St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-04-13

engine, and in the meantime the flames
spread with incredible rapidity, while thick
volumes of smoke filled the halls
and rooms of the building. There
was of course a general disorder
among the occupants of the building,
many rushing down stairs panic-Stricken.
A number of women employed i'm the office
of the Buckeye Publishing company on the
NTH floor became panc-strieken, and see
lEg the dense smoke below supposed that
escape by the stairway was cut of. AS
was found after the fire was out there was
no occasion for alarm. as the flames did not
approach the stairway and the elevator
was not touched. The smoke, however,
prevented this from being seen and the
women rushed TO a window at the rear of
the hallway. Their shTieks soon attracted
the attention of the crowd in the street be-
low, and their supposed peril created in
tense excitement n number of men caught
mp ladder from the Hayes truck. and
passed it up 10 the roof of the Fisher build
ing which stands at the rear of the Boston
block and is separated from il by an alley
way. The ladder was thrown across TO the
window, and Al KOstleT, Alfred La Fluer
and 4. q. Reed climbed across it 10 where
the women stood wringing their
hands. This precaution was quite
timely, as the frenZied females in
their fright would doubtless have fallen.
4 plank was then showed along a ladder
and Peter Rand, bricklayer, rushed across
the eXtemporiZed bridge which shunted at
an angle of nearly forty-fve degrees. One
OF the women was handed out and
walked down the plank while Rood erawled
by her side along the rounds of the
ladder supporting her. One by one the
four were brought safely, while the people
below held their breath and cheered when
they arrived safely on the Fisher building.
Now that the danger was over they were
nearly overcome by nervous proStration and
cried and mOaned pittifully. Their names
were Florence Stanchfield. Mary Stafford. Su-
san c. Black and Nellie Weeks. Hardly had
the excitement from witnessing this thrillngI
scene died away than a man was seen a
a nth story window on the Fourth street
side. The Hayes truck was quickly brought
into position. the extension ladder strung
up and the man, carrying a satchel. very
coolly descended in safety to the ground.
He proved 10 be Thomas j. Joyce, an cleo
trician employed by the Electric Clock
company, which had rooms in the fifth
story. BY this time the smoke was
POURING FROM THE WINDOWS
up the two upper stories. A ladder was
run up to fourth-story window and a line
of hose carried up. Ladders were also
placed at the front and the firemen quickly
climbed up with the hose.
IL was now O'Clock. and the flames were
bursting from the roof. Thousands OF peo-
pie crowded the streets. and half a dozen
engines were vigorously working and dozen
streams of water were playing while fire
men were flying in every direction. The
"Bulldozer," pipe which throws a double
stream of water. was started and was
throwing thousands of gallons of water,
only about third of which fell on the roof.
In the meantime the tenants of the rooms in
the lower stories were carrying out their
movable effects in their arms. Law books
were flying through the air. The mail
matter in the pOstoffice was rapidly
loaded in the express wagons and the exo-
dus from the burning building was general.
At 2:45 the fire was under control. and it
became apparent that. from the third floor
down, the handsome building would sus-
tain no injury, save from the thorough
soaking by water. An hour later the flames
were completely squelched, and the smoke
had subsidized. a tour through the building
at this hour revealed a dismal sight.
Only a small section of the roof remained.
The portion consumed is all that part of the
above the third floor, in the corner diagon-
ally opposite the corner at the intersection
of Third street and Hennepin avenue. The
contents of the law library, lie in jum-
bled mass of ruins on the third floor. The
northwest quarter of the building is appar-
emily sunken in. With the exception of
one place on the Fourth street side
the walls are practically intact
The floors, stairways and all rooms below
the fifth floor and outside of the ruined sec
ton OF the building are uninjured. The
damage by water to the rooms, however,
will be great. At o'clock last evening
the water was dripping through the ceiling
in showers and rushing down the stairways
like mountain freshets. In the Railways it
was at least an inch deep.