Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-07-30
OVER 1854 900 IN THE FLAMES.
Insurance S5s, OO0-The Wichita Wholesale
Grocery Company and A. Cannon
Company Burned out.

Yesterday morning at 2:25 fire alarm
was turned in from the Tony Bruhn build
ing, on Water and First streets. Fire had
been discovered in the northwest corner
of the building in the lower floor, which
was occupied by A. Cannon & Co., a fruit
commission firm. The department re-
sponded promptly and found it one OF the
most difficult tasks they had ever tackled.
The fire was under Roadway, flames COM
ing out of the window and blazing up
fifteen or twenty feet. The hose carts
carry over eight hundred feet of hose, and
both were sent back twice for more hose,
and in due time eight streams were on
and seven two and one-half inch noZzles
and one two inch nozzle, calling for over
thirty-eight hundred feet of hose. The
wind was blowing brisk from the north
west, and in all hour after the alarm was
turned in the block was a total wreck.
The block is three Stories 12o feet 'front.'
and 100 feet Deep The block was occu-
pied by A Cannon & Co., the Wichita
Wholesale Grocery company and some
families occupying rooms in the third
story. Nothing was saved from Cannon's
room. A few minutes after the alarm
was turned in Messrs. Corbett and Hess,
of the grocery company, arrived and saw
it was useless to make any effort
to save the goods. They went to the
Office, closed the iron door between the
Office and the wareroom to keep the heat
out and the Office furniture was removed
including the books and accounts. The
office furniture amounting to 500 was
saved and nothing else i'll the building
removed Three cars of sugar on the
track just in rear Of the building for the
grocery company. One was pushed north
on the track out of the danger and the
other two were burned, not being moved.
Concerning the fire, Chief of Depart
ment Walden S aid the clock at No. l
stopped at 2:25 showing at that instant
the alarm was sent in. He said the de-
| partment, consisting of fifteen men. had
| in few minutes seven streams on the lire
| but for some time could not get pressure
| equal to the average fire pressure
| He said that one car of sugar had been
pushed out by men and they had tried to
| push out the other two, which would have
saved So. coo, but they could not do it. AS
| to water pressure he had sent a man twice
to telephone and once got the station and
about that time the pressure was in
creased to fire pressure. In his opinion a
! fire pressure at the beginning might have
saved the buildings.
Mr.. AmSbury, superintendent OF the
water company, said the first the station
heard of the fire was when the sister of the
engineer, having been aroused by light
| in her window, went to the station short
distance away and appraised the engineer.
He then turned on the fire
pressure and a moment later
| was telephoned by someone that Walden
said give as high a pressure as possible.
| He showed the card at the Office of the
| company on Market street, which gives
the pressure for the night and according
to the card the fire pressure varies from
seventy five to eighty pounds and COM
menced at 100 or nearly an hour before
| the fire alarm was given, and remained at
that point until o'clock, when it shows
| domestic pressure. How this discrepancy
between the clock at No. l and the card at
the Office of the water company occurred
! is not explained except that the
| instrument at the Office was an
| hour or more behind time. Mr..
! Amsbury did not desire to express an
opinion as to the cause of the station not
! being given the alarm but thought
some scheme should be devised to give
| them the alarm with the department.
! THE LOSS.
The fire was one of the most expensive
ever in the city. The grocery company
had q stock on hand amounting to about
100000 and practically nothing was
saved outside of office furniture and books
and one car load of sugar. The insurance
was as follows:
ROYAL SOC
Ins On n 50(