GREAT FIRE IN LONDON.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 401, 27 August 1861, Page 4

GREAT FIRE IN LONDON.

On the evening of Saturday, June 22, the metropolis was visited by the most terrific conflagration that has occurred iv this country siuce the Great Fire of London. Some idea of the greatness of the catastrophe may be conveyed by the simple statement that the destruction of of property is estimated at the stupendous suai of two and a-half or three millions sterling.

The scene of the fire wao on the waterside portion of Tooley-street, near London Bridge, a locality which has been singularly unfortunate duriug the last twenty-five years, some of the largest fires having occurred there.

The outbreak took place in the extensive range of premises known as Cottoii'B Wharf and the bonded warehouses belonging to Messrs. Scovell. They had au extensive river, frontage, &nd the whole space on the land side extending to Tooley-street was covered with eight or nine warehouses six stories in height, formerly used as Orduance stores, and occupying about three acres. These buildings were filled with valuable merchandise of every description. There were some thousands of chests of tea and bales of silk stored iv the upper floors, while in the lower was an immense stock of Russian tallow and tar, oils, bales of cotton, bops, and grain. Every portion of the establishment might be said to have been loaded with goods, and of the whole of this property not a vestige remains but the bare walls and au immense chasm of fire, which, so late as the evening of Monday, June 24, still lighted up the east end of the city. To be added to this very serious loss is the destruction of the whole of the western range of Alderman Humphrey's warehouses fronting the new dock, known aa Hay's wharf, the burning of lour warehouses and a quay, comprising Chamberlain's wharf, adjacent to St. Olave's Church, besides very many other buildings in Tooleystieet. The saddest IO3S of all, however, was tiio deplorable accident which befell Mr. Jameß B'-auiwood, the director of the London Fire Brigade, and a man of distinguished courage and energy, who perished at an early stage of the fire.

The fire originated in a room whioh contained a large quantity of hemp and flax, and it is stated that if the iron doors which opened into the next waiehouse had been closed, the fire might have been coufined to the building in •which it first broke out. However this may be, it is certain that by the time the engines of the fire brigade had arrived, Mr. Braidwood saw enough to enable him to predict that the fire would be a tremendous one. He at once proceeded to station his force in the best available posiiions to combat with the conflagration. The two powerful steam floating engines were brought off the wharf, and two lengths of hose were°fixed to each of them, and led on to the quay, and brought to bear on both sides of the bui ding on fire. A large number of land engines had taken up a position in Tooley-street, an,d were prepared for action, but the firemen being unable to obtain a supply of water from the mains, most of these stood idle for quite an hour before water was obtaiuable from the plugs. Shortly before six o'clock the fire began to burst forth, with awful fury, and the whole of the main building from the basement to the roof became enveloped in fire. About half-past seven o'clock Mr. Braidv/ood entered the gateway leading to the wharf nearest St. Olave's Church, and proceeded down the avenue, where fuur of bis men were supporting and directing two branches from tho floating engine. By this time the warehouse in which the fire cornmercad was gutted, but the enormous stock of tallow, &0., caused the flames to rage most furiously. Mr. Braidwood was engaged in giving his men some refreshment when, suddenly, a terrific explosion occurred. In an instant it was seen that the v?hole of the frontage of a second warehouse ■was coming down, falling outwards into the avenue. Mr. Henderson, the foreman of the Southern district of the brigade, who was stand ing within a few paces of Mr. Braidwood, shouted for all to run. The men dropped their branches. Two, with Mr. Henderson, escaped by the front gateway, and the others ran in the opposite direction on to the wharf, where they jumped into the river. Mr. Braidwood made an effort to follow Mr. Henderson,<-but was struck down by the upper part of the wall, and buried beneath some tous of brickwork. His death must have been'■instantaneous. Several of his men rushed to extricate him, vain as the task was, but, another explosion happening, they were compelled to retire. The fatal explosion had been caused by a stock of saltpetre in a vault. A Mr. Scutt, partner in one of the firms wluse premises have been burnt down, was killed by the same explosion. A few minu'63 after Mr. Braid wood's death the ascendancy of the fire bicame complete.

The exeriioDS of the brigade were quite powerless to cbeck the progress of the flames. It is scarcely possible to describe the consternation which prevailed. From the rapid explosions which followed it was thought that there must have been a large stock oi saltpetre in every one of the warehouses. The concussions shook the neighborhood, anJ scattered clouds of the burning fragments, over the panic-stricken district. Although the sun had not set, and the evening was bright and clear, the whole of the public buildings in the city and along the water-side were tinged by the lurid glare of the oonflagiation, while the Pool and eastein part of the metropolis were darkened by the huge cloud of smoke which rose fr>m the burning mass. By this period the news of the magnitude of the fire had spread all over the metropolis, and the number of people flocking to it waa so great as to render London-bridge and the Borough quite impassable. The balustrades and outside coping of London-bridge were fringed with thousands of spectators, and mention is made of oue instance where a person iv bia struggle to obtain a place had fallen over into the river and was drowned.

