The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-03-09
FROZEN HYDRANTS BALK
STRUGGLING FlREhfEN AS
HOME BREWERY BURNS
BottIing Department of
Home Brewing Co.
Falls In Ruins After
Early Morning Blaze.
Auto Trucks and Other
Equipment Destroyed
In Flames = Estimate
Damage at $25, 1000.


Fire believed to have been caused
by defective wiring destroyed the bot
thing department of the Home Brew
ing Co., on Hallam street, about $3.50
this morning. An estimate of the
damage given by John H Splitter, the
company secretary, is s25seO0. Frozen
hydrants hindered the bremen. A
second alarm was rung from boxNo.
651 at Hamilton and Ha1let streets.
The building where the bottling de-
partment is54ocated is of framework
and it was burned to the ground. The
cable wires leading to this department
for the purpose Of charging storage
batteries in the department were
made q mass of twisted wire. Adj
Joining the bottling department is a
garage used to store the motor trucks
of the delivery department. One six
ton truck valued at $1,000, was de-
stroyed and three three-ton trucks,
worth $4,000 each. were ruined.
Another six-ton truck was nearly ruin
ed and the loss to this is placed at
about $1,000. The damage to the mo-
tor vehicles will total $10,800.
Only about 100 cases of prepared
bottled beer were in the building and
until such time as repairs have been
made to the bottling department the
customers of the Home Brewing Co.
will be supplied by the Connecticut
Brewing Co.
The bottHng machinery is wrecked
almost beyond repair. Considerable
salvage may be obtained. Damage to
the bottling apparatus will approx
mate $4,000. The frame building
used for bottling purposes was burned
TO the ground and officials of the com
pany say it will cost about $4,000 to
rebuild.
The IRE is believed to have started
in the office There was no stove in
the office, which was heated by steam
Watchman John Boder made his
rounds of the premises at 3 o'clock
and found everything in good order. 1t
was between 3:15 and 3:2o O'Clock
that Engineer Herman Heyrogt dis
covered flames issuing from the roof
of the bottling department office. He
ran to Hamilton and Ha1et streets,
where he rang in an alarm from Box
No. 651.
By the time the fremen arrived the
entire bottling plant was in flames
and the blaze was threatening the
brewery plant as well as the adjoining
six family frame tenement the bot
tom floor of which is occupied by the
bakery of Schin Bros The families
in the tenement house ran to the
street in their might clothes but the
building was protected by stream
of water played upon its side near
Chief Daniel E. Johnson.
The fremen were held up for sew
eral minutes when two hydrants were
found frozen Chief johnson order
ed a second alarm rung in This
called Engine Companies and TO-
Fires were built around the hydrants
and in a short time they were in good
working order
The flames were chiefly centered
about the bottling room No stock
is kept on hand in this department.
AS soon as the bottles are filed they
are shipped to customers. About LOO
cases were destroyed by the flames
Two electric switchboards, each val
ned at 81 800, were partly destroyed.
The large motor vehicles in the gar
age adjoining the bottling department
were ruined before the arrival of the
hremen.
Secretary John H. Splitter 1abored
for five hours yesterday, repairing one
Ct the trucks. When he had it com
pleted President Louis E. Kutscher
Jr.. advised Splitter to store the truck
in the garage. He did SO, only to find
it in ashes upon his arrival at the
plant this morning.
The office building east of the bot
Ting department was threatened by
the flames when strong westerly
breeze drove the flames in that direc-
tion. The rooms over the Office are
occupied by Chief Brewer A. H. Gosch
and his family and the family of En-
norther soon sprang up a~1 the flames
were waited towards the main brew
ing plant which is composed of iron
and brick structural work The main
Continued on Page 2.)