Liberty Hose Co. No. 2 - Incident Detail #1498

The Fisher and Jones Hosiery Mill whistle sounded the alarm of fire on Tuesday, July 21, 1903, at 3:15PM. The fire was across the Wiconisco Creek in the double block house owned by the John Rowe estate and occupied by William Foster. Liberty Hose Company No. 2 responded. There were no fire plugs on that side of the creek, and it took some time to connect to the nearest plug on North Street and carry the hose through the water and across the creek. The fire had started in the attic, along the chimney. This gave opportunity for the removal of all the furniture from the house before the fire reached the second floor. The roof and attic were destroyed by the fire and the first and second floors were damaged by water. Mr. Foster was working in the mines and his wife was in Harrisburg at the time of the fire, the house being left in charge of by a daughter. The property was insured for $1,000. Mr. Foster was kindly tendered and accepted a residence in one of the houses of H. F. Bueck at Wiconisco.