Perth Amboy evening news., 1924-04-22
Families Are Routed
I'm Smith Street Fire
Considerable Damage Done
This Morning-Smoke
Fills Apartments

Flames leaping from the north
east corner of the building at 70
Smith street. the ground floor of
which is occupied by the Perth Am
boy Record. a local print shop, at
tracted the attention of William
Maguiness. an employe of the Puri-
Michael Mcbride, the third floor
tan Dairy Company, on High street,
at 1:40 o'clock this morning and he
turned in an alarm from box "a at
Smith and High streets.
The 10 Smith street building.
owned by Monte Barak. is one story
high in the rear and three stories
high in 'front.' 1t is occupied by the
printing shop, a jewellery shop and
a James Butler grocery store on
the ground floor and two families
live on the second and third floors.
Children Cough
About the same time the flames
were noticed by Maguiness. Mr.. and
Mrs. Samuel Saltman, residing on
the second floor of the building
were awakened by the coughing of
their six and nine year old boys.
Mrs. Saltman went into the room
occupied by the boys and found il
bers of the family dressed hurriedly
and were assisted to the street by
Patrolmen Charles Jorgensen and
Marinus Ludwigson. Mr.. and Mrs,
residents, also were notified by the
police officers and made their way
to the street scantily attired. n
If the front stairs of the building
had been cut off by the fire, the
two families would have been trap
ped. There is no other way of es-
cape.
When the firemen reached the
scene the flames were leaping IN
the stairway in the northeast cor
ner. There was thick smoke and
this with the intense heat, caused
the greatest amount of damage to
the machinery. paper and type in
the printing Office.
Ihe fact that there is a double
moor between the cellar and the
nrst hoor, prevented the blaze from
gaming greater headway. Great
care was taken by the firemen un-
1er the direction of Chief John
campbell when a representative of
tue newspaper pointed out that the
water would do considerable dam.
age 10 the machines, ETC., in the
printing Office.
After battle of ABOUT two hours
the under control taps were sound,
ed in. The firefighters succeeded
IN preventing the spre-o ,v the
front part of the building. The
sreat neadway gained by the blaze
was largely responsible for almost
the entire damage, as the freight
ers checked the fire almost i'm
mediately. an
Inc value of machines and other
articies in a printing Office, made II
impossible for Chief Campbell 10 civ.
an estimate of the Records danoaee
TINS morning. He was also unahie
TO give an estimate of the dam aea
to the building. :
The Jewelry store owned bv Sam
uel Carbon, next to the Record of-
nee, was damaged by smoke. as wore
the Butler Grocery and Henry Nc
Cullough clothing stores. The salt
man house furnishings were dam
aged by smoke and slight damage
also was done in the Mcbride resi-
denee. eSi-
Inc northeast corner of the build-
ing! extends almost to High street
and the ffremen did their f1rhtjng
on the High and Jefferson street
sides. The hose companies had
thelr apparatus placed at High
ana smith. and High and Jefferson
1t was one of the most stubborn
plazes the local f1remen have ever
been called upon to fight. There is
considerable scrap paper near the
Stairway around which the fire
started, but there is no evidence
@ ,nat TINS paper had been burned.
tnere are also a number of wires
near where it is believed the bla1a
started, but it is impossible for the
nremen to say whether defective
wiring was responsible.
Patrolman Jorgensen made the
report on the fire at headquarters.