New-York tribune., 1919-05-01
Forty Buildings, Including
lighthouses and the Giant
Coaster, Destroyed, but
Hotel and Homes Escape
Thousands See Spectacle
Soldiers Aid Entire Brook.
lyn Fire Fighting Force in
Subduing the Flame $

FIRE last night swept over ten acres
OF ground at Brighton Beach, DESTROY
ing among other things the Brighton
Beach Baths and large part of the
giant coaster and doing damage esti-
mated at from $5O0,OO0 to $3.50, 600.
In all forty buildings, most of them
small shacks on the Brighton Beach
Pike, were destroyed.
The fire, the first Brighton Beach
spectacle of the season and declared
by some to have been even more spec
tacular than the destruction of Dream
land some years ago, was discovered
shortly after o'clock by Thomas Noel,
an engineer in the Brighton Pool. He
saw flames burning the partition of a
small building to the south Of the pool
and gave the alarm. In few minutes
the pool, opened only last Saturday
after $4,000 had been spent in reno
waiting it, was in flames.
Thence the blaze, swept by strong
southwest terly wind, spread to the Pike
and the Brighton Beach Baths, struct-
ure covering about the area of two
city blocks. This went quickly, as dn
Braun's restaurant, the giant coaster
catching fire meantime. This is safd
to be the largest roller coaster in the
world. Because of its construction the
tiremen were Handicapped in their y
forts and about half Of it was de-
stroyed.
Stopped by Sand Lot
From the coaster the flames were
driven toward Manhattan Beach, stop
p;r nj 1Of
To handle the fire Battalion Chief
Rogers ordered five alarms, calling
apparatus from all parts of Brooklyn.
With these he succeeded in saying the
Brighton Beach Hotel, which at times
seemed certain of destruction from
sparks on the roof.
The fire attracted All enormous
crowd, thousands going to the beach
by trains and many other thousands
by trolley and automobile. The trains
ran past the beach without stopping,
dumping their passengers ct Coney
Island, where = wall of police PIE
vented them joining the thousands
nearer the fire. To handle these
crowds Borough Inspector Thomas H.
Murphy drew reserves from the
Brooklyn precincts and lower
Among the buildings destroyed on
the pike we're a skating rink, photo
graph gallery, several rife ranges, IN
one of which, according to one report
the fire started; number of novelty
stands, two small restaurants and a
dance hall. Few of the smaller places
on the pike we're open, it being the
practice at this season to keep them
closed except on Saturdays and Sun
days.
The Brighton Beach Baths we're in
the hands of renovators preparing for
the new season, which was to have
opened on May H. For this $4,000 new
bathing suits were received yesterday.
These, with the other contents of the
baths, were destroyed.
Panic Among Bungalow Owners
During the fire there was small
panic among the owners of 200 or more
small bungalows near the Brighton
Beach Hotel. Had this gone the bun
galows would in all probability have
been destroyed, and some of the owners
who were occupying their property and
as many others as were attracted by
the fire and were able to get within
the lines prepared to move their porta
bles. Others, more philosoph lcal, main
tained open house to their friends.
A feature of the firefighting was the
work Of 150 soldiers and sailors. These |
ioincd with the firemcn in running hose
and in making themselves generally
useful, while others assisted the police
in kee ping the crowds within bounds.
So far as could be learned last night,
no one was injured in the fire. al
though there were pedsistent reports
that some men had lost their lives in
the Brighton pool. According to at
taches of the pool, however, there were
no bathers in the building when the
fire was discovered and all Of tho en-
ployes were accounted for.
The property destroyed last night
was what was formerly known rs
Brighton Park, and included Brigh
tcnis far famed "Rc,yery"