A Hearth Turned to Ash
A family breakfast was interrupted by a devastating chimney fire that consumed their home ten miles outside of town.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On Sunday morning last, while the family were at breakfast, the home of G. W. Breese, located about ten miles northeast of town, took fire. Before it was discovered, the flames had made such headway that the house could not be saved, and only a portion of the contents were retrieved. The fire started, presumably, by a spark from the chimney which fell among some very dry material, setting a large woodpile on fire. There was a high wind blowing and soon a large fire was under headway. The family noticed a roaring noise while at breakfast but supposed it to be caused by a train on the railroad nearby, and did not discover the house was on fire until it was too late to save it.
“The family noticed a roaring noise while at breakfast, but supposed it to be caused by a train on the railroad nearby.”
This highlights the extreme vulnerability of rural homesteads in the high-wind, dry climate of Adams County, a persistent environmental factor that continues to shape local concerns regarding wildfire safety and infrastructure today.
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