The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1913-02-03
S1,5OO,O00 FlREOVER
DOCKS OF SAVANNAH
Destroys Half Mile of Rich
Waterfront. Wrerkino
Full Warehouses.
.\tID BLINDS FlRtMf.\
Ships sail To >afrt, Hard
tiUht Saves Crowded Poor
District.
\lIU BLINDS FIREME\

Of tue mos, Valuable portion 81 Sa
nlr early this morning Tic flames
caused ABOUT >l.i0o QUO Iuss aId fur
several hours threatened the city with
the most serious contarration il had
experienced in many years
The crea, wharvcs of III" Merchants
and Miners Transportation Company's
Warehouses. iillcl with freight just
brought into port 10y steamers from
turned into ruined mass by the flames.
Larg- storage Warehouses filled with
articles ~ value Were wiped out b. th"
fire in a short time.
Til" heaviest losers srr the Ocean
Steamship CompanN which owned the
docks under lease to the Merchants
and Miners Transportation company
tin American Steel Wirr Company.
housc filled with It's prouucts in'"nd"d
for distribution 10 mauv points . 'h'
South; the Conk,ln Tin Plate Company.
which also has a distributing point here.
and the crane COMPANY large d"alrys
in plumbing supplies whose War.nouso
had just been replenish,d fo: the early
spring business. The Atlantic Coast
I..rc Railway also had an office with
valuable records in th" ruins
The Planters BIC. Mil, few blocks
from the C"ntr" uf the 'uEfdgrat!,n,
went up in smoke with the riverfrout
property
The burned area extends from por,
just IVES; uf West Broad street to the
canal which divides the docks Of tho
ocean steamship Company from those
Of III" Merchants and Miners
Because of the peculiar loca,lou Of
the fir" the fire department found It
very hard To nght i, The river
blankctcd one side Of III" burning mass
and the other WAS enclosed in massive
warehouse walls which We're hard to
enter and in which i, was almost i'm
possible to fight the flames hecause of
me large freight accumulation
\ block away from the centre II the
fire lies NamaCraw, q dens"ly populated
section OF the city. made up largely Of
small wooden houses and II was realized
that If the fir" reached this section. the
loss would run much greater than II did
Tn" Efforts If IN" iirom"n wer" directed
largely To saving this section ana keep
ing tn. flames from spreading eastward
toward III" newer portion Of the city.
In this they var, lnrcclv si,rrossf,,l
Luckly there were no ships a, th.
wharf ,f rho Merchants ana Ni,.re
or,. had h.on th,ro carly IN rho evening
I'm, had SAILED an tn I,,ks,ryil. af,,r
b.vi,g d.,o.jt.l q. I,,, ,,,,,,r, 49,,
,r.icb,
l,,,I,. ,r., ,,,,r.,o a., .,o.,,.;,
i,,, ,,l,,,, c,,,,,, r,,.l..,,,,,,,t,,.
,.'', c','', -, 49,.
, .'.',, .,'' ~ a'. =, ~ y
.', ''',''" ,. ,,n',, n,
"' ''' "''' ~
"' ""'.
l"' S''a'h.t i''H.''' AIS" "' 'n' Mer
''""'H anu ."''''''' ''''' ''"' '''' P'''
to-d'N anu 90, h'n al 'ht ocean steam
snip company wharf Ih"rr W'r" NV"
OF the ships "i the savannah Line III
port ana these ""r" carried I" IA point
of SAFETY, although their DOCKS wor" not
dafnaSed
The hre ~ believed To haN" started
in car of hay that stood upon III" dock
Of the Merchants and Miners Transpor-
tatIon Company. There was some talk
for a Will" of an explosion. but the
accepted theory Tonight is that the fire
started in the carload Of hay
II burned quickly end hy the time The
fir.men arrived they found they had IN,
hardest battle Of the last ten wears on
their hands Not only were all the auto
fire engines with which the department
: equipped put into service. bat three
horse drawn reserve engines were
brough, into commission as soon az they
could be manned. At one location In
tho fire the frcmcn were badly hnndl-
capped IN their work by the fumes Of
some poworful acid thai almost blinded