Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1921-06-15
EAST CHARLESTON
FIRE SWEPT

Il
FIRE SWEEP
Practically the Whole Of tn
| Hamlet in Ashes-Loss of
i $65,0O0'
Nearly the entire village of Eas
Charleston was destroyed by a fir,
which originated in the wood shop o.
Albert Pinard which broke out abou
l2.30 o'clock Wednesday afternoon
June 8.
| The fire ragged for three hours
burned &c buildings. including thu
hotel, business blocks, tenement blocks
residences, woodshop, blacksmith shops
single mill, feed mill, barns, garages
sawmill and cider mill, resulting in 8
loss estimated at $4,000.
The village has no fire protection
except a pail brigade securing water
from the river which flows through
the little village. So thickly set were
| the buildings and NaI being wooden
structures, they burned like finder anG
the flames leaped from building te
building with such rapidity that
water from pals was Of no avail
The fire was first discovered in the up.
per part of the Pinard woodshop on
the north side Of the highway and is
| thought to have started from spark
from the forge of the blacksmith shop
which joined the structure.
| A hard fight was made to extin-
guish it by pail brigade, but the
building was soon mass of flames
and quickly spread to the corner tene-
ment block which housed five famil-
| les. The flames leaped across the
| highway, setting fire to the block
owned by the Methodist society, the
lower floor being occupied by E. j.
Batchelder as general store and the
upper floor divided into two tenements
which were occupied by the families
of Mr.. Cole and Mr.. Pearson.
By this time the flames were
spreading in all directions, the first
building to be enveloped being the
grain and feed mill of C. E. Johnson
& Co., followed by the hotel of A. &.
Gallup. The other property des-
troyed included the following:
Two tenement house ,of H. A. Piper,
occupied by himself and Mr.. Pinard !.
Block owned by the Methodist So
ClcCy, OCCuplcO Ny II. q. odIClCluOl
who conducts a general store on the
pied by Mr.. Cole and Mr.. Pearson on
the upper floor.
Residence of Alonzo Gray.
House owned by Mr.. Elliott, which
was occupied by Mr.. Sanborn.
Barn of H. A. Piper.
Residence of Jimmie Hill.
GaraUe of Charles COruth
Large buildings used as a garage
and owned by Oscar Davis.
Residence and garage of Walter
Whitcomb.
Two tenement house of Mrs. Rose
Gray.
Five tenement blocks and large
barn owned by Will Gray.
Wood shop, blacksmith shop and
cider mill owned by Eugene Gray.
Single mill, blacksmith and saw Mil
of j. G. Canning.
When the fire was discovered help
was summoned from Newport, Island
Pond and Derby Center, and the first
to arrive was the combination fire
truck from Newport, which made the
sixteen mile run in 20 minutes. The
truck was accompanied by Chief
Green, driver Clifford Sloggett, and
Ray Hunt, N. j. Cooke and Z. F.
Humphrey. B. S. Curtis of the hook
and ladder company, who was at Der
by Line, also responded to the call
for assistance.
Upon the arrival of the truck, the
situation was critical and the people
panic stricken but Chief Green rallied
the men and with pail brigade did
much to check the flames and save the
church. This building is of nigh con-
struction with steeple and if it had
burned, the residence on the mill and
the general store of w. G.. Stoddard
could not have been saved.
1t was for the church that Chief
Green waged the hardest fight. Lad
ders long enough to reach the roof had
been DESTROYED and in order TO gain
the belfry it was necessary to fasten
short ladders together. When the
men gained the roof, water was drawn
up and burning shingles extinguished,
which with streams from the New
port and Derby chemicals saved TIE
historic old meeting house.
The firemen worked in intense heat
and pail after pail of water was
thrown over them to protect them.
The Derby Center fire company re-
sponded with one of their so gallon
chemical engines and did valuable
work.
Island Pond sent her hand pump
which was conveyed to the scene on
truck but upon it's arrival it was dis
covered that they were cut off from
locating at thAriWr's edge by the path
of the flames, and they were obliged to |
make two-mile detour in order to get
a position where they could be of as
sistance. Here they were rendered
useless by the parting of gasket.
Owing to the rapid progress of the !
flames, tenants and owners of prop |
erty were handicapped in the work of
saving household effects and goods
from the stores.
Large quantities of house furnish
ings,, property of the II families
made homeless, being destroyed.
Some families lost everything. Goods
placed in the road were later
help not being able to re-
move them to a place of salty.
Many of the tenants and owners of
the buildings destroyed suffered
total loss, not being protected by in
surance. The people of the stricken
village are very appreciative to
those who responded from nearby 1
Towns and farms and SIIDDlipd rp- +