The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-11
FIRE IMPERILS MAGAZINES
OF u, M. c. CO.; LAB0RERS
and GUARDS FIGHT IT OFF
Tons Of Explosives in Coun
try Sections Above Arms
Plant Almost Encircled as
Flames Famed BY Breeze,
Sweep Over Meadowland.
More Than Hundred Work
men, Armed With Brooms
and shovels, Adopt Forest
Fire Fighting Tactics and
Quell Imminent Danger.

+ satt
Fire, believed to have been caused
by the smoking Of guard in the mag
a.zfne park of the Union Metallic Cart
ridge Co. swept over fve acres of
underground and grass, imperiIed tons
OF explosives stored in the magazines.
and gave aboub $50 laborers and
guards a hard fight before it was sub
dued. just before noon today.
The men who did the actual IRE
the Southern New England Telephone
Co. and in the construction of a rail-
road extension through the o. M. &C.
property.
Commanded by the guards. the la
borers, armed with yshovels. and
nafchetss foilowed py the slaaras VINO VINO
were armed with broous. cut down
the umderbr1sh and beat out the
names but only after IT ore p1int It
had Swept TO within about 20 feet of
one OF the storehouses where tons
OF black powder were reported to be
cached.
The guards, instructed In the art of
fire 1ghdnSp for just such an emer-
gency, did efEectfve work in directing
their unexpected reinforcements from
the labor gangs. These Knen. mostly
italian 1aBorers, worked without the
Knowledge that within a few feet we're
stored enough explosives to blow them
chance become commupicated to the
Interior of the unpretentious little
houses.
In the section toward which the fire
was sweeping are located hundreds of
tons OF explosives stored for the use
OF the company in it's manufacture of
aartridges. Most of these magazines
are sunk in the ground and covered
with sod on which there is dry grass
more than a foot high Because of
the danger of explosion from fire,
guards are forbidden to smoke while
in the park It is believed that g .vfo-
latfon Of this rule caused the fire..
That there was danger that the sew
eraI great magazines in the park
might have been exploded by the fire
with possible loss of life among the
nran employ ed there as well as heavy
vicinity due to the conclusion, was
admitted by the guards after the fire.
The automobile chemical engine at
fthe Union Metallic Cartridge Co. fac
tory and the hre fighters there under
command OF Capt. Inches, were called
but their apparatus stalled in a sand
hill just below the line Of fire and by
THE time they had it in motion again
the fire was almost extinguished.
+ The fire broke out at the foot Of the
hill just northwest of the line which
separates the park at that point from
view home on his way along the road
which skirts the park at this point
saw two guards come overS the brow
OF the htu and saw them stop when
half way down. Both lighted pipes or
efgarettes About "a quarter of an
hour later q brisk fire, famed by the
wind which was blowing in that direc-
ton, was sweeping up the hill. To the
right of where the IRE started there is
timber and underground. The fire
took good hold there and soon the
brush was converted into hundreds of
standing torches.
A guard patrol of two men discov-
i cred the fire and after making vain
attempts to halt it they sent word to
Corporal John Wagner He in turn
tc1ephoned to the guard headquarters
for aid and. in the meantime started
to get in communication with all the
guards about the park, calling them
to come and help fight the fire. Be
cause Of the direction Of the wind the
fire was at first burning away from
the magazine which, is located in an
other section OF timber to the left of
where the blaze first started and just
Under the hill.
communicated to the dry grass and
mounting the crest OF the hill, spread
slowly downward toward the powder
magazine. This Is one of the new
magazines established recently, the
company since the explosion of sew
eraI years ago having decided on the
policy of dividing the explosives into a
number of magazines. It is believed
that number of tons of black pow
der were stored there but what the
nature OF the explosives were or the
quantity contained officials OF the
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