St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-28
BIG BLAZE IN A PRISON.
Fire Does $15O,OOO Damage at
the Columbus Penitentiary.

the
COLUMBUS. o.. Aug. 37.-Fire started
at 1880 this evening in the chair factory
in the penitentiary, owned by J. w.
Bann. The flames spread with great
rapidity and the large building was
soon destroyed. The fire spread to G.
G. Corners cooper shop, and II. A. Lam
mans buckle shop These too, were
totally destroyed. the loss to the state
will be about 5000 and to the owners
about 100000. The fire is still burning
but is under control. Several persons
were seriously injured by the explosion
of an oil tank. Thomas Kearns, fireman,
probably fatally. /,
CONSERVATION AMONG CONNECTS.
ne scenes at the penltentlary were
exciting. The prisoners were locked III
their cells, but lights had not been put
out. and the greatest CONSERVATION pret
vailed. Thousands OF people assembled
outside the walls and watched the con-
flagration. The greatest excitement
prevailed also among those working in-
side the walls. Adjoining the chair
factory was the gas works which
supply all the state buildings with gas
The gasometer containing many cubic
feet of gas was scol ched by the flames.
and an explosion was mOmentarily ex-
pected, but fortunately averted. The
fire was under control at o'clock.
Thomas F. KERN, assistant super
intendent of fire alarm; George Sny-
dam, city fireman and Daniel G. Sher-
idan, member of the prison fire de-
partment, were in the war ehouse when
the roof fell in. The men
were rescued promptly, KERN and
Snydam sustained slight injuries.
Sheridan did not fare so well. He had
a cash eight inches long cut in his head
and back and left arm injured. He will
probably recover. Sheridan is Ham
lily county prisoner. The factory, occu-
pied by the Columbus Chair company,
was a two-story brick building 50x130
feet, and was valued at about $1,000.
The loss of the Columbus Chair COM
$1,000 insurance. l. n. Damn, OF New
Haven, Conn.,, is president OF the com
pany. About $4,000 worth of machinery
in this factory belonged to the j. w.
Damn Manufacturing company, on
which there is about $4,000 insurance.
The company employed
ABOUT sEvENTY-FIvE PRISONERS.
The factory occupied by the Colum-
bus Bolt works was three-stOry brick
building, about 150x5o feet and cost s12,-
600. The lost to the Columbus Bolt
works is about $4,000, on which there
is about $4,000 insul ance. Alfred
Thomas is president of the company.
They employed about 100 prisoners.
The warehouse, formerly used as a
cooper shop, was one-story brick
structure, 225x3O feet, and cost about
$4,000. About 10000 gross Of brushes
belonging to the Corner Brush COM
pany, which recently began opera
tions at the prison, were destroyed.
with the buildir g, the loss amounting to
about $4,000 OH which there is no insur-
anee. The Brown-ninman company,
Columbia Chair company, and Colum-
bus bolt works also had material valued
at from $1,000 to. $4,000 stored i'll the
building. The total loss will aggregate
about $4,000; of this loss about $20,00o
is on the buildings, which were owned
by the state and OH which there was no
insurance. The factories will probably
be rebuilt and operations resumed as
soon as possible. -