The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-03-09
COSTLY YACHTS I'M MPERILED IN BIC. STRATFORD FIRE. Two Men Rescuing Victim Fall With Breaking
 Ladder
PRoPRIEToR,s WIFE
 AIDS IN HIS ESCAPE
Wake1ee's New Storehouse and Tenements Destroyed
 Tn Early Morning Blaze
Special to the Farmer.3

to be the most disastrous fire in the history of this town was discovered at l o'clock this morning on the lower
 floor of the new three story building owned and occupied by Alfred Wake lee as a residence and store house. The building was consumed with a large amount of stock The inmates
 barely escaped and one is now at men were injured.
 Alfred wake1ee has for several years conducted a coal yard and build erss supply house at the Upper Dock, eastern terminus of Broad street He recently completed a three story build ing of cement blocks, wood and brick and on Saturday moved his family in- to it.. The living rooms were on the second floor. On the lower floor was stored dressed lumber, 8. car load of shingles and other building material. |The family consisted Of Mr. Wake lee, his wife. MT. and Mrs Andrew Gorhann, parents of Mrs. Wakelee and l Frank Nonahan. an ernploye Of Mr.. WakeIee.s
 l. Sf1ortly before 1 o'clock MT. Wake lee discovered the fire. The single
 stairway which led to the ground floor was a mass Of flames. Lowered to the ground by means of a blanket he secured a ladder and brought his wife and her septogenarian parents to the
 ground safely. A telephone call was sent to the Stratford fire department through an unknown source. Only
 three men responded to the signals of the department, but others came after the chemical left the house When Ethe hrenen arrived the office WAS roaring furnace
 MT. sWake1ee explained that he had been unable to get Monahan out of the building and made frantic appeals to them to~get to the second floor and save the man. MT. WakeIee had in stalled a fire hydrant in front of the building and the drenaen siamesed
 two Hnes there and commenced the battle.
 l Rowe wheeler and Harry Plumb
 volunteered to attempt the rescue.
 Rowe had been working a line of hose
 within two 1feet of the window of
 the room where Monahan lay. Ac- companied by Plumb, Wheeler return
 ed to the window which he forced open and found Monahan on the floor over- come by smoke. The two nremeu managed to get the unconscious man onto the ladder and were descending
 with him when the ladder broke and
 the two hremen with their unconscious
 burden were precipitated to the.
 ground.
 A stiff southwest wind was blowing the fire in the direction of the William
 Bede1l house. which was already on
 fire There was danger of the de-
 struction of the coal and wood yards
 . GOO worth of valuable yachts owned
 by Harry Gates, David Armstrong.
 Frank Wflrnot and others Chief Jud- son, to protect his only hydrant and
 hose obtained assistance from the
 Bridgeport. department Steamer 2
 and the hose wagon from the same station was sent to the scene and laid
 two additional lines of hose, extin-
 gushing the blaze. which had started
 -z11f ~ x4-- &E-xs
 ship-yards Among the yachts threat-
 ened were the Elizabeth, sUno, H. B.
 Wanderer and Flash owned in this
 city
 In the descent from the building and
 the fall from the ladder, Rowe Wheel
 CT suffered severe injury Monahan
 was stretched out in netghboring
 building and Edward Martin, clerk
 at St. Johns drug store, applied first
 aid treatment. Drs-W B. CoggswelL
 finished the work already well begun
 by Martin. A telephone call brought the gRourke & Rourke ambulance and Monahan was removed to Bridgeport
 hospital where he later recovered com sciousness fully. An examination of the injuries Of State Policeman Wheel
 CT disclosed sprained ankle and he was taken to his home, where he is resting comfortably today. The totteFing east wall of the bsIru-s
 ing building prevented the Bremen from working to advantage on thas side but after the floors fell the wall followed leaving the way clear for operations.
 Of the other occupants of inc build ing MT and Mrs. Gorham are suffer ing from shock Mrs. WakeIee Is in an extremely nervous condition and MT. Wake1ee is suffering from shock and injury to his left eye. The build ing represented the work of a life time and is a total loss. Among the valuables consumed were the jewels of the two ladies, clothing, rugs and fittings 4 sum Of money which MT. Wakelee had in the house was con sumed. The total loss may exceed S20. 900.
 the only insurance on the building, was automatically annul1ed when the fam | fly moved in is a question which is yet to be decided
 Sitting in the office he had occupied las a residence before moving with apartments, with his eye bandaged. Wakelee told a reporter graphically the happenings of the night: .I was awakened by my wife,s 'tAH our apartments the second
 floor communicated with each other A hallway ran beside them. Mon
 ahan lived in the front directly over
 the office. We were in the back. My wife held blanket, while slid down the improyised rope, with only my
 trousers on. I found a ladder. The telephone service had been cut off from use. I rescued my wife and her aged parents. Then went back to look
 for Monahan. He was not in his room- quickly searched the apart
 ments but failed to find him. The fire was then confined to the office alone and the fire department consist ing of three to five men were a1riv- ing.
 search for Monahan and let the build ing burn, but they evidently did not