Norwich bulletin., 1912-08-10
to
 Thirty Fires
BERNARD c. MURRAY OF HART FORD sELF-AccUsED FIREHuo.
USUALLY TWO AT ONCE
lmperiled Hundreds of Lives in Ho- tels-caused Property Loss of $1,ooo. ooo-WouId Start 5lazs in Closet.

CONFESSES TO-IONG HEAD AllE 0- SsS-esv 2 te5t ? t-,--- -sy.-sW Greenfield, Mass, Aug. g.-Deci1ring that ho had set thirty fires in hotels and public buildings in Connecticut and western Massachusetts, within the past four months. Bernard C. Murray. son Of a former fire commissioner of Hartford, Conn, made an alleged con fess1on to Chief of Police Thomas Manning tonight.
 Where He Operated.
 April 19, Waterbury, Cortn. City hall and Chelsea hotel.
 May 2S, Greenfield, Mass. Tzylor block and Hollister house.
 June l. Turner's Falls. MasE., Grand Trunk hotel and Allen block. June 8, Greenfield, Mass, Central house.
 June 22. Turner's Falls, vIadish ho- tel and Bartlett block
 July 2, North Arams, Mass, Wilson house.
 July 5, and within a few days after that IS fires in and about Springfield.
 Murray, who is 2t years old. said in explanation of the acts to which he confessed:
 T could not resist an impulse to do 1t, although l realized the conse- quences"
 Hotel Guests in Peril.
 The lives of hundreds oflpersons. ho- tel guests, were placed ini jeopardy by the fires which Murray declares he started, and the total property loss ia estimated by local officials at about $t,000 ,00O.
 In most cases his confession includes the setting of two fires at the same | time.
 Corroboratve Evidence.
 According to Chief Manning. he has l received within the past two days h. | dependent information placing Murray in the vicinity of the scenes of the more important fires at the time they were started.
 | Murray was an employe of hotels and travelled considerably. changing | hls place of occupation frequently. His | confession, which was made at the Franklin county jail here. developed i from his arrest on a charge of lar i eeny of a gold watch and $50 on July 1S from a guest at a hotel here. He is now serving a sentence of thirty days on this charge. to which he has confessed.
 Identified by Several.
 Descriptions of him published in | connection with this affair led several l persons who were interested in prop erty destroyed by fires, to Identify him | as the man they thought responsible. | Within the past two days Mir. and Mrs. | W. J. Russell of Waterbury, Conn, and other persons have told the police that they believed Murray was in Water | bury at the time of the fires there.
 How He Worked.
 Murray confessed today. He eu- plained that he liked to see thfngB burn" q just had to do t." he added. Murray said that he would go to the second or third floor of a hotel, open a closet and light anything inffamabls that might be inside such as a mop. a dust rag, broom or bed linen. After closing the door he would escape from the building and generally go to an- other hotel or building, across the street or nearby, and do the same thing there, so that two fires might be burning at the same time.
 After setting fire to the Wilson house in North Adams. Murray said, he ran out of the building and started another | blaze from which he returned to the Wilson house. Then he set to work with others and assisted to remove furniture and other contents of the hotel.
 Fired Waterbury City Hall.
 While the greatest monetary loss was caused by the Wilson House fire in North Adams, where several busi ness blocks were also burned with a total loss of $500. 900, the most spec tacular of the fires was in Waterbury, Conn. Murray, according to Chief Manning, admits having started the fire which destroyed the city hall as well as threatening the Chelsea hotel. and to setting @ dozen other blazes the same night, April 22 Waterbury was in a state of terror because of the fires. The militia was ordered out and patroled the vicinity of city hall and other burning buildings for sev- eral hours. The total fire damage in Waterbury that night has been estl- mated at $2O0,0 900.
 Many lives were endangered in the Wilson house fire and several persos had barrow escapes. Murray says that he first started a blaze in the base ment of the hotel. then ran 10 another room and started another. returning to assist in quenching the first fire Both fires got beyond control and the hotel was wrapped in flames. while Murray says he assisted saving what he could of the hotel furniture.