The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-02-26
Judge J. B. Sanford Victim of Incendiary Third Time Within Two Years When He Loses Barn Where Ridges New Chemical En- zine Was Housed Only Partly Insured.
Volunteers Slow in Respond ing To Alarm For Early Morning Fire and Build ing Falls Before Aid Ar rives Suspect Marauder Bored Hole In Structure To Set It Af1ame.
iespeciaI to The Farmer. )

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 Reddinx Feb. 26.-Another was a,d- ded to Redding' long list of incen- diary fires and. the destruction this morning of large new barn located at Reading Center and owned by J. B. Sanford. town clerk and Judge of pro- bate. -
 The flames were first seen at 2 o'clock by Charles Hingle. living about half mile away. He and his son hurried to the scene and pounded long at the door of the Sanford house before any of the dozen or more in- mates was Awakened. Young Hingle ran to the barn where the flames were burning brfsI1iy in the northwest corner. but locked Esd oors barred his
 Judge sanford arrived soon after, and the live stock in the building con sisting of eight cows and three horses were removed from danger. Smoke had not penetrated enough to cause their sl1ffOcation- There were burned, farm implements. and among the property destroyed was a new chem icaI engine recently purchased by the Bedding Ridge fire department. which arrived only about week ago and was fenaporafrly stored on the upper floor near the hay nov. where the blaze cEtefnatedzl
 be1ated alarm was sent through the local telephone exchange but aroused very few from their slilnb CTS E M Bradley, one of the first who heard 1t, managed to summon Rev. Raymond Cunning ghams the fire chief There was a Iong-delayed response rat the sanford school where one of the chemical. engines is kept. At length, however, this machine and the one housed by President H. s. Barnes, to- gether with the truck kept by Milo Osborne,S were connected and ready to start when word was phOned that the apparatus could give no service as the barn was past help and the Sanford house in no danger, having been saved by a strong northwest wind, which blew the flames in the opposfte direction. %
 The Insurance on the building and contents was $500. The loss outside Of the chemical engines was fully $2,- BOO. While the circumstances strong 1y support the arson theory, the fact that the building was locked, tends agHfn to the supposftfon that the blaze was started inside. The place of origin, in the hay mow, was a part of the building that no one belonging on the premises had entered in sew eral weeks r. The building was lock ed at 5:3g yesterday afternoon, and possibly before that time tramp went inside. It would be easy how. exer. to bore a hole through the sid- ing and insert match or lighted can dle.a A close examination this morn ing Of the cI5crred timber at the cor ner shows tpe prints of auger. This circumstance is regarded as a definite clue.
 This is Judge Sanford's third fire. aIIo Of them supposedly incendiary. The first occurred in January, 1918, when a building used as a creamery and store was burned with a loss of about $2,0 900 on which there was no insurance. The second was April Il of last year, when the main barn on the premises was destroyed, with several head of live stocq and farm implements, causing a loss only part ly insured
 The town offered then a reward of $500. This has not been productive of any result It still stands.