New Britain herald., 1917-02-22

! It was after 1 o'clock this morn
 ing before it was considered safe to { return apparatus to the various fire 1 houses. Details were left with water
 lines at several of the sites to wet
 down smouldering embers.
 Chief of Police William J. Rawlings
 took personal charge of the street de-
 tails and men in charge of fire lines.
 Every member of the department and
 all supernumeraries were pressed into
 service and kept on duty continuously.
 Patrols were established along Main
 and side streets with orders to thor
 oughly inspect back yards. porches
 and arrest any suspicious characters. Traffic Supervisor Charles Lamphere 1 had general charge of the patrol
 work.
 Building Inspector Arthur N. Ruth
 erford, Commissioners Edward G. l Babcock. Frank J. Moran and How ard M Steele and many others prom l inent in the city government were ac- 1 tive in assisting the police and fire l details. Offers of automobiles for use
 in transporting fire and police details
 were made freely.
 Shortly after discovery of the Hatch
 building fire, Mayor George A. Quig- : ley decided that the police and fire l departments were not adequate to l cope with the emergency and com 1 municated with Governor Marcus M. 1 Holcomb with a request to call out
 Companies r, and I of the ,. First Connecticut National Guard Gov ernor Holcomb was reached at a ban quet at the Hotel Taft in New Haven
 Permission for the use of the militia was given and the sending in of the | o1 oil ftn o1o cH-ctnn l dered. The action was given even more 1 hurried response through the Boy Scouts who were directed to circu- l late among the streets crowds to give information that all national guards men were wanted at the armory at once for emergency duty. For sev- eral hours the Boy Scouts rendered valuable duty messengers and as sisting in maintaining the fire lines. Their work was of the highest type and received commendation of city and police officials
 Volunteers gave the firemen much needed assistance in the handling of hose and with the apparatus. Fash nionably dressed men, workingmen, representatives of all creeds and sta tions in life, worked side by side, many of them wet to the skin.
 Suspect Escapes.
 An unidentified man, suspected of being one of the trio responsible for the campaign. narrowly escaped cap- ture in Luddy's Church street cafe during the excitement. Vigilance on the part of cafe employees prevented another threatening cellar fire. It was the early pVaninp stranger, covered with dust, eobwebs and grime passed through the cafe stopping for a drink. He then left hurriedly. A few minutes later fire was discovered in pile of waste in the cellar. The flames were% extin- guished without calling in outside as- siStance. s
 May Be Hartford Eircbug.
 As far as can be leapfed, the au- thorities have been unable, to secure, a specimen of the bombs that are sus- pected of being responsible. They are believed to be the same type as were used in a mysterious series of Hart ford fires recently. It is known that 1 the Hartford authoritiessEecured onesl or more of the bomhA9and ,jhave An- vestigated them. CunpiAgly decfsed by a master mind ands apparently, ex- pert chemist, the bombsgare said to be the most 'effectivssand dealy yet discovered l
 According to 0n1ciaI belief, the bombs are of4such type as can be placed Tn building hours in advance 1 of the time that they are expected to | become effective. It is believed thai l by means of an acid arrangement, the 1 hOn1 bS of ho they cSn be secreted in cellar ar | other parts of a building and ara 1 harmless until the acid eats through l the container with chemical action. resulting. The bombs are filled wiM1 some chemical mixture simila nkFfo 1 Greek fire" which causes an exn,n- l sion when it comes into contact with l water, the flames being distributed widely and spreading with great rapidity. Fear is expressed that more Of these bombs have been secreted in buildings abont tho city. The au- thorities reco1efh end ,nat owners and occupants of buildings use all pre- cautions, keep doors and windows tightly locked as well as viewing with susplclon the appearance of strangers about a building.
 The telephone Exchange was taxed to capacity but met the emerpencv ethclently and gave excellent service Under the direction of Miss Annie R Russell, chief operator, every avail ] able operator on both day and niyht i shifts was pressed into service. All precautions were taken to protect the company's propert% locally V. 1, 1 Nlckerson district traffic chief and other officials came from Hartford to personally supervise the work Oper- alors working the long shifts were ! furnished with refreshments. Auto- i mobiles were pressed into service for 1 bringing extra oporarors to +bo ~.