Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-01-29

building and it was possible to en-
ter the main structure, it was with
considerable J. difficulty and only
after the concentrated direction Of
immense quantities of water that
the flames Iwere subdued. The
piles of lumber in the storage shed.
stage planks. blocking, and a pile
of some thirty thousand punched
shingles provided material for the
hours.
Roof and Floors Fall
The roof over the 25-foot annex
in the rear of the main shop and
Office building was the first to give
way, and shortly after, the west wall
fell outward, and the mass of flames
driven in that direction before the
advance of the firemen, leaped out
over the deep gully and high in air.
but without danger to the nearby
buildings on the street frontage.
Early in the afternoon the main
roof dropped into the structure and
it was then possible for the firemen
to get on top of the fire.
With the falling of the floors in
the rear section. the saws, planers.
moulders and other wood working
machinery were catapulted into the
ruins, and besides the building and
stock, this item will account for a
large part of the heavy loss. The
front walls and part of the side
walls of the shop remain standing
but the whole structure was thor
oughly Quilted and will be a total
loss. Nothing of the lumber. mould
ings, Sbagged cement, and other
building materials stored in the an
mex can be salvaged.
Three Automobiles Badly Damaged
Three automobiles are also in
cluded in the general destruction.
The basement beneath the front or
main building was used for q ga
| rage, and there were three cars in
| the basement when the fire started,
which were so badly damaged by
| the fire that they are practically a
| total loss. OF these three machines,
one was a Nash sedan, and in the
middle of the afternoon this car
| was driven out under it's own power,
even though all of the enclosed body
structure had been burned off, and
/ the wiring was burned clean OF in
! sulation.
The other, two machines were a
Ford truck and a converted Nash
| truck. The Ford was nearest the
door and was removed after the dis
covery of the fire, but was fire swept
| and practically. useless. The Nash
| truck was destroyed except for the
| engine, chassis and wheels.
Included in the estimate OF the
| total loss is the amount suffered by
nfhnr work n
| employed by Mr.. Hoxie, who lost
tools and equipment which will run
! into many hundreds of dollars Mr..
! Hoxie stated last evening that his
| loss on building, stock, machinery.
and autom obiles will be upwards of
$4,000 and he believed that his in
surance would be about so per cent.
| He carried insurance on building,
supplies. lumber, and cars, but as
| his papers were in the safe In the
| fire raked office, he could not be
certain of the entire amount.
Third Serious Fire Loss
Charles T.. Hoxie has been in the
| general building contracting business
! in this city for many years and has
| had shops for wood working and hous-
| ing of lumber and building materials
in various localities. and this is the
third serious fire which he has expert
enced. He has owned the building
which was destroyed yesterday
for a score or more of years, but
has occupied it for only about half
that time. Before establishing offices
in the structure at AZ State street. the
scene of Mondays fire, he was located
for a number of years in the old Bap-
fist church building almost directly
ctreat While at that lOCa-
ton he suffered two fire losses, one of
them severe. when the roof and what
had not been dismantled of the old