The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-03-20
Early Morning Blaze in Big
Wholesale Stock of Gro
ceries Causes Practically
Total Loss of Stock and
Badly Damages Brick
Building - Origin of Fire
Not Determined
FIREMAN JOHN MADUE
is BADLY INJURED
Sprinkler System in Build
ing Fails to Work and
Fire Fighters Are Seri-
ously Handicapped by
Metal Shutters and Doors
and Windows = Company
Will Rebuild

Damage by fire and water exceeding
StOCOOO which may reach S125.00O. re-
suited from fire in the Dewitt Gro
ceIy Co building ON Flat street. which
was discovered at 30 O'Clock this
morning. 1t has moi been possible to
make an examination of the interior
Of the building, but apparently the stock
of goods is total loss The value of
the goods was in excess of $4,000. and
it may have been 100000 rs the
floors were heavily loaded. more than the
usual amount of stock having been
taken from incoming cars the past 10
days
The building. built of brick with in
terror of heavy mill construction. was
three stories tall aud was occupied
wholly by the Dewitt Grocery Co.. of
which DeWeese T. Dewitt of Brattle-
boro is treasurer and manager and the
controlling stakeholder anil james A.
Muzzy OF Jamaica j. president The
second and third floors are known to be
burned beyond repair. but at present
Il iS impossible 10 state what the con-
dition of the first floor is. 1t may not
be safe TO utilize the present walls in
rebuilding. The insurance on the en-
tire property was S114000. placed
through four Brattleboro insurance
agencies
While the fire was not of a specfac-
ular nature it was the most serious that
has occurred in Brattleboru in many
years. from the point of view Of the
damage done. Much of the damage
would have been prevented had the
sprinkler system in the building re-
sponded as it should have done, but it
did net work until the roof fell upon it
soon after 6 o'clock
All the windows and doors were en-
closed with heavy metal shutters. which
We're a great handicap TO the fire
fighters. The theory of having shutters
was all right. a. they were designed TO
| protect the building from outside fires.
aud had the sprinkler system worked
they would have proved all right in
this fire. but under the existing com
| bination of circumstances they proved
| decided hindrauce. as they became
warped and not many of them could be
| opened.
Fireman Injured
one fireman was injured badly and
was taken to the BrattlcborO Memorial
hospital He IS John AIadau, who is
employed by the Twin State Gas *
| Electric Co Mr.. AIadau climbed Il lad
der which rested against the roof over
| the loading PLATFORM and as he tried
1
and he fell to the ground. striking on
/ one side He i suffering much pain
/ in his back but Dr. Harry L. Greene,
who is attending him, thinks no bones
were broken. An N-ray examination
viii be made.
| What started the fire il not known
AMI may never be known. II was dis
covered by Morris AIcGrath. night
watchman for the e f. Bradley Corp.
makers of toys and brush handles in
( the five-Story CroWel building. the for
I mer Carpenter organ building The
southern part of the east side Of the
| Crorell bulding is only about 20 feet
/ west Of the Dewitt building. and when
( Mr. McGrath vas making his rounds
/ he saw smoke and FIRE issuing from the
west side Of the Dewitt warehouse. He
caused an alarm To be given from box
/ 81 at the fire department HEADQUARTERS
/ on Elliot street and the fire department
responded promptly and soon had
streams playing on the liameS through
windows on the south and west sides.
having opened the shutters there. The
/ fire seemed To have come up through
the elevator shaft, but of this there
could be no certainty as the flames had
made good Roadway.
Vt that time hose connections were
made with the hydrantS in front Of the
/ Haskell garage, the Dewitt building and
Pellet & SINNERS shop. After about
/ udH an HOuf the IRE StFuich 10 bs 4iAAfA
control bur all the time it had been
creeping toward the east side of the see
ond floor and before 1 o'clock tongues
of flame appeared around the metal
shutters on that side Ii was not long
before smoke and flames We're dssling
from around the shutters in all the
windows \ few Of them We're opened
| by the use of ladders and hooks and
water was poured in from all sides. The
piles of bags and boxes We're so high
and dense that they were veritable
walls which the streams could not pene-
| trate and the interior of the binding
became seething. raging furnace.
Fight Against Odds
| A the heat increased the shutters be-
came warped and larger became the
| tongues of fire The firemen did the best
they could fighting against heavy odds