Bay City, Mich., July 24th — Fire which started on the river front in the Handy Bros. Manufacturing Co.’s lumber yard caused $80,000 loss. Handy Bros. had about 6,000,000 feet of pine lumber ready for their factories, over 5,000,000 feet of which was destroyed.
The fire spread rapidly from the river front to the Michigan Central railroad tracks. The West Bay City waterworks had been shut down for day in order to clean the pumping well, and at the outbreak or the fire there was no water pressure. The flames, therefore, secured heavy headway.
The Bay City fire department was called on for assistance and two steamers were sent out, but in spite of their efforts the flames crossed a slip and ate their way rapidly toward Davidson’s shipyard where a fleet of a dozen wooden steamers were laid up for repairs. Tug men succeeded in getting cut all the boats except the Nicaragua which was badly scorched. The fire spread so rapidly at the outset that over 1,000 feet or hose belonging to the West Bay City department had to be abandoned, while eleven freight cars, loaded with lumber, three belonging to the Detroit & Mackinaw and eight to the Michigan Central were also destroyed and several others damaged. One of the West Bay City hose carts was damaged by fire before it could be gotten out of the way.
Handy Bros.’ loss is $70,000. Covered by insurance. Their box factories, one of the main industries of the city, will not be shut down, as the Handys have a large stock of lumber at Duluth, 3,000,000 feet which was ordered loaded, and boats chartered before the fire had been In progress half an hour. The Michigan Central loss is about $7.000 on cars and trackage, the Detroit & Mackinaw about $2,500; the West Bay City fire department sustained about $700 loss on apparatus and Capt. James Davidson on steamer Nicaragua. about $300.
