The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-04-04

TIE I~!veliest kind OF a fire, feeding
on the paper stock stored In 16 and Is
Beekman street. yesterday afternoon.
combined with much water and more
undiluted excitement. held up business
In the block bounded by Spruce, William,
Beekman Nassau streets. drew an
audience headed by about every known
city official and gave the fircmen a hard
job.
Though mastered early the fire was
not subdued by any means, and at 10
o'clock last night the fircmen were COM
PEELED to go after spurts of flame. Fire
in closely packed paper Is almost as
hard TO e~xtinguish as n cotton bale fire.
and 1t was this that caused the trouble.
Everything in the two buildings will
lave to bc thrown out before all the
danger is over.
SO far as the two buildings are on
cerned the fire went through them from
the roof to the ground floor, leaving
only hollow shells. There 1t did the
bulk of the $4,000 damage. 1t emptiej
the Nassau-Beekman Building. at lac
Nassau street. sending about 1900 per-
sons to the streets while II burned the
woodwork in offices on the NTH and
sixth floors. incidentally 1t ave the
building superintendent and his four
elevate men a chance TO show their
presence of mind in getting the young
women down water drenched elevator
shafts with nothing worse than one case
Of fainting.
1t cracked the windows OF the building
at II, 10 and IL Beekmau street ana
drove every body there into The street.
1t filled up the Potter Building u the
old Times Building. stopping all work
there. and then swung over into THE
SrN Building. at Nassau and Spruce
streets. which speedily became suffocat-
ingly fun Of smoke from press room 10
roof, giving the windows OH tho south
side the test OF their lives. IL made
everybody quit In Spruce street whose
buildings backed ON the fire and finally
1t sent a river of water into the new
subway excavations which run east In
Bcckman down to William street.
Insurance Men In Charge.
With it all, So far As any one could
learn. no life WIS lost. and except for
minor scratches and bruises received
as a matter of course by the iircmep. no
one was injured.
The old fashioned brownstone five
story buildings at Ii and Is Beekman
street are owned respectively 10y Alice
T.. Suss,iorf and Kate j. Sutton. They
are IN the heart Of the wholesale paper
district. No. ID was occupied on the
ground floor and Easements by the
Bishop Paper Company. The second floor
WAS occupied 10y the Luncheon Hour. IA
MONDAY r~cstaurant. while the third.
fourth and NTH floors were at one time
used 10y I~ishcr a 1&throp. paper
dealers. The same firm occupied all
of No. IS.
Fire on the night Of March 10 went
through Nos. IL and Is pretty thoroughly
The Insurance people took charge there
after and were in charge yesterday when
the fire i~san. Tor scvcri! weeks they
had been removing and s~alvaging MIA
stock they could and about all of any
value had been taken cut. NJ the same
time repair men were at work. GLACIERS
ana plumbers were busy about the place
aud carpenters were active getting the
luncheon Hour ready for business again.
Spencer Lathrop. president of L.asher
a. Iaathrop. who are now at lOi Duane
street. said he understood that the fire
began around the second floor. near the
lunch room. Fire Chief kenlun and
Fire Marshal Brophy said they under
stool II bean on the third floor. From
the windows OF TIL T. Art Depart
ment. three minutes after the first cry
rf fire, II looked AZ though the blaze
WAS all on the fourth and NTH floors
of No. II.
Wherever it began. It was one OF