The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-02-25
ELEVATOR GAR nGTS AS CHECK
 10 GARAGE FIRE Mechanician's Presence of Mind Keeps Clark Garage From Being Total Loss FOURTEEN CARS ARE
 LOST; 31 DAMAGED Insurance Adjusters Not Yet Through Garage
 Loss $25, ,OOO

Losses of about $25,0 were caus- ed the Arthur l.. Clark company, at TITO Main street, yesterday by the fire that g1tted part of the structure owned by him at the Bulls Head. To- tai losses from the fire have not been aggregated yet but it is believed the, estimate of the Farmer yesterday is accurate
 Chief Edward Mooney will begin his investigation of the fire this stf- ternoon. The cause has not been determined, though opinions of those on the scene of the fire place the reason for the fire as the conbina- ton of an ignition coil and gaso- line.
 Joseph Rapp, a, mechanician ern- p1oyed in the garage, saved the first and second floors from destruction, it was learned today. He is the man who had the presence of mind to run the elevator to the top floor of the building, thereby cutting off the vent to the danes and preventing them from travelling downward. Ac- cording to fremcn, the building might have been a total loss but for Rappss quick thinking.
 Mir Clark said today that If ears were destroyed and 31 were damag- ed Five of those destroyed were owned by him. Among the owners or cars that were burned III the names on the top floor, are Dr. W. J. H. Fisher of Milford; Herbert FIans- burgh, E. H. Oliver, Thomas Joyce, Charles Logan, Miss A. M. Pefers.l Benjamin Weinstein and John J. Scan1on. damaged, were all on the second floor. All the tools, machinery and other equipment on the top floor were destroyed
 Insurance underwriters were busy about the place this mornisg and this afternoon They were mostly con cerued with the property of those who owned cars in the garage, as Mir CIark's property was only slight 1y insured
 Miss Lucy A Raven, .bookkeeper of the establishment, was heroine. When the fire broke out and she was urged to run from the building, she hesitated. in the belief that it was merely a blaze such as frequently oc- CUTS in garages and which is generally extinguished with chemicals When the blaze and smoke became sudden ly apparent however, she stayed in her office, collecting the papers checks and valuable assets and put as many as possible in the safe and locked it. Then she gathered other valuable things in her arms and rushed from the building while smoke and flame poured from the upper stories She deposited the beIong- ings in a place of safety and tried to run back for nores needless of the probability that the building might be blown to pieces at any minute. Policemen and nreTnen prevented her
 Interesting stories of things con nected with the fire today were dis closed in the inventory of effects pr. Fisher Of Milford has cause for re- gret Shortly before the blaze broke l out, he was called on the telephone l by MT. Clark and offered a chance to sell his car and receive a. new one reasonably. He refused the offer, saying that he would wait for the next new model. An hour or so later he was again in co1nmunication 1 with this city for further details on 1 the proposed sale of the automobile. He learned he didn't own one, as it i had been burned in the blaze. 1 Some spectator at the fire stole the plate bearing the number of the 1 Fisher machine and insurance under writers are having difficulty this af- ternoon adjusting the claim
 Benjanin Weinstein, a cattle deal CT, had unique nisfortune. His l horse died Tuesday. His car was burned yesterday.
 The heavy rain of last night and this morning did great damage in the [ building. Last evening. before the l rain, steam was turned son and the l building was dried. Much of the l stock on the lower floor was found l undamaged. The rain damaged most of it last night and this morning. | however, as the burned roof allowed 1 it to cascade into the lower floor