The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-03-08
PARK THEATRE
ls.S7R0YED
S
-
And - Zanleoni Building
VE Damaged by Fire,
Smoke and Water
FLAMES BROKE OUT
DURING BLIZZARD
Firemen Did Good Work in
Checking Threatened
Confagration

COnIlagraLlOn
Fire completely ruined the Park
theatre and damaged the Zanleoni two
story building and contents at the cor
ner of North Main and Merchant
streets early Sunday morning, causing
loss Of about S25 600 Breaking out at
the height of the most severe gale of
the winter, the flames gave the firemen
their hardest tusse in some years and
threatened TO sweep along the east side
of North Main street for long dis
tance.
The firemen, however, took stand
in front of the blizzard driven flames
and, aided by a stout fire wall and
narrow brick garage, prevented the fire
from communicating to the livery sta
BILE of Jones g. Nye. Once in the stable,
the fire would have swept through a
long series of wooden buildings in the
rear of the North Main street buildings
and would probably have taken in the
brick buildings on the street. Sparks
and firebrands were driven to the roofs
of buildings far away, but fortunately
landed on deep snow except in the case
of O. n. Changers barn off Merchant
street, where a fire was started on the
jet and burned briskly until detail of
firemen, sent with chemicals from the
theatre fire, extinguished it.
Twenty-seven horses were led out of
the Jones & Nye stable and other prop
erty was removed in the expectation
that the stable would have to go, as
the fame and smoke fairly enveloped
that building,
People in Zanleoni Building Aroused BY
Smoke.
In the Zanleoni building the dwellers,
consisting of the family of Mrs. Char
lotte Ramella and two children, +. P.
Townsend and Claude Martin, Charles
Zanleoni and family, were awakened by
the smoke which poured into their
apartments and made their way to the
street Mario Zanleoni, son of the
owner. made an investigation of the
source of the smoke and after going
downstairs to the entrance of the thea
| tire was driven away from the tele-
| phone by the smoke as he was trying
to send phone alarm to the fire sta
! tion. Going TO another telephone, he
succeeded in getting the call through,
and the firemen, responding at $3.50
o'clock with four-horse hitch drawing
pung, had covered part of the dis
| tance when bell alarm sounded from
| box 2l. just across the street from the
theatre, that alarm having been pulled
| in by Mario Zanleoni soon after he had
telephoned.
Equipment Bucked Hard-Packed Snow.
In response to the bell alarm, the
motor driven chemical, the horse-drawn
chemical and the horse-drawn ladder
truck started out on the difficult trip
to Merchant street. The drivers found
an unbroken mass of closely packed
snow, two feet deep on the level and
piled in drifts in some places Facing
40.mile gale. the apparatus made
rather slow progress until it reached
the street car track, which had been
kept partially open during the blizzard,
when better pace was struck. Later
the light motor-driven chemical truck
essayed the trip and got through in
fairly good shape.
On hitchinQ onto the hydrant at the
corner Of Depot square, the firemen
found themselves further handicapped
bv frost in the hydrant which prevent
ed the flow of water. Attachment was
made to a hydrant further south and
to one TO the north of Merchant street.
Later the Depot square hydrant was
opened: and from the three hydrauts
FIVE streams of water were thrown onto
the fire. from Merchant street. from
the north side of the building and from
the roof of the front building.
Theatre Was Mass of Flames.
The interior Of the theatre was then
mass OF flames, the open construction
lending itself to the progress OF the
fire. Apparently the fire started in the
rear part of the theatre, under the
stage. where the boiler was located.
That was nearest to the livery stable,
and the tiremen drove the flames away
from that threatening section, only TO
have the fire attack the building IN
front which was not protected by =
fire wall.
Fire ran along the ceiling Of the sec
ond floor in the front building and
smoke poured from the front end OF
the building, giving TO the huddied
groups of shivcring spectators the Inn
preston that the entire building was
doomed. But. the danger of the spread
of the fire to the livery stable being
removed, the fremcn cut of the prog
ress of the flames toward the front OF
the main building In doing that, they
were compelled to dump tons Of water
into the second story of the structure.
the water going down into the store of
the Barre Drug company and the store
recently occupied by "Zan's' saloon,
where considerable quantity Of grapes
vas stored Fire did not reach either
Of the stores. but the damage from
water was hesv~.
The fire wa. brought under control
after two hours Of hard fighting, and
Chief Heney and bis men were given
praise on all sides for preventing
great conhagration. fighting, as they
aid. against n northwest gale and in
zero temperature. They were fortunate
in having good water pressure and
plentv of volunteer help from those
who realized the danger Of a great
sweep Of the flames.
Flames Started Under the Stage.
Prom the appearance Of the ruins in
side the sfill erect walls Of the theatre
If Is evident that the fire must have
started at the extreme east end Of the
theatre. where the heating apparatus
was located and under the stage. The
timbers there are almost completely
destroyed and the roof entirely burned
oa. vile the big steel girdcr there has