Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-06-24
DRIVEN OUT BY FLAMES
A Sixty Thousand Dollar Fire Caused
by a Little Button.
Three Women Leap from the Windows
OF Blazing Factory.

OF Blazing Factory.
CHICAGO, June IA button caused the
loss of 100000 and severe injuries to
three women in this city about 4 O'Clock
this afternoon.
At that hour an operative in PAYNE
Peires i Menzie's mattress and shoddy
factory, corner of Butler and Twenty
fourth steets, was feeding rags into a
separating machine. Five minutes later
tooth in the machine struck a button
and spark shot into the air and fell in
the midst of the combustible matirial.
Almost Instantly the rags burst into
flame, filling the room with smoke and
driving the operative from the machine
Engineer Cash, who heard the screams of
the frightened girls and boys who were
at work in the blazing room, shut down
his engine and, Selling a fire extinguish-
er, hurried toward the flames, which were
cracking and leaping to all portions of
the building. He fought his way through
the binding smoke and terrible heat
until he reached the second story, where
he dropped his extinguisher, and yelled
to the operatives to flee for their lives.
ue and Grove street and summoned the
ire department. When he returned to
the building, flames were bursting from
every window.
While Cash was hurrying toward the fire
alarm box the nineteen girls at work in
the building made desperate fights for
life. The flames spread with indescrib-
able rapldity. The hallway was choked
with sitting smoke, and the stairs were
ablaze from top to bottom. Many of the
girls dashed down the burning steps into
the street, their garments blazing tiercely
and their hair scorched to the scalp.
just as the first fire engine swung into
Butler street little woman with a pale
face appeared at one of the windows of
the second story. Tongues of fire were
leaping up behind her, and the glass in
the sash had already begun to crack and
crumble. Somebody in the great crowd
IN the street yelled to the woman to
jump. She turned half around and
looked at the flames which were sweeping
toward her, and then with an expression
OF despair on her pale face hurled herself
from the window. Two firemen picked
her up and placed her in patrol wagon.
she was bleeding from several cuts on her
face and one of her legs was said to have
been broken. Women who had escaped
down the blazing staircases told the
officers that their unfortunate companion
was Katie Hildebrand. She was removed
to her home on Twenty-fourth street.
Just as the girl struck the ground two
more women thrust their heads out of a
window from which great volumes of yell
low smoke were pouring. They were too
frightened to scream. Men and women
in the crowd shouted words of cheer to
them but before the fireman could
place ladder against the window the two
women plunged headlong to the ground
When they were picked up both were I'M
conscious. Mrs. Vika Chilson who was
thefmost seriously injured, lives at 317
West Randolph street. Her companion
Jennie O'Hare, resides with her parents
at 4O2 Twenty street Both are
seriously but not fatally injured.
The building, which was a wooden fire
trap, 5Ox I25 and three stories high, burn
ed fercely. It was filled with shoody
cloth, corn husks, and curled hair, and in
this lnHammable material the flames
roared without check until a second bait
alton of engines arrived. While smoke
was still pouring out of the charred wind
ows Of the shell dozen firemen with axes
and pixies leaped among the ruins and be-
gan oyerhauling the debris, under which
1t was said several persons were buried.
D1l1gent search, however, showed that all
OF the operators have been saved.
The cottages at 2409 and 2411 Twenty
fourth street were nearly destroyed. II.
Werner, who occupied the house at the
first number, lost about $500. The ten
ants of the adjoining cottage lose about
$500. The buildings, which are owned
by L. f. Wheeler, are damaged to the ex-
tent of $500 Payne, Peires & Menzie,
the proprietors of the mattress factory,
lose about 100000 on stock snd machin-
cry. The building was owned by t. T.
Wheeler and is complete wreck. The
latter's loss is not far from $4,000. En-
gineer Cash lost $65 which was in his
vest.