The sun., 1919-05-19
TRAFFIC TIED UP BY
ODD FIRE ON BRIDGE
Flames Destroy 200 Feet Of
Trackage on williamsburg
Structure.
STREET CARS ARE HALTED
Passengers in B. r. T. Cars in
Near Panic; Two Cut
by Glass.

Creeping fire that started from q
lighted cigarette or q short circuit on
the west bound tracks Of the B. r. T.
elevated route In the centre Of the Will
imsburs Bridge last night partly burned
away 400 feet of track and the
wooden roadbed and caused a tieup
Of traffio for several hours. Two cars
stalled on the bridge when FIRE caught
on the cable insulation were nearly
wrecked by frantic passengers. Their
alarm was increased by the clouds of
smoke that came rolling up on them.
After the fremen had completed their
work 1t was found that one rail on the
westbound track had been warped from
three to four feet from its bed by the
slow action of the flames, and 1900
feet Of cable insulation had been burned
away on both east and westbound tracks.
No damage was done to the bridge
structure.
No attempt was made either by acting
Chief Martin or B. r. r. officials to ex-
plain the extraordinary nature of the
fire. II started at almost the exact
centre Of the bridge and ran toward the
Manhattan side. working slowly and
with little flame along the B. r. T.
tracks. without spreading to the Man
haitian surface tracks on either side.
The curtain formed by the overhead
footpath prevented the fire from quick
combustion, with the result that 1t fed
gradually along the grease spattered
ties. The most unusual fact was that
the trackage was at no point burned
through. The fire skipped along, scorch-
Ing the ties and the track bed, finding
lodgment where the drippings from the
OIL cups OF trains were most plentiful,
but in the main burning only the upper
surface of the woodwork
The hreboat Strong came from its
Grand street station to a point directly
under the bridge. The fire could be seen
burning brightly 1876 feet above. The boat
made run inshore and connected with
a water main at the East River level
and then ran up It's extension hose. In
a rev minutes the stream was spraying
the flames far above.
The result was a shower OF sparks
Of Hook and Ladder IS and Engine II
to work. Acting Chief Martin. who was
directing the preliminary work with fire
extinguishers. received a slight shock
from water spattered cable. Telephone
orders were then sent in to the b. II. T.
power station to shut down until the
fire could be put out. A delay of half
an hour ensued while the flremen waited
The excitement at both the Manhattan
and Brooklyn ends of the bridge had
reached high point before the firemen
finally were able to reach the flames
Passengers in the westbound elevated
car broke the windows and two persons
Jacob Posner and his wife, Mary, living
at l46 Ridge street, were cut by glass.
In Delaney street the crowds became
so great that reserves were called and
policemen began shunting the crowds and
vehicles by other routes to the Brooklyn
and Manhattan bridges. Excited resi-
dents of the district turned in fire alarms
with such frequency that the police wires
were temporary stopped.
The flremen under acting Chief Mar
tin ran 500 feet of hose along the B. r.
T. tracks from a main at the Manhattan
side to get to the fire and quickly put
an end to II.
The news OF the fire spread in a short
time to the Municipal Building where
homegoing South Brooklynites and
Long Islanders were waiting for trains,
and after some delay they decided to
take other routes.