The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-02-19
BARN AT SOLDIERS
HOME BURNED
SUNDAY
Cow Stable and Portion Of Long
shed Completely Destoyed
oRlsIN OF FIRE IS UNKNOWN
Live Stock Saved but Some Poultry
Perished-Loss Covered by
Insurance.


o'clock Sunday forenoon. destroyed
the COW stable and section OF the
long shed connecting the two sets ol
| barns at the Vermont soldiers home
! The live stock was all saved but some
of the 80 fowls and chickens which
I, were kept in the burned portion ol
| the shed are believed to have been
| burned. There is insurance OF $4SOl
on the barns which will more than
cover the loss.
How the fire started is a mystery
but it was probably set accidentally
by some tramp who had passed the
night in the barns. At tho point in
the long shed where the fire was first
discovered a quantity OF second
growth hay had been stored which
would make the best resting place for
any wanderer who was seeking shell
ter from the cold.
( Much credit is due the fire depart
ment for its efficient work in prevent
ing greater destruction. AS soon as
, he arrived on the ground Engineer
William f. Sears realized that the
COW barn was doomed and he accord
ingly directed his efforts to keep the
flames from running through the
sheds and communicating to the 9TH
err big barn near Park street.
Some trouble was experienced in
locating the hydrant attached to the
home water system but two lines OF
hose were soon strung and the water
turned into the shed ahead of the fire
which was being driven by stiff
west wind toward Park street. Once
the shed was thoroughly soaked in
side the water was turned on the
blazing ruins Of the barn.
There is over 140 pounds pressure
on the system at the home but after
the third line OF hose was connected
the capacity of the six-inch main was
exceeded and the fourth line was laid
to the ,hydrant on Park street Some
members of the department with a
portion of the apparatus remained on
the grounds until late in the alter
noon before 1t was considered safe to
leave the .still smouldering wreckage.
About ten tons of hay in the COW
stable made a roaring fire. Great
clouds OF smoke driven eastward by
the wind gave the impression that
the fire was of even greater proper
tions The heat was intense and the
firemen worked at a disadvantage
because OF It, Before noon, however.
it was apparent that the destruction
would be limited to the original area.
But for the slate roofing with which
the barns were covered all of
t,,;t nrnha hlV have
been burned. Blazing brands were
carried by the wind toward the large
building facing Park street but the
fire did not spread except as 1t
worked its way under the roofs.
The barns were built many years
ago by the late Seth b. Hunt when he
developed the property into what was
then a palatial New England estate
and which was turned over to the
board of trustees of the soldiers
home in 1887. There were three large
barns. Two, including the cow
stable which was destroyed, were in
one group and were connected by the
long shed with the third barn near
Park street The shed was original
" cut up into stalls in which Mr..
Hunt kept large number of blooded
horses. The silo located between the
two barns to the west was built by
Former Superintendent Thomas Han
non. Col. Harmon said Sunday that
there must have been 20 tons of en-
silage in the silo. The structure was
not much damaged but it is probable
that the contents are partially if not
entirely ruined.
The alarm was rung in from box 46
located on telephone pole near the
home building. SO far as is known
this is the first time that an alarm
was rung from the box.