The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1916-10-23
MANY BUILDINGS BURNED
IN SUNDAY NIGHT FIRE
Fire in Rear of Large Business
Buildings Last Night Destroys
About $4,000 Worth of Property.

About $4,000 Worth of Property.
A fire which seems to have started
either in the stables or the hitching
sheds in the yard in the rear of the
w. R. Hearn & Son store, last night,
before it was finally extinguished,
destroyed property with an estimated
value Of from $4,000 to $4,000.
and burned ten or twelve frame
buildings.
The fire was first discovered about
half-past ten o'clock by Mrs. Clar-
ence S. Richardson, who happened to
glance out of a rear window, and
was surprised to see light blaze in
one of the buildings in the rear OF
the Hearn store. She Immediately
gave the alarm, but on account OF
the inflammability of the buildings,
and their contents, the flames spread
rapidly from one to another, until
nearly all of those in the immediate
neighborhood were destroyed. In
the first building which was noticed
to be on fire, there was a consider
able quantity of straw and hay; also
the wood in the buildings was very
ury, being well protected from the
weather, and as a result of this con-
dition they burned like SO much tin
der.
The fire spread quickly from the
stable to the hitching shed and ran
along this to the storage houses.
which joined right up to them. and
jumped across the yard to the stor-
age houses on the other side. Had it
not been for the magnificent work Of
the members of Rescue Fire Com
pany, the fire probably would have
enveloped the stores Of Hearn &
Son, E. M. Skinner & Bro, whole
sale grocers, and the United Stores,
as the burned buildings were very
close to them, some of them as close
as twelve or fifteen feet.
An outbuilding on the property
tenanted by Mr.. and Mrs. Clarence
S. Richardson, used for storage pur-
poses, also caught fire and was de-.
stroyed. The close proximity Of the
fire to SO many large and valuable
buildings caused the Fire Company
to sound a number of alarms, in or
der that every available man might
be on the job. On Muir street, less
than SO yards away, was the large
garage of the Phillips Hardware Co.;
still closer, on Race street. was the
large boarding house of Mr.. and
Mrs. Richardson, a frame building,
while on the other side of the fire
were the large buildings of the Unit
ed Stores, used for wood and coal
and general purposes, while adjoin-
ing these were the buildings used by
Mr.. J. Airey Brannock as a garage.
A high wind was blowing at the
time, and that the flames were kept
confined to the burned area was due
to the splendid work done by Rescue
Fire Company, the members Of
whom kept streams of water pouring
on the burning and adjoining prop
|erties, thereby keeping the flames
confined to the burning buildings,
and at the same time preventing the
adjoining buildings from catching on
fire either from the intense heat or
the flying sparks. s
The loss to the Hearn property is
estimated at from $500 to $500,
the burned machinery and imple-
ments being valued at about $4,000.
These were mostly stored in two
buildings, one in the rear OF the
Skinner store and the other at the
extreme end of the Hearn lot. The
building in the rear of the Skinner
lot contained large number Of
pieces of International Harvester
Company machinery of various
kinds, and also considerable guam
tity of wire fencing. The other
hui > urran4s P1otws naiu UIner mas'
chinery, and large supplies, appar-
emily, of parts for different kinds OF
agricultural implements. The build
ings and sheds were probably worth
about $1,000 or 1900.
Messrs. E. M. Skinner & Bro. esti-
mate their loss at about $500. they
having had one building burned. in
which was stored a considerable
quantity Of salt, and also a portion
of their delivery equipment.
The United Stores lost two build
ings, one Of which, in the rear Of
their lot, was used for storing re-
turned sacks; the value Of the
building was very slight, but 1t con-
tanned about $l00 worth of sacks.
The other was the old church build
ing, which formerly occupied the site
of their store; when their fine new
building was erected, the Old church
was moved back and was fixed up as
a lime and cement house. Their loss
is estimated at from $500 to $500,
and is very nearly covered by insur-
ance.
The fire was one of the most spec
tacular in years, the frame buildings
burning very rapidly and making the
hottest kind of fire, while the
flames shot upward in great waves,
giving the appearance of huge and
unusually destructive conflagration.
Automobile robes and horse
blankets at The United Stores
Adv. 13-6t. cod.