end fire and he arriv-
ed at the Police Station with the chem
ical to take charge of the squad.
he MOI nrf IN a
o'clock and not long after the boys
had made the five mile run to VOL
colt. But getting the men off did
not end Mrs. Rowe's troubles.
About 2:45 another alarm was sent
in for fire on Park Street where
the woods were again blazing. This
time Mr.. Rowe was out of reach and
what was to be done at all had to be
done by his fire-ighting wife. Moth
ing lacking she went out again into
the streets and soon she had a squad
of dozen volunteers organized.
Nichols automobile was pressed into
service and headed by Mrs. Rowe the
in great shape. She herself directed
the work and as she was familiar with
this line of activity the blaze was
short lived and was extinguished be-
fore it did much damage.
incidentally it may be said that
Mrs. Rowe did as much as any man
in fighting the blaze. But the natives
of Bristol took it naturally as Mrs.
Rowe has long since earned her name
as the fire-WardenesS of the town.
When she was reached over the tele-
phone wire this morning she said:
81 do all I can to help my hus-
band and lately he has been having
When he is away there Is only me to
look after them. Consequently, 1 take
it upon myself to do the work when
he is busy, but really, it isn't anything
and besides i like it,
When she was asked if she did any
don't ask that. You know L did
enough yesterday to last quite while
and we're all played out today
AS for the fire in Wolcott 1000 acres
were burned over and when the men
Mrs. Rowe had organized for her nus
band reached the place they had to
work to save the homes of William
patrick, George Judd, George Holman
and Herbert Thatcher and the school.
When they were at the Holman house,
no one was home, and the men had
to break through the doors to take
the furniture out, but fortunately the
flames never caught on the build
ings, although several outbuildings on
the Judd property were destroyed.
The fire started at il o'clock and
burned so quickly that the farmers
at first, did not realize the danger Of
their property. 1t gained great head
way and burned away the woods and
grass on the Bristol Road, between the
houses of Frank Cole and Charles
Morse and the bucket brigade saved
the house on the latter property after
a stubborn fight before the Bristol aid
arrived. It was after 9 O'Clock last
night before the fire was out.