The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-01-02
A CONFEDERATION.
The Richardson Drug Com
pany Burned Out.
IMMENSE LOSS OF PROPERTY.
A Number of Other Buildings De-
strCyed- Tremendous Excitement
Loss, $S75,OOO.

ST.. LOUIS, January 1.-The immense
six-story brick building of the Richard
son Drug Company, corner Fourth
Street and Clark Avenue was burned to
ruins in forty minutes, after 2 O'Clock
this morning. The building fronted
10 feet on Fourth Street and extended
back on Clark Avenue 200 feet, back OF
this was three-story brick warehouse,
used by the firm to store explosives and
highly combusible goods and oils. So
fierce was the fire that within FIVE min
utes after the alarm was turned in the
building across the street was smoking
and about to burst into flames. Every
few minutes g terrible explosion would
detonate throughout the building, when
every pane of glass was blown out of
the building, ana tongues of fire ieaped
out The heat made the narrow street
A sHEoL FOR THE FIRgMEN,
who toiled with the bursting. burnir G
hose to save the property. Their coats
smoked and their hands were blistercd.
Inc entire six floors were filed with
combustibIe goods. A great portion of
the stock was extremely infamm able.
On the third floor were paints and oils.
The fire seemed to get an early hold
here. The oils dripping through the
first two stories formed fountain of
fire which played from the easements
to the roof, and all efforts to check its
flow were futile. 1t was an awful sight
from the first few minutes after its dis
covery until o'clock, when the build
ing collapsed. The Richardson Drug
Company was the outgrowth of the
business of forty years ago by James
Richardson, the present president. The
building was erected several years ago
at a cost of $3.50 ,000 and was one of the
largest wholesale houses in the country.
Buildings in close proximity to the fire
were the scenes of tremendous excite
ment.
The Ghler House, at 200 South
Fourth Street, occupied by boarders,
was
THE SCENE OF A PANIC.
The screams of frightened men and
women, rushing to and fro after their
friends, caused great CONSERVATION.
Finally, the fremen came TO their as
sistanCe, and all the occupants were
rescued. Woeses' masquerade store,
2O7 South Fourth Street, was destroyed.
At 404 and 40 Clark Avenue, row of
three-story brick boarding houses were
also the scene OF fright. The occupants
had only just time to escape. At 2.O5
the most exciting epoch of the fire oc
Cured, when several great explosions
of benzine and other explosive drugs
occurred, almost simultaneous with the
falling aid crashing of the southeast
corner of the building, a portion of
the heavy cornices and coping stones
on the top story began to crack and the
firemen had only time to escape from
the impending danger, when,
WITH A SUDDEN CRASH,
that portion Of the building fell, throw
ing burning fragments across to Clark
Avenue, setting fire to Almlller's
bakery, two-story brick, and adjoin-
ing buildings on the southeast corner
of Fourth Street and Clark Avenue,
and severing the entire intersection of
the streets with flames and smoke. 1t
was expected a panic W ,uld occur in
the Southern HUtel, which is within
almost half square of the drug build
ing, but the guests were quickly in
formed that there was no Immediate
danger, and the ladies and gentlemen
ieisurely came down the corridors and
sidewalk and to the windows of their
rooms TO watch the scene. The loss on
the stock is S675, 600; insurance. $780,
coo; buildings, $500, OO0. The origin OF
the fire is not yet known.
Andrew Garaghty, the nightwatch-
man in the drug store. is missing, and
is believed to have persisted in the fire.