Evening journal., 1920-12-29
Building Well Filled
With Finished No
rocco is Laid Waste
Despite Desperate FL Ef
forts of Entire Fire
Department to Halt
.Confdgration-Ori-
gin Is Mystery
SECOND FIRE IN
PLANT THIS YEAR

Famed by a stlff breeze from the
northwest. flames from a flre start
ing In the stalking room OF the VIII
mington Leather Company. at Second
street and Greenhill avenue. ate up
ten OF the thirteen buildings Of the
company last night. The loss on the
property ana stock was estimated to
4 be f2.JO0O0O, by James ]. ONefiL
president, and James I. Ford secre-
tary OF the company.
The loss, II Is expected win be
covered by insurance. The loss Is all
the greater because OF the Immense
quantity OF finished leather In the
buildings awaiting shipment that was
licked up by flames. its value being
estimated as close to 81 10000. This
Is in addition TO the destruction OF
the buildings.
Mr.. ONcill announced today that
the plant win be rebuilt at once and
put m operation. The ruins were
znOuldering early this afternoon.
In addition to The destruction OF the
plant and the finished leather, await
ing shipment. six small dwellings In
Webb and Second streets. were de .
. etroyed t0gether with a portion O
their contents. tnat could not be re
, moved In Time. Falling walls tor
down the high tension system OF the
Wilmington and Philadelphia Trac-
ton Company, along Greenhlll ave-
nue.. and onlcials OF that company to-
day said their loss would be at least
5000 as one OF the nsf0rmers de-
stroyed cost 1900.
Those who were made homeless
were G.. CammillO, 400 Webb street.
Antonio Sansomi. $40 Webb street.
John Wilson, colored, 800 Webb
street; Herbert II. Wallace. 25i0 West
Second stret; Louis Ivory. 25O6 West
Second street, and A. n. jenkins, 2505
West Second street.
William j. Lutz. Fire CHIEF. this
morning issued the following state
mcnt.
'srhe fremen fought hard battle
and lost. The clements were against
them and the same results would have
occurred had the fire department
been on a paid basis. We lost. and
SO did the Baltimore flremen in the
Baltimore fre.
I'VE were more or less hampered
by low water and the striking OF the
alarm from Wawaset Park, but tho
men worked hard and deserve. credit
Persons who arrived early were OF
the opinion there was no chance 10
save The old portion OF the plant in
/, which the FIRE originated-thatn near
a
ly expressed a belief that the new
: building might have been saved by
earlier attention 10 Il and The flood
ing OF lis floors before the flames got
into Il.
The fre was The costliest and most
spectacular that ever has occurred in
this city and for Ave hours the entire
department waged a battle with the
volcanO-like flames. II proved to be
4 E.~.N BAL
D. burned or falling walls ruined Sec
4 tion after section OF hose through
/, which gallons OF water pumped rom
one OF the mains near the plant was
being dcluged into the buildings.
r The FIRE was discovered at SD
o'clock, by J. Victor DoTel. OF 2ii9
West Second street, whose family
was at supper when they saw flame
leaping from the windows OF the ser
/, ond floor OF the four-story bricl
J structure along Webb street. the ol,
portion Of the plant Mrs. Dorrel
called the Union Fire Company on
the telephone and Mr. Dorrell strucl
an alarm, from Box No. 50, at Sec.
ond and Hawley streets In front OF
I mis- home. When the Union firemen
arrived they found the second floor OF
the structure seething Ike fur
mace.
II When Fire Chief William j. III
arrived. he at once directed seq
lalarm sent in, but in the meanE
someone had pulled box i23, In 3
waset Park, which caused a NUM-,
III OF flremen to rush TO that section.
This caused delay In some fire al.
III lparatus reaching the scene, and on.
lIcompany that endeavored 10 drivi
south on Greenhill avenue became
stalled In the mire for awhile.
II When the nremen called on the
second alarm reached the scene IL was
II found thai three flreplugs near the
Il burning plant. all fed by one main in
II Grcenhill avenue, were powerlcsS. A
general alarm then was sent In by
u Chief Lutz.
The Brandyw-ine company, which
responded on this alarm. was sta
toned at second and Hawley streets,
1900 feet from the scene OF the frc.
and in order TO get a line Of hose to
III the factory the iremen dug a trench
under the main tracks OF the b. & o.
Railroad Company and pulled their
II line Of hose through H.
X The flames ate their way with light
II CONTINUED on Page Eieven.l