The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-06-17
RISING sun SWEPT BY FIRE.
Disastrous Blaze-Garage Dwelling and Church Burned
Fire Companies Come To Aid OF Town.

being swept away, the loss falling
doubly heavy on them and reaching
fully 100000, with insurance. of
about one-third this amount. The
loss of Mark Ely and the firm of M.
Ely & Son, gents furnishers, was
principally through water and the
damage in removing household eff
fects and store stock. The roof of
the dwelling was damaged by fire
and rooms watersoaked. Their loss
will reach about $4,000, and is COW
cred by insurance.
The loss on the church is fully
$4,000, with insurance of $4,000
on building and $3.50 on contents.
The drug store of Eli r: Reynolds,
on the opposite side of the street
from the fire was damaged to the
extent of about $3.50, the large plate
glass show windows being cracked
by the heat.
100 much praise cannot be given
the Oxford Fire Department, whose
boys were first to respond to the
call for aid, who worked so heroicly
and to such good effect in prevent
ing the spread of the flames until
the Singerly Co., of Elkton, and
others arrived in rapid succession
and went Loyalty to work to prevent
the further devastation of our little
town.
Unfortunately our fire plugs seem
to be miserable misfit, and the
companies could not couple up to
them and go to work. The Oxford
boys succeeded in getting couplings
for one stream and did such splen-
did work with it that thousands of
dollars worth of loss was prevented,
while the Singerly Co., of Elkton, by
rare good fortune found in their
tool box a coupling that enabled
them to get stream OF water on
the blaze and stop it's terrible work
of destruction in it's westward sweep
up Main street.
When the finely equipped Perry
Point and Havre. de Grace Com
panies arrived these hustling fire.
fighters combined forces, laid $500
feet of hose to the mill race, north
of town, and the powerful engine
from the U. S. Government Reser-
Vation pumped a stream through
this long line that deluged the
raging ruins
The two Wilmington companies
also combined forces and ran a hose
line up the hill from the mill race.
but did not have quite enough to
reach the scene of the fire.
During the fire the ladies of the
town, with the assistance of some of
the men, prepared sandwiches and
coffee at the Maryland House and
IN private homes, for the fire-ighters.
All the companies were fervid
with anxiety to get to work on the
fire but the miserable misfit fire
plugs kept most of them out of COM
In addition to their speedy and
willing response for aid in the morn
Ing, the Oxford boys were called
back to the scene about eleven
o'clock at night to extinguish bIaz-
Ing timbers high up on the church
tower and walls that were scattering
sparks far and wide,
tanned by the high wind, and that
from the town hydrants
could not reach. They came with a
rush and in one minutes time after
arrival in front of the church had a
stream going and played upon the
ruins all about, making them safe to
leave.
Our citizens owe a deep debt of
gratitude to the fire companies of
oxford, Elkton, Port Deposit, Perry
Point, Havre de Grace, Kenneth
Square, West Grove, Newark, and
Fame and Water Witch companies
of Wilmington for their ready re-
sponse, heroic service and willing
ness to do anything in their power
20 aid in our time of terrible anx-
Iely, ulStreSS ana need.
A remarkable thing about the fire
was that no one was seriously in
'ured, although several received bad
burns and cuts.
When the iron cap of the manhole
was blown from the gasoline truck
by the explosion, it went high into
The air, crashing through the roof
of the Maryland House stable and,
setting fire to the chaff and hay in
The NOW. By rare good fortune
Wilson was in the stable at
me time and quenched the blaze i'm
with a bucket of water.
Failing eRbers set fire to the
roofs of buildings on the property of
n. c. Brown and others near the
scene, but the blazes were discover