At about ten o'clock the fire seemed at its worst. Probably between eight aud nine there Was a greater body of flame thuu at any subsequent period, but the broad light of a sumrners's evening crowned its glare. It was not till night fell that the terrors of the spectacle could be appreciated. Never since the fire of 1666 bad such a scene been witnessed. The. whole south bank of the river from Londou»bridge to below the Custom-house-seemed one stupendous pile of fire, glowing at its core.with an intensity that made it painful to look at, and casting a ruddy glare above on everything far and near. At this time the only hope of the firemen lay in the night still continuing.calm. Their efforts to check the flames they felt and knew were ut'erly hopeless. All the engines of London and all that could be brought by rail or road from the suburbs were as useless as children's squirts against; thess acres of burning ruina.

London Bridge was the ceo Ire towards which half the inhabitants of the metropolis thronged in the course of the night. Never, probably, even when the Great Eastern left the • Thatnesr lias the river been seen so thronged with small boats. From far below the Custom-house to above London-bridge the stream was actually covered with them. The roofs of the houses, the public buildings, the masts and spars of vessels, the quays, and wharves, the tops of church steeples, even the galley of the Monument—were crowded with thousands upon thousands of spectators. All the small boats on the river were, of course, obliged to keep close over to the Middlesex shore. The intense heat rendered this necessary, but thero were other dangers as well. As'warehouse after warehouse caught, the barrels of salt-petre and tar with which some were stored exploded, and came pouring forth in streams of liquid fire, which floated out upon the water in great sheets, and broke up at last into little islands of flame which went drifting up the river. Soon after midnight an immeuse line of wall, facing the river, the shell of the warehouse in which the fire began, fell outwards with a hideous crash. *Tho scene it disclosed was absolutely appalling, and the sudden glow of beat could be felt far out upon the river. About this time a barge came sailing up with the tide. An eddy drew it too near the conflagration ; the heat—which scorched the faces of the people standiog on the landing stage at Billingsgate—was insupportable, the three men on board became alarmed, they lost all control of themselves, the barge drifted inland, while they raised their bands.and shouted for help. A boat rowed out, and took these three men off, and iv less than two Minutes their barge lay with its broadside to the river of fire next the shore, and was blazing from one end to tbe other, As this gallant action was performed a tremendous cheer burst forth from the spectators and almost drowned for a time the roar of the fire.

While Chamberlain's Wharf was in full blaze, it was feared by many that St. Olave's Church and Topping's Wharf would follow, but, fortunately, a vacant piece of ground interposed, whioh no doubt saved both. On the other baud, however, Hay's Wharf, it became evident, had caught in the roof= The whole of this wharf was ere long included in the conflagration, the sweep of which along the river must have been 300 yards. Moreover, under the fallen floors of the warehouses arid iv the cellars undergrouud was a vast quantity of combustible material. Casks of tallow yet remained to melt, while numberless bags of saltpeter, and casks.of oil , rand turpentine, with hundreds of tons of cheeso, butter, sugar, and bacon were yet unconsumed. Dawn found London Bridge still thronged with cabs, omtiibuces, carts, waggons, and vehicles of every description.

A force of over 200 policemen, under Mr. Superintendent Bradford, is on duty all round the wide area of half smothered fire. Today, (June 26th,) the firs is still burning ; but the volume of flames is so much reduced that no apprehension of a renewed outbreak is ehtertained.

On Monday morning tho body of* Mr. Braidwood was with great difficulty disinterred from beneath an immense pile of bricks. It was not burnt, but it was so injured as to be barely recognisable. The body of Mr. Scott has not been recovered.

j*t the present moment the roads and footways leading down from Tooley street are ankle deep in melted tallow. In some of the neighboring thoroughfares the grease is being scraped up iuto huge piles, but the amount thus saved is a mere trifle in comparison with the enormous quantities lost during the fire. As far down as Millwall it has been collected in boatloads by the watermen, many of whom have realised considerable sums by its sile.

It is now known that on the night of the fire, when great quantities of the grease were floating, many lives were lost in the efforls made to collect it. Ooe of the police inspectors alone witnessed five suoh accidents. The first was to a man alone in a boat, who, reaching out to scoop up the floating grease, overbalanced and fell into the water and was drowned. , Another shockiug case was seen from the lauding stage on the other side of Humphery's dock. Four men were in a boat, which they bad collected almost full of grease; suddenly a flood of the boiling fat, all on fire, rushed from one of the burning wharfs out upon the Thames. The boat in which the men were was immediately surrounded by, the blazing mass, and the- grease it contained ignited. The four men were seen to plunge into the river, but none of them was recovered.

It is calculated that to rebuild the landing whaifa and warehouses alone will cost at least ■£500,000, and of course the value of the warehouses bears but a small relative proportion to that of their coutents. It is generally said that insurance companies find their account in fires from the increase of business brought to them. It will, however, require an immmense increase of business to cover the loss many of the offices have sustained by this fire. The hc\ that some of the insurance companies will probably be compelled to sell stock induced, yesterday, a fall o' per cent, in Consols. They declined to 89| to f —the lowest price for a long time past.

The ouly cause that has been given for the origin of the fire is spontaneous combustion in a quantity of hemp.

The inquest on the body of Mr. Braidwobd was held on the 25th. The evidence was very clear as to the cause of his death. The jury returned a verdict of ' Accidental death.'— Home News. ...... ....,,