Smyrna times., 1918-03-20
WELLINGTON, NO. SWEPT BY
ANOTHER DISASTROUS FIRE
SMYRNA FIREMEN ANSWER IS. o.
S. CALL" UNDER DIFFICULTIES

Fire Swept Business Section of Ten
Buildings Resulting in Loss of
$50. O.OOO-Merchants Affected
An alarm of fire was sounded in
Smyrna at o'clock Sunday morning
when summons came that Milliugton,
Md, twelve miles distant, was on fire. !
Our boys, ever ready, responded, and /
the big chemical fire engine was soon
chuggiDg at high speed toward Clay |
ton. There they halted because of |
the report that the dirt roads were i'm
Dassable in some places. so it was
deemed advisable to load the Smyrna
fire engine on a car and transport it
by rail. With the assistance of rail-
plished but not until the inclined plat
form had broken down under the
weight of the fire engine, letting the
hind wheels of the fire truck down to
the track. A derrick was brought
into play and everything righted in
few minutes. This caused a loss of
two or more hours in getting to Mil
lington. Had the fire engine been
able to go over on it's own power they
would have been there in a short time
after leaving Smyrna. The Smyrna
fremen were able, however. to keep
the fire from spreading and confined
within the burned area.
Ten Buildings Reduced to Ashes
The fire swept the business section
and destroyed ten stores and dwell
ings. 1t started in the grocery de-
partment of E. A. Wilson'S store,
near Cypress and Ssssafras streets,
and when discovered it might have
been extinguished with few buckets
of water, had they been available.
By the time the populace was aroused
the fire had gained such headway that
aid was summoned from Smyrna,
Centerville, Wilmington, and other
places. Centreville, Md, fire com.
pany. it is said, started, but founC
the road too heavy for the truck. The
! Smyrna fire department was the only
Company which responded, but thu
fire was under control by the TIM
the engine reached town. The loss i
estimated at between $50. 1000 AM
$50, 600. with partial insurance. TIL
following buildings were burned:
. Merchants Who Suffered Severe Lose
h Store at Cypress and Sasafra
r streets, belonging to E. A. Wilson
n with goods valued at $500 to $4,000
: S. H. Benneman and w. T. Nicker
e son, meat market and residence; n
d insurance; loss of $500; Mrs. Tor
l. kin's double store building, valued 6
}. $500. with small insurance; a POI
d ton of this dwelling was occupied b
y Mrs. E. w. Spear, whose furnitur
le was saved; H. M. Hynson's dru
:. store, owned by DR.. Julian T. Power
" loss of 500, insured; T. L
lie Seaffer's bakery, loss about $4,000
L. with partial insurance; Charles N
&c Hurtt's general store; loss fro
D, SIS, 900 to $4,000, with Sc, OC
g insurance; Mrs. Sarah c. Harri
Mt dwelling and vacant store, loss $3.50
&c C. P. Jones' dwelling and store, 10
S25OO; James d. Moore's dwellin
with lcss of $780, During the Fl
large quantity of powder stored
the store of Charles M. Hurt e
ploded, shattering the glass in t
Nm windows of the MillingtOn Bank, t
IS dwellings on the opposite side of t
tie street, and Feddeman & Collins's b
H. hardware store ami the big gene1
on store of H. h. Bennemann, causi
to several hundred dollars loss.
al Second Disastrous Fire to Visit The
" This is the second disastrous fire
'Se visit the town of Millington; t
" first which almost destroyed the enti
u town occurred July II, 1914, wh
'e '1 practically half of the town was c
~ ~ stroyed. Millington is a town
w. 1900 inhabitants; it is situated
" the Kent and Queen Anne's branch
~ the Pennsylvania Railroad at the he
'rl- of Chester River. The high cost
building materials and the scarcity
labor makes it doubtful as to WI
ON the burned area will be rebuilt.
live "Kabir" Big Stallion Brings $2o5.
ms Iohn n REYNOLDS. of Middleton