THE BURNING OF A TOWN IN AUSTRIA.

Bruce Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 1761, 25 June 1886, Page 4

THE BURNING OF A TOWN IN AUSTRIA.

©■ (From tbe Vienna Correspondent of the 'Times.') The town of Stry, near Lemberg, in Galicia, has been entirely destroyed by fire. The fire broke out on April 17, owing it is believed, to the fall of a lighted petroleum lamp in a small shop in a narrow street. The flames rapidly spread, till in a few hours the whole street became like a furnace. The water snpply seems to have failed at first, and by the time the engines could be gob to work, the fire was beyond control. It raged all night, and by daybreak the whole town had become one appalling bonfire. Six hundred buildings, including all the public institutions and churches have been destroyed. Stry is a fortified town on the Stry, a confluent of the Dniester, and has 10,300 inhabitants. The fire broke out at 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, April 17, in the shop of a locksmith, living in a small and crooked street, the Kassirairgasse, near the Kutbenian chnrch. It seems that there were but a couple of fire engines in the town, and these of an old-fashioned kind. There was also but one fireman on duty at the station. Before this man could summon his comrades half an hour had elapsed, and by that time a violent east wind had caused the whole street to catch fire. From the first the fury of the wind, which in the course of the afternoon rose into a gale, allowed no chance to extinguish the flames. Assistance was telegraphed for to Lemberg ; but this town is 65 kilometres distant. Soon the telegraph wires snapped, and the telegraph stutim was itself burnt. Within one hour from the breaking out of the fiie one whole quarter of the town was in blaze. The soldiers of the Landwehr battalion in garrison came to the help of the firemeD, but had to fall back before the torrents of flame and smoke. All ideas of isolating the fire by blowing up houses had to be abandoned, by reason of the ■ drifting sparks and burning embers, which carried the conflagration with appalling rapidity to the western side of the town. The wooden cornices of the houses

offered inflammable material, many bouses caught fire from the roofs, and by 4 o'clock the eastern and western snburbs were alight together, while the centre of the town was still intact. As soon as the population was roused to a full sense of its danger, a fearful panic was witnessed. People began to rush from their houses, carrying their valuables. Some tried to pack their goods on carts and barrows : others frantically implored assistance to transport invalids. Miserable to relate, a gang of depraved wretches hurried about at this juncture to plunder. At the moment when all ought to have been united in the common work of deliverauce, desperate scuffles took place between persons endeavouring to save their property and rascals seeking to i % ob them, and in many of these fights revolvers weie used, and lives were lost. These revolting scenes were renewed during the night, when the entire population, driven from the burning town, took refuge in the neighbouring plains. Some peasants from adjoining villages went about marauding. The confusion and the utter helplessness of the affrighted people, and especially of the ladies searching for shelter, favoured their operations, and a great many brutal robberies were perpetrated. Happily, a great deal of kindness was also shown by the more honest peasants. The number of dead has not yet been learnt. Some reports state that over 100 people are known to have been killed ; other reports say only 40. The number of injured and wounded is considerable, and special trains have been carrying these sufferers to Lemberg all day. Ambulances have also been organised in several villages and country houses. More than 20 old people, invalids, j and children are reported to have died in the fields. To-day's snow has added cruelly to the misery of the crowds camping out ; but a great many of these poor creatures refuse to be conveyed away, as they are afraid to leave the furniture which they have managed to save. Others cling'to the hope of being still able to rescue odds and ends of their property from the ruined houses. The most distressing accounts continue to arrive from Stry. The salvage corps recovered 17 charred bodies this morning, making 85 up to the present. The loss of life will probably turn out to be less than was feared at first, but the loss of property exceeds the worst anticipations. The total number of buildings burnt is estimated at over 1000, representing a value of over 6,000,000 florins. About 4000 of the former inhabitants of Stiy have been removed to Lemberg, and some 2000 to other places, but about 8000 are still camping out. A wintry cold which set in since Monday, with frequent falls of snow, has added terribly to the misery of these poor creatures. However, a better system for distributing food and ■ other relief has been organised to-day. '» Gifts of money and provisions have been liberally- sent from Vienna and other large cities.