Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-09-09
START AT ONCE TO REBUILD THE
NEW JERSEY TERRA COT IA WHICH
WAS RAZED BY FIRE YESTERDAY
Officials at Loss 10 Determine ORR
Gin of Blaze --Damage $4,000,
Fully Covered by Insurance.
ENTIRE FIRE DEPT. At SCEnt

check valves and other parts. After
that suitable pressure was on
hand.
Protection Hook and Ladder
Company's new aerial truck was
used, but not to the advantage it
might have been, some claim. The
new Hart nozzle attachment, in the
opinion of many, could have been
used to good advantage on the new
tWo-story brick building when fire.
men on the ground with nozzles
could not send streams over the out
er walls. Others declared the Pro-
lection laddies could have used their
apparatus to much better advantage
than they did if they had hauled it
into the plant instead of down Cort-
landt street, and used the Hart noz-
zle attachment on the highest build
ing in the works. When Alderman
l.. c. Dalton, chairman of the fire
committee, was told of this he de-
clared the shifting OF apparatus was
up to the chief engineer of the de-
partment.
Watchman's Action is Defended.
City firemen and policemen criti-
cized the action of the eompany's
employees in handling the fire and
particularly the action of Ferdinand
Larsen, the watchman, maintaining
that he should have sounded the city
alarm before the factor whistle. Su-
perintendent William H. Griswold
declares the watchman did his duty
and acted entirely within the rules
of the company. Mr.. Griswold, who
was authorized by the company to
make a statement to the press, de-
clared that according to the rules of
the company the watchman must
make hourly trips about the plant
and turn his time clock; that in case
OF fire he is first to Motif the boiler
room fireman to tie down the factory
whistle and then send in an alarm
from the nearest city fire box. This
he did, the superintendent asserted,
Fire Discovered About 4:25.
Larsen had been in the pressing
shops shortly before o'clock and
noticed nothing wrong. He contin-
ued about the works and turned his
clock at given stations. 1t was
while leaving the office and mould
making building after turning the
time clock at station No. 1 that he
noticed Il bright light in the vicinity
OF the pressing shops. He investi-
gated and found flames eating their
way up the northeast corner of
pressing shop No. 2, the second one
from the northerly end f the works,
on the easterly side of Catherine
street. Upon his alarm the factory
whistle was tied down and caused to
blow continuously and the night en-
ployes, composed of five kiln fire.
men and the boiler room fireman be-
gan to battle with the flames by use
OF the factory apparatus. In the
meantime Larsen ran to Hall avenue
and Charles street and turned In an
alarm from box Sc. The factory
whistle was started at 4:25 o'clock
and the fire alarm was started at
4:30 o'clock
The sound of the former whistle
was heard by Patrolman Gutowski,
who was at Elizabeth street and Hall
avenue, but seeing no signs of a fire,
paid no attention to it, he reports at
police headquarters. A little later
he heard man running on Hall ave-
nue.. He yelled at the man, but the
latter did not stop. He later di1cov-
cred it was Larsen leaving the fire
alarm box after pulling the lever to
sound the alarm.
Policeman is Suspended.
The officer was in attendance at
the fire from that time until 8
o'clock in the morning when he was
relieved by Patrolman Andrew Jen-
sen. Other officers on fire duty were
Roundsman Morris and Patrolmen
Calvin, Durham, Hartung and Ry-
marczyk. The latter did not stay
long after being discovered by Act
ing Mayor Garretson acting as If he
were intoxicated. He was suspend
Continued on page 2.)