# Charles J. Hambleton, lawyer (on the gas company reservoirs)
# Testimony before the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, session of Monday 27 Nov. 1871 (day 4), as reported in the Chicago Tribune of 1871-11-28, page 2
# Source: Library of Congress, Chronicling America (lccn sn82014064): https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn82014064/1871-11-28/ed-1/?sp=2 ; OCR text https://tile.loc.gov/text-services/word-coordinates-service?segment=/service/ndnp/dlc/batch_dlc_clark_ver03/data/sn82014064/no_reel/1871112801/0002.xml&format=alto_xml&full_text=1
# Page-OCR lines 555-590; uncorrected OCR; written 2026-09-14T06:28:05Z.
# STATUS: NEWSPAPER REPORT (reported speech with some direct quotation) -- not the stenographic transcript. 

Tlie Board of Police, yesterday, continued the
-12» the origin gad progress of the
Are, Charles j. Hamhlelon, a lawyer, was ex
amined, hut divulged nothiugnot already kuotvn.
John Dorsey, foreman of the American Hose,
was at the fire, and did not see any member of the
department ■who was drank. No engines were at
the fire when ho reached Taylor and Clinton
streets, and none made their appearance for five
minutes after his arrival- He saw Marshal will
iams and Assistants Schonk and Benner, the two
latter on tho South Side. Leo Meyers, foreman
of tho Tempest Hose, saw tho MarflhaUrequently,
and thinks everything possible was done to stop
tho progress of the ooufiagratlon. A complication
of adverse circumstances old tho work of destruc
tion. Ho knew no fireman who had re
ceived money for services, and did not
see any drunken firemen. Thomas Burns, of the
Fire Escape, saw the fire and started for it. Tho
sparks were coming over to tho South Side so
thick that tho firemen thought they had better
return to tho house. They old so, and looks seats
in front of tho house, and waited until a building
near them caught fire, when they put it out. The
fire seemed to come from tho basements of the
buildings on Washington streets before tbe up
per stories were on fire. He had heard that the
Gas Company let the gas run into tho sewers to
avoid an explosion.
Fire Manual Williams wanted to know what
*n ths basements, if tho gas had not.
had «3i iu,.. "Md that matter woi^J
Commissioner Sheno&u ov k 2 d J° Until
bo reached in time, and the
10 o’clock this morning.