The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-07-27
Beaudette & Doucette Gran
ite Plant at Montpelier
Was Destroyed ii
TWO SMALLER FIRMS
ALSO BURNED OUT
Fire Burned Is Min, 3 Be-
fore the Alarm ! as
Rung Iy

| A granite plant locs 4 near the Con-
solidated Lighting c 4 any's plant at
the Pioneer section { ontpelier was al
most completely .oyed by fire to-
day, the flames breaking out at ll:20
this forenoon, from a cause which is as
yet undetermined The total loss is es-
timated to be $4,000.
The building was owned by the Ten
ney company and was leased to the gran
ite manufacturing firm of Beaudette &
Doucette, composed of Peter Beaudette
and Louis Doucette. The leasing firm
sub-rented space to the Poma Granite
company and the Gomez Granite COM
|pany In all about fifteen men were EN-
ployed in the building when the plant
was running. For the past two days the
work has been suspended because of the
hot weather. It is said that some mem
bers of the firms were in the building
this morning although business was at
a standstill
A shifting engine had been operating
about the Central Vermont track which
runs near the plant, and there is pos
sibility that the fire may have started
from spark which landed on the roof Of
the structure. The building WAS old and
very dry, In addition to which the in
terror was considerably soaked with oil
.,,c La Wv fnrprnrlu
used as an electric light plant. The fire
seems to have broken out on the upper
part of one end of the two-story wood
en- structure and considerable distance
from the compressor which was To-
Gated in the center OF the building.
As much as a quarter of an hour
elapsed before an alarm was rung in
from box 1885, and the fremen found
their work etfectually nullifed after
they had made their run of mile and
a half. The entire main building was
ablaze and the flames were attacking
one story ell. The main building was de-
stroyed and the ell was thoroughly gut
ted because of the long delay before the
firemen were summoned and because the
fremcn we're handicapped by the intense
heat, they being forced to fight the fire
from behind piles Of lumber or any other
object which promised some measure of
protection. By early afternoon practi
ally nothing remained of the property.
The Beaudette 4 Doucette plant was
ocated on the west bank of the Winoo
Xxi river, and, as already stated, was for
IL -, tnh4 mt
ore that it was used as soap fac
ory and its construction dates back q
.reat many years. Three years ago the
main building was remodeled to a cer-
ain extent and made suitable for gran
te manufacturing purposes. A one-story
mex was also built. The machinery, it
! thought, will be a total loss.
Two freight cars, one of the box type
nd the other fat car, were on sid
ng near the plant when the fire broke
ut, but an engine was hitched to them
nd they and their load of rough granite
'ere hauled out of the fire zone.
The people in the Pioneer section We're
o excited over the sight of the fire that
o one thought to ring in the alarm, and
was not until an automobile party
lme along that the desirability of ring
g an alarm was felt. A member of the
lto party then went to the fire alarm
Ok.
The Tenney company carried an insur-
nee of S2,250 on the building Beau
,tte & Doucette estimate their total
IS to be between $1,000 and $4,000.
Beaudette & Doucette carried $500
lsurance on machinery, stock, tools and
Ipplies and $500 on the ell. The Poma
rsnite company was insured for $1,000
nd the Gomez Granite company carried
, insurance, its loss being $500.