The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-11-19
BRUSH AND MIRROR
FACTORY MADE
BIG BLAZE
Plant of Arthur S. Payne Destroyed
This Morning
FIFTY MEN THROWN OUT OF WORK
Insurance win Not Cover Heavy Loss
Much of Whi3h was in Finished
Stock.

About so men were thrown out of
work between o'clock and 6 O'Clock
this morning when the brush and
mirror plant of Arthur S. Payne at
the corner of Main and Branch
streets burned to the ground with a
loss of all the buildings and equip
ment excepting the dry klns and
boiler house on the northeast cor
ner.
The origin of the fire is unknown.
There were four men employed in
the shaping rooms on the second
floor last night and they report that
the flames were first noted on that
floor near the roof of the main build
ing which has been standing a NUM-
ber OF years and was OF wood, eX-
tremely infammable They were
famed by high wind and the roof
was soon beyond saving. Lee c.
Warner, who lives two doors south of
the property on Branch street was
aroused and an alarm was sounded
from Box IA, Mr. Warner states that
considering the time in the morning
the fremen were prompt in respond
ing, although the promise of serious
fire caused the ringing of an almost
continuous alarm for over half an
hour. The mill Whistles took up the
alarm and the spectacular size of the
fire drew large crowd.
The conhagration lasted four
hours, the release sounding about
$50. but four firemen were delegat-
ed to keep a stream on the ruins un-
til after 10 O'Clock this morning. The
buildings containing the machinery,
Offices and stockrooms were totally
razed to the ground, a mass Of char
red timbers AT the start of the fire
the intense heat fired the cornices
and woodwork of the adjacent dry
kilns and boiler-room but prompt ac-
tion in closing the fre-doors, and two
strong streams or water, combined
with galvanized iron sheeting which
covers the building, saved the struc
ture.
Mr. Payne stated this morning that
he could not yet estimate the dam
age The greatest loss comes in raw
and manufactured stock The busi-
ness had orders on hand to last it
well into the winter. Mr. Payne re-
porting that il was better than at
any time for the past two years. He
was working two shifts, the day shift
often laboring until 10 o'clock each
evening to fill Christmas orders for
mirrors and brushes Half a dozen
men We're then kept in the shaping
rooms until the following morning,
The buildings were owned by j.
Dukas of New York and were leased
by Mr.. Payne. Prior to Mr.. Payne's
purchase. the plant had been utilized
by George S. Clark as brush fac
tory.
The plant suffered a small fire loss
on the noon of June s, of this year. |
which was eXtinguished before much |
damage had been done. Following |
this fire extensive repairs were made |
and another building added, which |
was wholly destroyed by the fire this
morning.
There is considerable insurance on
the property but not enough to cover |
the loss. All telephone and electric |
wires to the plant were cut or melted |
in the intense heat and two cross
beams burned from a nearby tele- |
phone pole, necessitating some eX-
pense to the telephone and electric |
companies Several hundred piles OF |
cut wood which we're located about |
the yard We're saved, but none of the |
can be used again.
MIR. Payne could not say this morn
ing whether he was to rebuild the |
property or what his plans we're un-
til he had secured an accurate total |
of his loss.
1t is considered extraordinary that
the fire did not spread to property |
as there are several
houses within few rods and the
high wind lifted lighted embers and !
carried them for hundreds of feet.
Seven streams of water, however,
and pluck work by the firemen kept |
the fire loss at a minimum consider
ing the headway which the flames
had secured before the apparatus
could arrive