Oilcloth Factory at Troy Gutted
An old oilcloth factory, built about 65 years ago in the Lansingburgh section of Troy, N. Y., and which has been shut down for several years, was almost totally destroyed by fire on March 20th. The building was of brick construction, seven stories in height and occupied a space of 120 feet by 120 feet. The origin of the fire is unknown. The alarm was turned in at 9.42 P. M., by a policeman, and although the fire was confined to the one building it was not entirely extinguished until 9 o’clock the next morning. When the first firemen arrived, in command of Battalion Chief Wike of the Lansingburgh section, the flames were shooting out of every window from the first floor up and were bursting through the roof. In fact, the flames had gained such great headway it could not be determined in which part of the building the fire started. Battalion Chief Wike immediately sent in another alarm, which brought Chief Byron and the Eddy, Ranken and Bussey companies. Two Clapp and Jones, one Amoskeag and one Button steamers were in service, as well as one Hayes aerial truck, one motor combination car, two horse-drawn combination wagons and two plain hose wagons. Six 4-inch single hydrants were all that were available, these being 250 to 450 feet apart. Ten streams, eight engine and two hydrant, were thrown through 4,300 feet of hose with 1 1/8-inch nozzles. The hydrant pressure was 65 pounds, which was sufficient to furnish good plug streams and supply the engines. The loss was $15,000 on building and $6,500 on contents.
Photo courtesy of Troy “Times”
