Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 January 1893 — BIS BOSTON BLAZES. [ARTICLE]

BIS BOSTON BLAZES.

A Conflagration From a Gasoline Stove Causes $1,655,000 Loss at the Hub. The most extensive fire so three years broke out on Federal st., Boston, Tuesday. The fire started in a large building. No. 19, occupied by Hecht Brothers, wool dealers. The cause is not definitely known, but the fire is said to have originated in the explosion of a gasoline stove. The fire quickly spread through the entire Hecht building, and when the firemen arrived the whole interior was a mass of flames. Adjoining Hecht Brothers, in the same block, were located Patterson Brothers and J. Koscht & Co., wool dealers, and the fire spread rapidly to their premises. The building is six stories, high, of brick, faced with stone. Next south, on Federal street, were several old brick buildings, occupied on the first floor by Chris Carven, liquors, the Carrolton Case, and McGarry & Murphy, liquors. These were wrecked in succession by the flames. The structures were four stories high. The firemen made heroic efforts to save the buildings, but without avail. A tangle of trolley and telegraph wires was an added element of danger. The loss will aggregate $1,655,000, and the insurance is ample.