St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-06-05
THE NICOLLET ABLAzE.
A Midnight Fire Damages the House
About $4,000,
And Throws a Legion of Servant Girls
into Mysteries.

AT 11:15 o'clock last evening Dan
O'Keefe, bartender at the Nicollet house,
Minneapolis, discovered that the laundry,
in the rear of the bar-room, was on fire. A
vain effort was made to use the the appa-
ratus at hand to extinguish the flames,
which rapidly gained Roadway, and an
alarm was given. Although the fire de.
partment responded with great promptness,
the two-story addition. which con-
tanned the laundry, store room
and kitchen, was ablaze and
a serious confagration was impending. The
dense smoke spread throughout the house.
and a scene of great confusion ensued.
There were about 200 guests in the house,
who were aroused. and came running down
stairs clad only in their night garments, or
such clothing as they could hastily don. In
the upper portion of the hotel all
was confusion. The servants quarters
were nearest where the flames
broke out and as soon as they became
aware that the house was On fire shriekS
and cries filled the long corridors. In sew
eral cases they were opening windows pre-
paratory to jumping out when rescuers put
i'll an appearance. Clad only in night
dresses and hair flying. some rushed frantic
ally down and across the street to places of
safety. Three or four stalwart men made a
tour of the halls in this part of the house
and opened chamber doors which were
locked. 1t was well this was done, for in
one room were found two girls clasped in
each others arms and nearly unconscious.
Some of the girls retained presence of
mind and were Of great assistance to the
rescuing party in showing the way out and
locating certain rooms. Their clothes
seemed to be
THEIR GREATEST ANXIETY
and more than one lightly-clad maid sob5ed
Historically as she pulled her long hair
around her shlvering form. Among the
guests there were many ladies, and of the
whole number nearly all preserved their
composure and aided greatly in packing UP
goods. One lady became nearly crazy with
fright. and but for the interference of
friends would have rushed into the
dense smoke in an endeavor
to find her husband, who was packing her
other lady, who was at the Newhali house,
Milwaukee, when it burned, did noble
and brave work by going around among
the frightened girls and women, gently
soothing them and allaying their fears. 1t
was a sight never to be
forgotten. The main part of
the house was uninjured, except
perhaps the breaking in of several doors
and the flooding of several of the floors by
water. A steady stream came pouring
down the south stairs into the office and
more than one trunk came floating and
tumbling down this passageway. So far ais
known no one was seriously injured in any
way, and the only persons who suffered to
amount to anything by the smoke were
the two girls found locked in
room. The department went to work
with will, and soon a dozen streams of
water were playing on the flames, which
mounted with great rapidity. The laundry
and the kitchen burned like so much finder.
The flames came forward and reached the
dining-room and the store-room in the
southeast side of the building. which
burned fercely. The heavy black smoke
which
ROLLED INTO THE HALLS
prevented the fremen from progressing as
far as they wanted to. In the stor Groom
was stored quantities of clothing. bed
clothes, ETC., and the heavy streams of
water poured in ON it seemed to have no eff
feet. Down stairs the water was from one
to four inches deep on the floor and came
pouring down the staircase in torrents.
Heavy pieces of ceiling now and
then crashed down upon the floor,
causing CONSERVATION among the people
there. Mayor AmeS was in the midst of it
all, and his cool words and ready hand pre-
vented many an accident The guests for
the most part sought other quarters. and
the West hotel rotunda at midnight was
filled with half-clad people who carried
their clothing and valuables in their arms.
The damage will probably amount to S25, 600
one-third OF which will come from the
water. which fairly flooded the west half
of the building on the second floor, and
dIopping through completely ruined all the
ceilings. The loss is completely covered by
insurance, which amounts to S104, 600
on the builing alone, distributed
among sixty different companies,
there being in addition S25, 600
on the furniture. The flames were practi-
cally under control within an hour after
the discovery of the fire, and by 1880
o'clock were entirely extinguished. The
two-story wing, in which the fire originated,
is a portion of the rear addition,
which was erected Immediately
after the fire which occurred last
July. The fire at that time occurred
in nearly the same way, and in extent and
nature was very similar to last nights con-
fagration. The building has since been
thoroughly repaired, and it is owing to this
fact that the damage from water is not as
great as upon the former occasion. The
water came through the ceilings into the
office of the Omaha railroad. the
drug store of Webster & Churchill, the
gents furnishing store of E. C. Barnaby
and the jewelry store of H. F, Legg, on
Nicollet avenue in rear of the hotel. The
damage to goods in each instance is small
The running of the hotel will be on the
European plan for about two or three weeks,
and in the meantime the house will receive
dodgers aS usual