The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-01-11
DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.
Int L 4 = E0- mo-.

Tho Richardson Drug Company burned
Out at st. Louis-L0ss About o1BOsO0O.
ST. LOUIS, Jan. The immense six.
story brick building Of the Richardson
Drug Company on the northeast corner OF
Fourth street and Clark avenue was re.
duced to ruins in forty minutes early yes
terday morning
The building fronted 40 feet on Fourth
street and ran back on Clark avenue 300
feet to a private alley. Back of this was .
three story substantial brick warehouse
used by the firm to store explosives and
highly combustible goods and oils. The
building was built in 1885 and had all
modern improvements.
The fire was discovered at 2:20 a. m.
and general alarm was turned in, but SO
fierce was the fire five minutes later that
the buildings across the street were smok.
ing and about to burst into flames. Every
few minutes terrible explosion would de-
tomato throughout the building and .
graceful curl of fire would leap high into
the air. When every pane of glass was
out of the building the tongues OF fire
leaped out and their heat made the narrow
street almost uncomfortable, and the fire.
mems coats smoked and their hands were
blistered when exposed to the blaze, and
many dropped the lines and sought the
protection Of adjacent buildings.
The buildings in close proximity to the
fire were scenes of tremendous excitement.
The Ehler House, at 2O9 South Fourth
street, occupied by boarders, was the scene
Of a panic The screams of frightened
women and the men rushing to and fro
from room to room after their friends
k,I 10 &C.
came to their assistance and all the occu-
pants were safely rescued. Woess' mas
querade store, 207 South Fourth street,
was destroyed. At 40S and 40 Clark
avenue was a row of three story brick
boarding houses which were also scenes Of
fright. The occupants had only time to
escape.
At $50 O'Clock several great explosions
of gasoline and other materials occurred
almost simultaneously with the falling and
crashing of the southeast corner of the
building, endan2ering the lives of all the
firemen on that portion of the work. The
heavy cornces and coping stones on the
top story began to crack on the waving
walls and the firemen had only time to es-
cape from the impending danger when,
with a sudden crash, that portion of the
building fell, throwing the burning frag-
ments across Clark avenue and setting fire
to II. j. Miller's bakery two-story brick,
and adjoining buildings on the southeast
corner Uf Fourth street and Clark avenue
and covering the entire intersection of the
streets with flames and smoke.
Mr.. Cliff Richardson, the general man.
ager of the concern. gives the value of the
stock on hand at about $675, 900 and the
insurance at $65O,O0o. The buildings oc-
cupied were valued at about 100000.
The origin of the fire is not yet known,
but it was first seen on the ground floor Of
the Fourth street front by Police Sergeant
W. Young, who sounded an alarm at once.
Andrew Geroghty, the night Waterman,
has been missing since the fire, and it is
believed that he persisted in the burned
building. The victims widow and four
teen-year- old daughter created a terrible
scene at the ruins, pleading for search
for the remains in the still burning ruins.