Imperial Valley press., 1928-02-03
Sc Y T RE
DAMAGE
BY FIR f
Fall River Hard Hit
By Flames Which Des-
troy Big Area.
COLD w E A T II E r
Fire Fighters Handicap
ped AS Ice Forms on
Apparatus.
By BILLIARD E. MARTIN
United Press Staff Correspondent

ALL III En-, MISS, feD. -. -
Fire which had ragged all night
through the business district of Fall
River was brought under control at
8 a. m. today after destroying prop
erty valued at more than $25,O00,-
600.
At dawn the fire, which had razed
more than two score buildings, in
Guiding banks. factories and news
paper plants, was still burning but
firemen had checked its progress.
Half a square mile in the heart
of the business and industrial Sec
tion of the "Spindle City" lay in
ruins. Within nine hours the flames
which started at 7 p. m. Thursday
in the idle plant of the Pocasset
Texture mills had spread with such
fury that at times the entire city
of 125,000 population appeared
doomed.
Five hundred regular firemen re-
cruited from dozens of nearby towns
in Massachusetts and Rhode Island
and hundreds of volunteers fought
all night against the heavy odds OF
freezing wind and darkness.
The first streaks of dawn reveal
ed that they had won only a par
tial victory. The city's homes had
been saved but bulk of the busi-
ness section which it's residents had
spent years in building up was de-
stroyed.
On top of the industrial depres-
sion which already was making
itself felt here, the blow was the
most disastrous in the history of
! Fall River.
Twelve persons including five
firemen were injured seriously and
250 persons were treated for minor
! hurts.
More than 40 buildings were de-
stroyed
Included in this list were the
great Pocasset mills, the Rialto the
ater, the Hotel Mohican, the News
Herald plant, the bus terminal and
numerous smai, structures.
Ice Coats Engines
The "Granite block' on Main
1 street was closest to the mills and
was the first to catch the full force
| of the fire.
Then the blaze leaped to Central
street and the Mohican hotel was
destroyed. The Rialto theater, pack
ed with the regular night crowd,
caught fire next. The manager led
his customers to safety before the
theater collapsed.
The Premier theater also was bad
ly damaged.
The flames spread uptown and
finally ignited big Durfee mill at
10Th street.
The flames spread on to 18th
street. 1T was so cold that the
streets were turned to sheets of lee
and the charred walls in many plac-
es were ice coated.
Much of the fire fighting appa-
ratus was coated with ice and rem
dered useless.
At 9:30 a. m. about Is horrs aft
er the fire started, flames were con-
fined to the ruins of some of the
larger buildings and police chief
Martin Fecney said all danger ap-
peared past.
Chamber of commerce officials re-
ported that 5000 to 10000 persons
were out of work because of the
fire.
Reports that martial law had
been declared were denied by Chief
Feeney, who said there had been
no looting.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8. - Gov
ernment resources were placed to-
day at the disposal of flame swept
Fall River, Mass.
President Coolidge ordered tho
army and navy to give every as
sistanee possible to the stricken
city.
The Red Cross sont its disaster
| dirnntnr Hnnrr, NJ Rnknr To thu