Source:
page 1 article from 22 Jan 1903 Simcoe Reformer
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Delhi
suffers a heavy blow
Its Fine Canning
Factory Entirely
Destroyed by Fire
The loss Very
Inadequately
Covered by Insurance
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About five
o'clock last Thursday a.m. a fire broke out in what is known as
the bathroom, the room in which the cooking of the canned goods
is done, in the Delhi canning factory. The flames spread with
great rapidity and despite the willing efforts of the villagers,
soon claimed all of the valuable property, save two large frame
sheds used for corn husking and pea shelling, which, though
often on fire, were finally saved by copious applications of
snow.
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The only fire
fighting apparatus in Delhi is a small hand engine of a rather
antiquated vintage, and though brought promptly to the scene of
the conflagration, it refused to work.
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Mr. W. A.
Ferguson, the head of the company, was away from home on a
business trip and for some time it was found impossible to
communicate with him. His home-coming would be far from a
pleasurable one.
He found on the return the smouldering ruins, staring walls and
twisted heaps of iron, the remains of what he had left as one of
the best equipped canneries in the Dominion.
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The
structure was a long white brick building, two storeys
throughout in the shape of a letter L, with capacious sheds on
either side for corn and peas. It was equipped with the most
modern machinery to be found in the world, it having always been
the policy of the company to make use as far as possible, of
automatic machinery. Like all successful canning industries, it
furnished not only employment to many people, but also a ready
market for the farmers for miles around for their small fruits,
corn, peas, and other produce.
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| The loss on
the building, plant and stock, it is said, will amount to at
least $60,000, there being about $25,000 worth of goods on hand
awaiting shipment. The insurance on the property is $4,000 on
building, $17,000 on stock, and $10,000 on machinery. |
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