, 1880-02-15
FIRES. !
Half a Million Of Property
Gone Out Of Sight.
Destruction Of the North End
of the Empire Ware
house.
A Close Call for the Other End
The Government Ware
house,
A Choice Collection Of Seeds, Whisky,
and Other Articles Gone Up.
The Insurance VIII Not Begin
to Cover the Loss.
Damage to a Furniture Store on
Wabash Avenue.
A Choice Collection Of Seeds, Whisky,
and Other Articles Gone Up.
The Insurance VIII Not Begin
to Cover the Loss.

BONDED WAREHOUSE.

Wabash Avenue.
BONDED WAREHOUSE.
ONE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE FIRES
which have happened in this city since tbs
burning of Field g. Letters retail d1y-eoods
store occurred last night, involving the loss
Of property aggregating close to half Il mill
ion dollars. At 11:30 O'Clock, rs
Michael Granger, one of Pirkerton's
special force, was walking his beat on Adams
street near the bridge, he saw the glare Of a
light in the Empire Warehouse, a large brick
block running from 1o8 to 214 Market street.
Having travelled the beat there for several
months, and never before having seen light
in the building at so late IN hour, he imme-
diately proceeded to the structure and saw
that
TIE INTERIOR WAS OK FIRE.
He then ran to the Long John Engine-House
notified the fremen, and then turned in an
alarm from Box 45. Almost simultaneously
William Terry, an employ6 of the Empire
Warehouse Company, which was running
the business, who had been asleep in the
office, was awakened by a sitting sensar
ton. He opened his eyes to find
the room full Of smoke. To dress himself
and rush out to give an alarm was the work
Of but moment. He was too late. Engine
No. was already on the ground, and just
about the time of its arrival Ben Bullwinkle's
fire patrol drove up. The men Of the latter
rushed into the building with Babcocks
and tarpaulins, but were driven back by tho
flames and smoke, the latter putting out in
vast volumes from the basement, where it is
supposed the fire originated In the vicinity OF
the boiler, and thence climbed up the open
hatchway to the fourth floor.
The iremen saw at a glance that they had
A ZIG JOB on HAND,
one that would demand ill their resources,
and I'll alarm was Immediately turned in.
This In few minutes brought out all of the
Department within the reach Of the aggre-
gated danger signal. -
THE EMPIRE WAREHOUSE
is large block with frontage of about 190
feet on Market street, extending back to the
river to distance Of 140 feet It is divided
in the centre by a two-foot party wall The
northern half Of the building, three stories
and basement, was occupied by the En-
pire Warehousfng Company, for general
storage purposes; the south half, two stories
and basement being used as Government
bonded warehouse for the. storage Of import
ed goods on which the Mties had not been
paid Both buildings were substantially
built, and the different floors were calculated
to bear an enormous weight All the
windows and doors were protected by
iron shutters, which fastened on the inside.
The buildings were erected in 1873 by E. 8
Wadsworth and cost in the ueighb0rhOod uf
$4,000.
The fire had evidently been
BURNING FOR SOME TINE,
1o11 1,nT4 h1rY nh
cred, because when the fireman got there it
had climbed from the basement to
the top story OF the taller build
ing. The fremen experienced nc
little difficulty In obtaining ingress, owing to
the fact that the windows and doors were
protected with iron shutters Several OF
these had to be forced open from the outside,
as it was worth all Of mans life to make
the ascent to the second and third floors from
the inside, owing to the vast volume Of smoke
and the devious lanes between the piles OF
goods with which each floor was incunl-
bered.
As soon as the firemen succeeded in getting
vantage ground they saw that
TIE TOP FLOOR OF THE NoRrH END
was burning furiously. It was not many
minutes before the flames had succeeded in
bursting out of the roof. The Skinner
ladder was run up, and the active
tiremen were soon playing vigorously on
the third floor, where the flames we're making
sad havoc among the 600 barrels Of whisky
owned by Chaplin & Gore, and several piles !;
Of boxes Of wines and groceries. The great
length of the building precluded the firemen
from working to any particular advan-
tage. All they could do was to re-
press the flames Immediately at the front
and rear ends, but this was Of little
avail, for the fire burned furiously In the
centre Of the building, and all efforts to
reach it proved practically fruitless- The
adventurous firemen mounted the roof Of the
Government bonded-warehouse, and, putting
ladders against the fre-wall separating tho
two structures, soon directed several streams,
through holes cut in the roof, upon the burn
ing mass below.
Meanwhile several of the employees Of the
warehousing firm, who had been summoned
by the general alarm, and had hurried to the
scene, were busily engaged In getting ont
the wcb y 9 to
Wadsworth, William Dlckenson, and c. J.
St2mbaugh.
ONE ADVENTUROUS REPORTER
took possession Of the Office when the smoke
was so dense as to be almost suffocating, and,
f oce tG lis Ees5e cy eor s teS2Sas and
The ire kept gradually working down:
wards in the meantime. The seeds and
groceries burned ID away slowly, adding gg,tt tS
which they were packed preventing rapid
combustion The flames gradually licked
away the framework Of the whisky barrels,
and when the stores were no longer: able to
bear the pressure series OF collapSeS en-
sued, in which the
pfR1cETEe9 soIrE NASH