The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-01-21

tered report of his calls
every half hour. The register showed
that he visited the furnace room at
$40, and found it all right at 4:10. when he
discovered the FIRE, and that the floor, inn
mediately over the furnaces, had frequently
been noticed by the attendants sleeping
there as uncomfortably hot; that the
furnace was rooted by sheetiron, and then
by two layers Of brick laid in mortar, with
q space Of but six inches between them and
the pine.
Attendant p @. Williams testified that
FIVE minutes after the fire was discovered it
Tas blazing through the floor. On being
reused he ran outside and saw fire only
visible about and around the furnace.
& EAttendant ]. G. Mcfarland, ,soutside night
Wstchman, testified he heard q cry of fire
and reused the attendants of wards No.
and 6, and carried two ladders to the burn
ing building from the carpenter shop, 100
yards away.
P. Skully, foreman for Architect J. r.
Willett, of Chicago, who has charge OF all
the hospital buildings, testified that he in
spected the furnaces when completed and
was satisfied with them then. He had not
inspected them since. Air circulated be-
tween the furnace roof and the pine timber.
The hot-sir conductors are brick flues; no
wood about them. The hot-air iues had
fourinCh walls and the smoke-hues eight
inch walls.
The Coroner's jury are well-knOwn citizens
who promise careful consideration before
rendering verdict. 1t is the first fire that
ever occurred st the hospital. An alarm
was sounded in the city, but Ksnkakee has
no fire department and the hospital is half
mile away, so no aid reached there, The
State does not insure its property,
but q comparatively slight appropriation
added to the present in complete facilities
would furnish for the nos pital an adequate
defense against flames. The appropriation
RlrdRdU a0Epn Of
the present Legislature.
The builders of the furnace in the burnt
building are Ruttan Furnace Company, of
Decatur and Chicago.
Senator Hereby reached Kankakee on
special train for the remains of his brother.
The furnaces in the other recently COM
pleted hospital detached wards are built in
precisely the same style and at the same dis
tance from the pine timbers as was the one
in the building burned.
The building burned was known as the
,lnhrmarY South. 1t was located south and
little west of the main building, 100 yards
in the southeast corner Of the collection Of
buildings and 900 feet from the nearest
detached ward. The hospital buildings
are arranged in almost the form
of q square. The main building, fronting
the east, with two lateral wings, then south
and west and north of it on streets, laid out
in a square are about twenty-five buildings;
running directly back of tn main buildings,
in the center to the west portion OF the
square, is an almost continuous row of build
ings, containing the kitchO-, s4op, engine
room, boiler room, laundry and coal house.
The two main streets run aroun d the ends
OF the man buildings wings to the west side
of the square, boIdered on both sides By
detached cottages. The street rum ins salong
the west side of the square is partially
bordered by cottages. The space north of
row running from the main building to the
uoa do ha
tains two buildings-the bath house and
amusement hall, the last named farthest
east. The open space on the south
side has one building. The refriger
ator railroad reaches into the middle
| of this square from the west.
The Ksnkakee River winds past In front Of
the main building, a quarter of a mile
away. Running northwest along the river
bank are the gas works and water tower.
The main building, standing on knoll,
is reached by two drives div@ging,
one running up and the other down
the river. The stable building and yards are
half mile southeast of the main Buildings;
beyond are lawns beautifully laid out.
| The main building is about 500 feet long,
| the wings 200 feet long; from one street to
another, measuring past the main building, it
is about 500 feet. The square, from limit
to limit north and south, is about :, 900 feet,
and east and west 1,500 feet. Trustee Nc.
| Cogg and Hospital Architect WiIlett reached
! KanEakee about midnight on q special TO
investigate the causes leading to the fire.
The Associated Press reporter interviewed
Architect Willet on his arrival at Kankakee.
He said: see no reason why the building
/ should have been fred from the furnaces.
They are in my opinion, the very best fur
Daces made. OF course there is danger of
fire from any heat radiating center, whether
| ii be by steam or hot air. l remember that
there is another furna ce located almost ex-
Il - ~
| l am talking merely fr ON memory, and in a
desultory way now. Still do not believe
that would recomme nd, at any rate not
| now, that the furnace be removed. Every
! thing about that furnaceroom is dry as
! powder. l think there would be more liabil-
! ity OF that fire being caused by negligence
| on carelessness OF the employees than from
the furnace. A lighted cigar dropped in
| places about there would readily have started
| such q conhagTation. l have as yet had no
opportunity to investigate as to the
details, but 1 am loathe to be-
| impression. from the furnaces being too
close to in nhammable ii mber. You see that
| pine was six inches from the layers of brick,
which aIe supposed to be the best nom
conductors in the West that we
have. Below the brick. was sheet-iron,
but hole, an aiy chamber; and between
the brick and pine was another air chamber.
From what can learn can not believe the
fire originated from defects in the
placing of the furnaces. They have
always heretofore given satisfaction,
and believe the fire must
have originated from other causes.
Hospital Trustee McCagg, OF Chicago, on be-
| ing asked, said: ''I have just reached the
hospital and have had no opportunity to
| investigate in manner satisfactory to my
| self as to the causes. 1 am not posted except
in very general way. scarcely feel would
be justified in expressing an opinion, as
have not been able to gather facts sufficient
to enable me to tell who, if anybody, is to
blame" He ref1sed to talk further.
There is strong feeling among
| the people of Kankakee that
an Investigation, thorough and exhaustive,
should be made OF the causes OF the terrible
destruction of life and property. One
of those reported missing name un-
known, was seen in the city this
afternoon, and il is hoped he is SAFE While
the fire progressing the patients In the other
wards near by became nearly frantic in their
endeavors to get out to the fire. S1me we're
weeping piteiously; others praying; still
| others screaming with alarm and calling for
friends they knew to be in the burning
building.