The Underground Fire Beneath Jackson Street

The fire department was called yesterday afternoon to subdue a fire which had been burning steadily for over two years, and to a stranger who witnessed the conflict it seemed as if it was a contest with the infernal regions, for the fire was down in the bowels of the earth itself and fiercely resented interference with its quiet destruction. For years the electric light works on Fifth street, near Jackson, has been dumping the ashes from its furnaces on the low land surrounding, and in this way had nearly filled up the tide flat underneath the building at the northwest corner of Fifth and Jackson street, which was erected on piles. These fiery ashes continued to smoulder and yesterday blue jets of flame came to the surface all over the heap and commenced to climb up the underpinning of the building, when hose company No. 3 was called on to quench them. Fearing another outbreak at any hour possibly more dangerous, the firemen determined to suppress the underground fire and the great ash heap was sluiced away by the streams. As the masses of cold water penetrated into the fiery mass they were instantly converted into steam, which caused a series of explosions resembling small volcanoes.