IN AND ABOUT THE CITY

A MALTHOUSE IN FLAMES.

LOSS OF ABOUT $50,000 AT THE AURORA PARK BREWERY.

Phillip and William Ebling's Aurora Park Brewery, at Morrisania, was badly damaged by fire yesterday. The brewery buildings occupy an area of four blocks, bounded by One Hundred and Fifty-Sixth and One Hundred and Sixtieth streets and St. Ann's and Eagle avenues. The largest of these buildings is the malthouse. It is seven stories high and occupies the southern end of the grounds. About 7:30 A.M. a patrolman of the Thirty-third Precinct noticed a thin volume of heavy black smoke ascending from the roof of the malthouse just below the gable. He immediately warned the brewery people and then gave an alarm to the Fire Department. When Foreman Ward of Engine No. 50 arrived he ordered a second alarm, as he did not like the looks of the fire, which was raging furiously in the two upper stories of the malthouse. Three more engines responeded.

By this time the flames had broken through the roof and dense volumes of smoke rolled out of the windows. The atmosphere was so heavy with fog that the smoke could not ascend very rapidly, and in a few minutes a great cloud of the black vapor had settled above and around the building, making the work of the firemen so difficult that Chief Rowe sent out a special call for four more engines. In the building were over 100,000 bushels of malt and barley in various stages of preparation, and it was this damp yet inflammable material which caused all the smoke. There was some little delay in getting all the streams to work on the fire, as one or two fo the engines had attempted to make a short cut across a swampy stretch of ground south of the brewery, and were considerably damaged in consequence.

Better work was never done by the Fire Department, however, as soon as these little difficulties were overcome. All the adjoining buildings were protected by constantly-playing streams, and enough water to float an iron-clad was poured through the roof and windows of the burning building. Still it seemed for a time that awith all this labor the fire was not to be mastered. The flames were driven back from one place only to reappear in another, and the heat, which was so intense that it warped and twisted the iron cornices and fretwork into all sorts of fantastic shapes, prevented a close approach of the firemen for effective work with hooks and axes. Persistent effort, however, won the victory, and by 10 o'clock the fire was under control. A fortunate circumstance in this respect was the exceedingly high pressure of the water supply, which was at least 50 pounds at the hydrant.

The Superintendent of the brewery stated after the fire that the malt and barley in the malthouse was worth about $100,000. Between the action of the fire and water he thought it very doubtful if any of it would be found fit for use, though it was possible that some of the barley on the lower floors had not been damaged. The loss would certainly not be less than 40 per cent, and probably it would run up much higher. The damage to the building is variously estimated between $20,000 and $30,000. The entire loss is fully covered by insurance. The Superintendent also said that the fire would not interfere with the business of the brewery, as there is enough stock and materials in the other buildings to last until the malthouse has been repaired and put into working order again. The cause of the fire is unknown. Several theories are advanced, the most favored of which is the spontaneous combustion of the prepared malt in one of the vats.

The New York Times, New York, NY 16 Jan 1888
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Transcribed by Tim Taugher. Thanks, Tim!