The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-09-11
Can Set on Stove <ss> 4ged
A. M. STAFF IS Prop
erty 9 - Street
MR.. AND MRS. STAFFORD
SLIGHTLY BURNED
Firemen Had Their Hardest
Struggle Of Several
Months

fire which had its origin when d can
OF paint on the kitchen stove exploded
to-day, did damage totaling $1,000 to
the house at Al Long street owned and
occupied by A. NJ Stafford. At 7.45
o'clock all of the city's fire fighting ap-
paratus was called by general alarm
turned in from box 10 Mt the corner Of
Warren and Long streets, and for Is
minutes the fremen struggled with one
OF the worst house fires that Barre has
had in many months. The loss on the
house and furnishings is covered by in
surance in the agencies of A. c. Brown,
Montpelier, and g. H. Pape Of Barre, Mr..
Stafford stated to-day.
In attempting to throw the can Of
blazing paint into the door yard. Mr.
Stafford was burned about the hands and
wrists and his hair and eyebrows were
badly singed. Once his clothing took fire
and in coming to the aid OF her husband
with rug with which she smothered
the fire around him, Mrs. Stafford's hair
was singed in many places. Neither one
suffered greatly from the effects of the
burns.
Probably the paint contained gasolenr
or some other eombustible element. for
Mr. Stafford had no more than gone up
stairs, leaving his wife in the kitchen,
when he heard loud explosion. Hurry
ing to the kitchen, he found his wife
yainly trying to move the can its con-
tents now scattered over the stove, to
the door. Mr. Stafford grabbed ham
mer and secured hold on the cover OF
tine can, but the blazing paint dripped
along the floor, and by the time he
reached the yard, the paint had commu-
nicated fire to the floor and walls of the
kitchen. Mrs. Stafford tried TO save
some of the yaluables in the rooms on
the first floor, but the fire spread so
rapidly that it was impossible. She was
obliged to leave the house. Mr.. Stafford
attempted to reach the telephone in or
der to notify fire headquarters, but the
flames were in his path.
BY the time the firemen arrived, the
flames were bursting from the ell of
the house on the east side, Fire had
gradually crept to the roof on the out
side and within it had found its way
into the main part of the structure.
Chemical connections were made and two
hose lines were laid. Volumes Of smoke
issuing from every aperture in the first
story made progress extremely difficult.
but gallons of water dumped onto the
fire soon began TO tell. The iiremen la
bored hard to keep the blaze within
fighting bounds and in this they were
quite successful In several places par,
titions were cut open in order that the
water might get better hold on the
flames. By s o'clock, nearly every ves-
tige of fire had disappeared, although
detail of call men and regulars was left
at the house. while the apparatus re-
turned to the station.
Fire alone is not responsible for Mr.
Stafford's greatest loss. Everywhere
about the lower part Of the house the
furniture is well nigh ruined; the wood
work in every room is destroyed to all
purposes and the walls are also
badly affected by smoke and fire. Per
sons early on the scene say they never
saw fire spread with such rapidity.
The kitchen. in the ell part, where the
blaze had its starting point, is almost
a total lVss, having been Quilted from
floor to ceiling on adj sides. The east
end of the ell ON the outside is burned
in many places and elsewhere scorched.
Hardly a whole pane of glass remains
on the first floor.
The owner of the house feels his loss
more keenly since he was about to put
the finishing touches on extended re-
pairs to the structure just as the fire
broke out He had already expended
much money i'm renovating the place.
Mrs. Stafford was nearly overcome by
he shock, together with her narrow es-
APE from burns. However soon repairs
It the burned house may be under way,
he family will be unable to occupy 1t
or several weeks. MIR. Stafford will re-
,uld the ell portion of the building at
nee. Only repairs will be necessary on
he main structure.
Fire in a congested district off Pearl
treet scared good many folks in that
.ieinity last evening and resulted in the
of the auto fire truck and
handful of regulars from station one.
The cause of all the disturbance was a
'laze in the basement of barn owned
" A. H. Buzzell in the rear of the hotel
,uzzell. Five minutes after teamster
ad shut up the place for the night, ac
ording to the story furnished the fire
hief, someone noticed smoke and flames
round the straw on the inside. The fire
ras plainly visible and among the first
o reach the barn was Henry Buzzell.
telephone call brought the truck to
earl street very quickly, but the volun
GERS had begun TO get the blaze under
ontrol. Buckets of water poured on the
re by dozen willing hands soon re
uced it to a shoulder and the firemen
,ere needed only in putting on the fin
hing touches to what might have been
serious fire.
The blaze is believed to have been
tarted while the teamster was in the
arm, although some minutes elapsed att
r lac left before it was discovered
hief c. g. Ciladding of the fire depart
rent. who looked the place over, said
ne damage would be trivial The truck
ent out of the station around $40
clock The barn is occupied by Pae-
not Rros the Summer strept klaek-