The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-14

TEE BEGINNING
The Fire Starts In the Basement of ID. p.
Erwin's Dry Goods Store.
One of the most disastrous fires that has ever
wrecked buildings consumed goods. and taxed
the fire department 10 its utmost. swept part
OF both sides of South Meridian street. between
Georgia and Louisiana, late last night 1t be-
gan with a fire that startled those who discov-
cred it out of their senses, and although the
alarm was turned in promptly as could be
done under the circumstances, the flames had
full possession of floor of large Wholesale
house, were making rapid strides to the next, and
licking the sides of adjoining build
ings by the time the first relay
of engines got there. Promptly after the first
came the general call for the whole department..
which found vicious flames tapping up every
thing combustible in d. r. Erwin g Co.'S four
story building No. 100 South Meridian street,
with dry goods from cellar TO attic. The fire
had got control OF it from the outset and left
the firemen nothing to do but to save the large
house adjoining on the north and the imposing
but uncompleted structure of Pearson & Wetzel
But even in this their efforts were IN vain, for
along the caves of George H. Stout's wholesale
grocery house the flames stole slowly, but
viciously. while from windows in the stories
below came the unmistakable signs of fire
throughout the building. Little by little these
signs. in small volumes of SIN oke. increased,
until they became dense as if coming from
a of factory chimneys. Streams Of
water from dozen nozzles rained Intellectually
on the flaming sides of these two imposing
stone front structures. AS if hooking the
efforts of the firemen, the flames ragged fiercer
and iercer lighting up the scene of havoc and
casting sombre shadows beyond the outer edge
of the thousands of people who stood gazing in
tently at the destruction.
The origin of the fire was traced to d. p.
Erwin & Co.'S building, where. a few minutes
after IL o'clock small boy named Siefert saw
the flames issuing from the frat floor John
Reed, the private Waterman. told policeman
that he had but few minutes before passed the
store and everything appeared SAFE The boy
gave the alarm and Jasper Cleary, the Mer-
chant policeman on the beat north of Georgia
street heard it and sent in the call from Box 80.
Reed shocked at the fire occurring his beat
and he not discovering it, turned his work over
TO another man and could not be found to tell
what he knew OF the fire. How the flames
started is thus left to conjecture as nobody
had theory and fact except the
first knowledge of their existence
was given by the Siefert boy. When he saw
them they seemed to be confined in the front
Office of the store, and from this it is thought
that overheated stove began the work of de-
structien which left nothing in that quarter but
the ruined walls of the two doomed buildings
1t about III o'clock that the first alarm
was sounded, and during the half hour ), 900
persons gathered, crowdins into Meridian and
the streets. The police could not keep
:hem Back, as they encroached upon the fire.
men. The vast volumes of flames, for the con-
tents OF the two buildings were such as to
make them swell with the rage of a volcano,
seemed to have a dreadful fascination
for the spectators who stood measuring with
their eyes every advance of the fire as it crepr
by inches towards the large building of Byram,
Cornelius & Co.'S Wholesale dry goods house. at
the southeast corner of Maryland and Meridian
streets 1t seemed If nothing could save it,
impregnable its towering walls aud front of
stone appeared. Directly there was burst of
fire as if coming from the center of its roof and
the house seemed doomed. Stout's building
next to it on the south, and adjoining the already
wrecked building of d. p. Erwin g. Co. resisted
stuooornly the ravages of the flames. 1t was
taken story by story, and the rush of smoke
from windows darkened the whole front ex-
cept when the angry hames as if with re-
doubled force, cut through it as if eager to sweep
the firemsn from their front This was the
scene for twenty minutes the fire defying everv
effort to the two buildings that first fell in
their way.
The scene of danger then suddenly shifted TO
the west side of Meridian street, where the stone
and brick-front buildings stood under the in
tense heat of the burning houses opposite. A
small fame no larger than n mans hand crept
stealthily along the corri:e OF Tanner & Suli-
vans house. A stream OF water was directed
flame grew larger and larger. swelling in few
minutes into another conflagration which
brought c. b. Cones Sc Co on the north aud
Pearson and Wetzell on the south within its
folds II was not ten minutes before these
three large four and fve-story buildings were
burning viciously did those of Stout and
Erwin across the street By this time the lat
ter had been totally wrecked, while Byram
Cornelius & Co. escaped without loss except
from smoke, on their $500 900 worth OF goods
CROSSING THE STREET
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