The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-11-12
By Fire Which Broke Out in
Four-Tenement Building
on Merchant Street
FLAMES SCATTERED
THROUGH PARTITIONS
Firemen Received Call at
$3.50 This Morning and
Worked Two Hours

The row of buildings extending from
the A. Tomasi block at the corner o.
North Main and Merchant streets to thu
n. NJ. Nelson residence on the Summer
street corner was endangered by fire al
an early hour this morning, when 8
brisk blaze broke out in the four .tene
ment structure next to Charlie Wong:
laundry. Frantic householders passed
the word to Mrs. A. Tomasi, whose bus
band owns the property, and she tele.
phoned the fire station at $3.50 o'clock
The auto truck and crew OF firemer
were soon at work. Probably 500 ol
more will be required to repair the dam.
age, which is covered by insurance. Mrs
Pete Labelle, Louis LAWN and R. Cantu
are among the tenants of the house and
all will share. in the loss. Mr.. Cantu's
photograph studio in the front apart
ment escaped damage.
One of the most stubborn blazes in a
long time confronted the firemen when
they entered the house with their chemi-
cal apparatus. 1t was partition fire,
which started in chimney between the
apartments of Mrs. Labelle and the La
wins. 1t went both ways and when the
regulars were not nosing their way to
the second story, they were sure to be
pecking away at the partitions in the
basement. Outside a searching breeze
stood ready to carry the flames hither
and yon when once they should escape
bounds. Smoke billowed from several
windows and people who had been
aroused by the buzzing of the auto truck
thought the whole corner was about to
be destroyed.
In measure the firemen were ham
pered by piles of furniture which the
frightened tenants of the house had as
sembled at every turn. They were con-
tinually humping into the salyagers,
Nearby tenants were alive to the danger
of the fires spreading and stood ready
to lend their assistance at any time.
By using the chemical solution judicious-
ly, the Bremen were finally able TO put
the blaze under control, but not before
the axe men had punctured holes in sew
eral partitions and two floors of the
buildings. In the second story they
faced floor that had three layers of
boarding, so effectively veneered that a
successful resistance to the axe was Of
fered several minutes. 1t was in the
thick of the fire zone, too.
For nearly two hours they fought
with the fire and by o'clock or little
earlier, the fire had been smothered in
every nook and corner. Apartments oc-
cupied by the LAWN family will have to
be thoroughly rejuvenated and exten-
sive repairs will be necessary in the
tenements occupied by Mrs. Labelle and
the photograph man.
Among the first to become aware Of
the fire were the LAWNS. The head of
the family sprang out of bed when
smoke awakened him and started to
arouse Others of the household. BY this
time the Cantu's upstairs had heard the
flames cracking. Undoubtedly the first
to know about the fire was Mrs. La
belle, who happened to be alone in her
apartments, she said. Around midnight,
she heard suspicious sounds above, but
finally charged her fears up to rat
and went to bed. She slept fitfully,
however, and at 3:l5 she heard the noise
again, There was no mistaking it this
time and she was already spreading the
news when Mr.. LAWN made a flying
Jump to the middle of the floor in his
bedroom. Firemen believe the blaze
long time before breaking
out.