Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1922-08-24
fire AT FORT
BROWN BURNS
BIG HAY SHEDS
Prompt Action Of City and
Post Fire Departments pre-
vented Spread Of Flames
to Huge Warehouses

People of Brownsville swarmcd nui tc
Fort Brown this morning M : o'clock
when the flames from turning hay sheds
lighted the sky and the guards AT Fort
Brown aroused the city with shooting
and fire whistles The two hay sheds.
containing five hundred tons Of hay.
burned to the ground. and the hay il still
burning. The damage il placed at
$500
The fire which destroyed both the
sheds and the hay il believed 81 have
been of inccndiary origin. n both the
sheds started burning al the sam" time
Colonel Rice and Captain Perfect cx
pressed this opinion in IA telegram to
San Antonio Corps Area headquarters.
The fire started somewhere around
1 20 a. the alarm reached the Fori
Brown fire department shortly bcforc
800 aud reached the Brownsville fire
department, at I: 80. The forf Prown
engines were on the scene within ten
minutes after the alarm was turned in
and nj 100 the brownsville fire fighting
apparatus was throwing stream Of
water onto the flames. However The fire
had made good hcudway among the hay
and wood sheds and had COOL start
when water reached The fire.
Credit il due io both the Fort l:rown
fire department. which contains n per
s"nnnI of five men including Fire Chief
Corporal Chase. and Assistant Fire
Chief Porter. aud the Brownsville fire
department. under Acting Fire Chief and
taptain Walker. Fire Chief Weller was
phoncd at the light plant and arrived
on the scene in u short while
-Four lines of hose were directed onto
the flames. two from the Fort Brown
White truck. one from the Ford fire
truck from the Post and one from the
city. However. the fire was not gotten
under complete control until I:3O this
morning and the city fire engine did not
quit the scene until O'clock. Coffee
and sandwiches were furnished the men
~ the Post.
The damage i estimated NJ S1iOO for
lhe forage destroyed and $1,000 for The
buildings The amount of hay in The
sheds was close to one million pounds
the total in exact figures being ?9i?01
pounds. or approximately firs.-hunsirr-l
tons Part Of it was bedding hay. part
prairie hay. and part alfalfa bay.
\ committee consisting of Major Hen
~ l.. Flvnn. CAPTAIN Frank HarShber-
ger and Lieutenant WIN. y. WifLcrS ha>
been appointed 10 investigate the cause
Of the fire. \ telegram has been sent
20 San Antonio requesting more hay i'm
mediatcly ia order that horses here may
be- supplied
The fire did not spread on account &c
the quick action Of the fire departments
of the city and Post. There was large
quantity of gasoline in the engine ware
house near the sheds. hut il was pro-
tcctrd. The fire fighters went III h.,
tween the sheds and the iron fence sur
rounding il and suffered the heat and
smoke there IN order t. GET TIE fire
under control. No trouble was cxperi-
"nccd with the crowd. because the en-
eln"S got to the scene and were in o,,-
Grafton before anyone arrived. AMI fur
fhermorc the heat was too intense for
anyone 10 crowd III close.
The height of the flames IL shown ~
the fact that people in san Bcnito and
down al Boca thica bay could see The
reflection and knew that there had been
fire here.