Show THE BALTIMORE FIRE one of the worst fires in the history loss is about baltimore md feb 8 the burned district is within the territory bounded on the west by liberty street on the north by lexington street on oil the east by jones F falls ails and en cn the south by the basin within this di were the big structures on oil fayette gay lombard charles balderoni Bal deron elliott hollingsworth and cheapside streets passing passim southeast along the basin the following large docks dock 3 were destroyed mcclures mcclunes McC lures patterson smiths fredericks long and union S small thoroughfares which extend as is far north as lexington street and which were in the path of the flames are commerce fredericks and mill streets the district thus swept by the fire comprised seventy five blocks and nearly 2500 buildings the tile prent great fire which has devastated the city of baltimore will go down into history as one of the worst catastrophes from the standpoint of money loss in the history of the united states in magnitude it is exceeded only by the fire that practically destroyed chicago in 1871 and it may surpass that fire if the reports now comi coming g from baltimore are correct even when we have made allowances for the exaggerations natural in a time of great excitement the loss is appalling an unusual and most fortunate feature of the fire is the fact that no lives were lost scores of firemen and others sustained injuries but the dispatches published monday indicated that no one had been killed another fortunate feature is that the conflagration was confined almost ep entirely to the business section this is fortunate because as a rule business men carry insurance so that their net not loss will not be so beav heavy Y months years perhaps will be required for baltimore to pull itself together for rehabilitation eventually thou though gl for such is the american spirit of progress the districts now in ashes will be covered by modern band handsome sonie fireproof buildings as far as it is possible to make any building fireproof this has been the history lii story of every city that has suffered from a great fire it will be the history of baltimore in the mean wilile sympathy and aid of a more substantial character if it is needed will flow in steady st streams reanis toward baltimore the baltimore disaster was made possible beyond any question by the narrowness of its streets in iii many of the baltimore business thoroughfares the streets are so narrow that the tall buildings on either side leave the street surfaces in a canyon like gloom except for about an hour every day such a blaze would be impossible in salt lake city thanks to its magnificent curb to curb distances one of our great blocks might be destroyed st royed but for any fire to leap across a street seems utterly beyond the range of possibility salt lake herald |