The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-03-27
Glass Shattered for Miles
and Blazing Debris Car
ried Across River
ESTIMATED DAMAGE
PUT AT $4,000 900
Erie Shops, Locomotives and Cars
Burned-Chemicals in Warehouses a
Total Loss-Force Of Soldiers Hurried
/ to the Scene

1Otdl LOSS UICc Va oul4lcio 4Au1AAoU
to the Scene.
| NEW YORK, March 27.-Fire following
series of unexplained explosions de
stroyed the six-story building of the Jar
Wis Warehouse company, inc, near the
Erie railroad terminal in Jersey City late
yesterday and badly damaged the Erie
repair shops No loss of life had been re-
ported tonight
The material damage was estimated
by Jersey City police and fire officials at
close to 100000.
The goods stored in the warehouse, said
to have included quantity of chemicals,
were total loss A rigid investigation
was begun at once by federal, state and
city authorities
The first of the terrific detonations,
which occurred shortly after 3 O'Clock,
shook windows in downtown Manhattan
and caused considerable alarm. Visions
OF another Black Tom disaster or a bonn
bardment by the Germans were In many
minds. Burning cinders which rose il
the heavy cloud of black smoke, were car
RED by the wind across the North River
and fell along the waterfront.
While the excitement was at its heigh,
the Erie ferry house, a three-story struc
ture in West street, on the New Iorl
side of the river, was discovered to be OF
fire. A lighter close by, loaded with sew
eral hundred bales OF cotton, also wa!
blazing fercely and still further south
the Hoboken ferry slip of the Lacka
wanna railroad was on FIRE. These fire
! were easily extinguished by the New Yori
, hremen, many OF whom were ordered I,
Jersey City to fight the bigger fire
Employed in the Jarvis storehouse wer
between 10 and 80 men, but the promp
sounding of the alarm is believed to hav
enabled all to escape. Scores of person
J | IN the streets were cut by falling glass
hundreds OF store and tenement window:
c some OF them a mile away, were blown on
by the force of the blasts. Several sma
frame buildings near the warehouse WEI
wrecked by the explosions.
Frightened women and children file
q the streets in the congested sections
n Jersey City and Hoboken near the seen
Of the explosion and would not retur
y to their homes until treasured by tir
D. men and policemen.
The fire spread with such rapidity tn,
-, the Jersey City fighters soon called t,
= outside aid. Engines and other appar
V, tus were sent from Hoboken, New Yol
ID and other points and did effective ser
ice in checking the spread of the flame
er A stiff wind was blowing from the mort
to and for a time it looked as though Il
id entire Erie waterfront property wou
be destroyed. BY desperate efforts, no
| no tIo 10
v, an area covering about two acres
~ The storage warehouse Of the Nation
Calcium Carbide company and the UNI
oy Cold Storage plant, both large concern
&C. at one time were in imminent dang,
-rt but were saved by the fremen
Reports that number of men had be
rk killed and injured caused an emergen
an call for ambulances to be sent to 70
nearby hospitals. Ten employees of t
Jarvis company, suffering burns and Gu
~ were taken to St. Francis hospital
sn' Hoboken
en- More than 200 employees, a number
them women, were at work in the f
ed shops. All had time to escape before
flames reached the buildings Accord
to fire department officials not only W,
g the shops badly damaged, but 10 or
~ locomotives were destroyed. In addit
dozen loaded and empty freight c
tim were burned. A large pile of coal a
vas ignited and was still burning ]
tonight
L. j. Jarvis, secretary and treasu
,,o of the storage warehouse said he co
e. not explain the explosions. He sta
~ shat all kinds of dry materials, the
re. ture OF which he did not know, W
lent stored there by various concerns
)uld United States government had been US
He the warehouse, but only as a private
With tron. MIR. Jarvis said the loss to his {
in Germ and his patrons would probe
,o,, reach $1,000, 600.
Ie Stories as to where the fire stal
u differ. The first explosion, it is said
10 cured in a corrugated iron shed
r OF joining the main building and the fire
This followed quickly spread to the SKIS
oot- structure Here, according to per-
hap who were earliest on the scene, the f
Of the blast blew the roof off the bull
and in a few moments the ruins wei
-. mass of flames
LA Immediately after the explosion a /
force of soldiers from Hoboken and a
fer. pany OF coast guards from New York
ee ! hurried to the scene, where they ASST
in fighting the fire and holding back
immense crowd which gathered