The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-04-13
$4,000 DAMAGE TO
PUTNEY TOWN HALL
Fire This Morning Resulted
Probably from Cigar or
Cigarette
STEAMER SENT UP
FROM BRATTLEBORO
Was Not Unloaded as Hydrant and
Steam Pump Service Was Able to
Cope with Situation - Building and
Contents Were Insured.

The upper part of the town hall in |
Putney was badly gutted by fire this
morning, causing loss estimated at
s. 900 on the building There is some
loss to the contents and some of the
5000 volumes in the library are dam
aged. Arthur b. Carter of the Princess
theater of Brattleboro lost some moving
picture materials, but the machine was
taken out. The fire is believed to have
Ioriginated.f a cigarette or cigar stub
in the balcony. Men in the balcony were
smoking last night during the progress
OF dance
1t was soon after 7.30 o'clock this
morning when Roland Simonds. clerk in
/ Davis's store called to Othnel kiburn,
la clerk in Howard's store that he
thought smoke was coming from the
town hall. kilburn ran to the w \.
Cole Paper Cos mill and an employc
lprocurcd 4 key from the pool room of H.
q. Eyerlcth and unlocked the doors. The
alarm was sounded at once ON the mill
whistle and by telephone
The fire company, of which Dr. L. II.
ih-ptt - lfit NIltAt kNNpCltNfh I'lpIli itkAN
with the hose cart which is kept in
quarters in the rear of the town hall.
There are four hvdrants near the town
hall supplied with water by a pump at
the paper mill, Of 900 gallons capacity,
and in very short time the firemcu had
fou effective streams playing on the
building.
: BY the time they got to work the
+l,ra,,a,b : Tn,
land the chances ef saving the sheds and
barns and the hotel. which closely adioin
/. the town hall. appeared to be very small
A telephone message was sent to Brat
tleboro for help and Chief Frank Street
: : er ordered the steamer taken to the rail
road yard for transportation by the Bos
4 ton & Maine railroad
Station Agent Samuel Ashby promptly
got a locomotive. fiat car and caboost
!, ready and as soon aS the engine could b,
: loaded the special left here at $50 ant
made the run in l. minutes
BY that time the Putncy fircmcn la,
succeeded in controlling the fire and pre-
= venting any danger of it spreading t
, the other buildings 1t was unncccssar,
to unload the Brattlcboro equipment am
= it returned here at 1870 O'Clock.
' The firemcn were a little handicappe
by several of the old lengths of hos
bursting and they found that two o
the now lengths had been eaten by rat,
but they managed to get enough tina
) was good To make their successful fight.
During the fire Homer Buxton was cu
on one shoulder by falling slate. an
u William Garland, Fred Howard and job
Lyons also received cuts from fallin
slate.
Among some of the men who did Yer
: effective work were Frank Young, Fran
: kctchum. Louis Burdick Edwin DYE
ie Walter Smith Fred b. Hannum an
Jewett J. Knight.
William Cushman, a Brattleboro col
!, tractor, who was III Puney, estimate
: that it would cost about $1,000 to r,
- place the burned part of the buildin
- From such examination as he could mai
- this morning he believes that the low,
story can be used as it is. with the Il
;. plastering of the walls but the upp,
q story, containing the hall, stage and ba
\, cony must be entirely rebuilt.
The building is insured for $1,000 Il
: contents for $500 and the library bool
- for 81 800 through the George NJ Ga
agency of this town.