, 1889-01-02
A FEARFUL FIRE.
Burning of Richardson's Drug
House at st. Louis.
ManyPersons Narrowly Escape
With Their Lives.
Exciting Scenes II the Vicinity
of the Fire.

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 1.-The immense six
story brick building of the Richardson
Drug company, corner Fourth street and
Clark avenue. was reduced to ruins in
forty minutes after 2 o'clock this morning.
The building fronted 10 feet on Fourth
street and ran back on Clark avenue 200
feet, Back of this was a three story brick
warehouse used by the firm to store ex-
plosives and highly combustible goods and
oils. So fierce was the fire that FIVE min
utes after the alarm was turned in the
building across the street was smoking
and about to burst into flames. Every
few minutts a terrible explosion would
detonate throughout the buildings.
When every pane of glass was out OF
the building tongues of fire leaped out.
Their heat made the narrow street sheol
for the firemen, who toIled with bursting
and burning hose TO save the property,
their coats smoked and their hands blister
ed. The entire six floors were filed with
combustible goods. and a great portion of
the stock was extremely i~nfiammable. On
the third floor were paints and oils. The
lire seemed to get an early hold here, the
jill uIlppiuR lIIOuRu llC uTsJ TWO bIOTle6,
and a fountain of fire played from the
easements and roof, defYing all efforts to
check its costly flow. 1t was an awful
yet grand sight from the first two minu
ties after being discovered until 3 O'Clock,
when the building collapsed.
The Richardson Drug company was the
outgrowth of q business of forty years
ago by James Richardson, the present
president. The building was erected sew
eral years ago at a cost of $3.50, 900, and
was one Of the largest wholesale drug
houses in the country. Buildings in close
proximity to the fire were the scene of
tremendous excitement. The Ghler house,
at 209 South Fourth street, occupied by
boarders, was the scene of a panic, the
screams of frightened women and men
rushing to and fro after friends creating
much terror. Finally firemen came to
their assistance and all the were
rescued. Woos' masquerade store at POT
South Fourth street, was destroyed. At
404 and 4l0 Clark avenue, a row of three
story brick boarding houses were also the
scene of great excitement. Occupants
had barely time to escape with their lives.
At $50 O'Clock the most exciting epoch
of the fire occurred when several deafen-
ing explosions of benzine and other OK.
plosive drugs occurred almost simultane-
ously with the falling and crashing of tie
southeast corner of the building, e~ndanger-
ing the lives of all fremen in that por-
ton of the burning structure. The heavy
c~ornices and coping stones on the top
story began cracking on the waving
walls and the fireman had only time to es
cape from the impeding danger when with
a sudden crash that portion of the build
ing fell, throwing the burning fragments
across Clark avenue and setting fire to
IL. Miller's bakery, a two story brick,
and adjoining buildings on the southeast
corner of Fourth street and Clark avenue
filling the entire intersection of the streets
with flames and smoke.
1t was expected that a panic would
occur in the Southern hotel, which is
within almost half a square of the drug
building, but the guests were quickly in
formed that there was no imminent danger
and the ladies and gentlemen leisnrely
came down the corridors and filled the
sidewalks and the windows of their rooms
to watch the scene.
The loss on stock is about $675, 900; in
surance, S650,000; buildings, 5000, 900.
The origin of the fire is not yet known.