New Britain herald., 1924-03-10
DAMAGES OF S4O,OOO
 AT MAIN ST. FIRE
Boston Store and W0olWorth'S in
 Danger Of Destruction
TWO AGED PEOPLE RESCUED
Chief Noble Believes CaEIessne,ss. Not IDccndiarism, Responsible smoke Drives Out GO Families Bremen Save Blocks.

ihtiitu sShNG IiVthe.
 About 60 families were driven int,
 the street last night by fire in tn
 blocks at 2l2 and 2l4 Main stree
 which caused damage estimated toda,
 by Chief William C. Noble of the fir,
 apartment at Si0,000. After the fir,
 MAS discovered the two blocks file,
 so rapidly with smoke that the tenant!
 including many children and aget
 people 'sere forced to flee in scan
 attire. The comfort station on tn,
 triangle was used as q refuge for tn,
 children and they were cared fol
 there until able to return to thcil
 homes.
 'The fire started in q hatchway il
 the rear Of the Boston Store, which
 occupies the ground floor 0! the block
 at 2i1, and traNclcd over into the
 basement of F. N. Woolworth's store
 and then upward through the peti-
 tions 10 the second floor where il
 Was checked. The fire damage was confined to the WooIworth basement and store, but the Boston Store suf- tered heavily from smoke and water. Tin" E. C. Porter company also suf- lAi'h Sllnli sll'ht IililldSt.
 Three tircmen O,crom,
 Several Of the iiremon had narrow escapes fighting thr ba2t being over come by the smoke and gas present in every part Of tn" building. Captain Victor Davis and Edward Marchesi of No. . truck and John Maher Of En- zine Co. No, being carried from the building by other members of the dc, Iartment. x. F.. Fyfor, manager Of lhe Moolworth company. was over come in the store while he Was at tempting to rescue the records of the stor" and money from the flames.
 Charles kompahall, an invalid vet can Of the Civil War. and Mrs. Car lie Johnson. ;tn aged woman, were rescued from iho smoke filled build. ilt;s, it being ne, ssary to carry thcm oii on strctcbcra. Both suffered from the .smokc aI.d were removed tu the New Britain general hospital. Chief Noble notified thu hospital to bu ready for an emergency as soon as he ar tir"d on th" scene of tho lire as it looked as If both buildings were doomed.
 Noble scouts "iire Bug" Theor,
 Tlto police hro Investigating the caGsc or the blaze. thinking that fl may laic becn of inrcndiary origin, Chief Noble of tho fire department scouts the theory however, and is Of the opinion that somebody who had been in the building earlier in the day lhd carclesSly thrown match or cigarette on something that started | the fire.
 lbngaid AcMilla1, owner oi the ! property, Mr. i'AfIr and Mir. Donnclly, 1 manager of the Boston Store. praised tho iiro department for inc work , doht at th" fire. saying that when . they arrived at the scene. it did not . seein possible that anything could be , saved from the flames. and attributed Inc fact that thu loss Was only about Sio.00n. instead of over S10O, GOO, to tho hard and efficient work of every man in tho department. Chief Noble i, said this morning that both platoons of th' department were loo per cent cu the ion. and that every man was needed.
 I,conicr Discovers lire |,
 Edward Dalton. q roomfr in the Elock. snclled smoke whil, he was sit- ting in his room in tb. rear Of the building and looking out of the win dow. saw thr flames coming from the hatchway under tho Boston Store. He shouted and a tuicphoIIe call was sent in. Engine Co. No. ] answering Ar iiNilg at the Sc'nc and sensing tn, situation immediately. bOz alarm was given at a:t2 followed by a gem eifd alarm at 0:35. Al il:2g tbc re- ! call was sounded, but several pieces of apparatus remained on duty until |, tariy this morning 10 guard against ! another possible outbreak. Chief Noble was told by a woman in tho building that between and j o'clock in the afternoon she had caught the odor of smoke and had gone to the window thinking that somebody was burning rubbish in the iicineratOr in tho alley. but could sec ' no sign 0f fire at that time. She dismissed the thought from her mind and closed tho window 10 keep the odor out. thinking that fl was coming from some other block in the neigh torhood. The chief is Of the opinion n that it was really Inc fire in the lbase- 1ignt that caused the smolir for when q -he fire department was called. there tl serc timbers completely burned that lb -lte chief said would take several O hours to burn through. e Soon after the arri,-al of the fire a apparatus. the adyisability of calling 'pon Inc Hartford department for aid ,ir sas considered. but Thief Nobic de- ti ihed that the local apparatus was ca A able or coping with tho situation. d. provided that h0thing unforeseen oc- urFed.
 Iirc Lines strung Out A The crowds gaihcr so quickly that very available policeman was press d into service to keep it back and 'ermit the dremcn 10 go about their m rork nnhindered. Chief William C. .as fart Has ap .ariy arrivai on the scene as nd directed the work of tho police. Ai ines were placed 10 aid tho police al a keeping the crowd. estimated at m bout 1000. from pressing too close. ex Chief Noble said today that auto a lobiles caused considerable delay for Fl he department in getting at the blaze co nd rescuinr people from the build rci IE. and attributed the fact that there m, ere no cas'I.. ics from the smoke 10 rir cod luck. H, eaid tbat he vas go- DO ig tO take up iba matter Of reaulat- vi fCoatInued on Thirteenth PareJ sh