Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-02-03
BUFFAL0'S BLAZE
DESTROYS ss,oco.ooo WORTH or PRO.
PARTY.
Hotel suesss Rush Out with Panicty Feel.
ing'-Rarrow Escapes bat No
Lives Lost.
Try telegraph to the pisp,,ch.l

r1oruinta Gre was discovered on the ,aur,h
floor OF = tivs-stery building owned and In a
great part occupied nv Root a. kes,lse. whole.
tsle leather dealers. at the corner OF Carroll
ana Wells streets. The ferocity OF the wind
made II certain that the fire, ~ 1t got hold.
weuld be DISASTROUS one. The building.
with afrontase Of 1St feet on Carroll street
and lsI feet on Wells street, wa. situated In
The heaTt OF the business blocks. II wss
separated only by the breadth 81 Carroll
tftry from The fine fre.prOof Jcwett block,
trosfing 90 Seneca street. snd Was diieefl .
In line with the new Six.story block OF Sib-
ley & HOLLYWOOD. candy. manufacturers.
Ou tho opposite side OF Wells st.eet. A
little further north. il the Broesel House. a
massive six story structure, whose guess
were up aud dressed few minutes after the
alarm. They were scared, aud they hsd
good reason 10 be. for the commercial men,
who largely cemDosed III guests, bad painful
nemoric. Of the hotel ffes In Bunao. The
flames had good hold on the Root &
hcaton building, and at 3 O'Clock the flames
were boiling and seeming mass, entirely
hiliug that par. OF Carroll street directly In
lront Of The doomed building.
A lew minutes after 3 O'Clock the heat was
50 inteR'e - 10 Se almost unbcaFsble even
a. Seneca street. The ssy was Illuminated
for MANY miles. and crowds from all parts Of
The city kent the police busy. At 1916 A..
~. the raging mass OF fiame was srandly ter.
rlblc. Wells street WAS being swept by a
sheet Of tire waited across the two streets by
The Wind. AZ 1925 the rear Of the ux-story
brick building o. Sibiey & HOLLYWOOD had
caught. and portions Of the back Of the
Brosscl u0nSe were smoking.
There wers nearly fifty tons OF starch
stored IN The TOP floors OF Sibloy a. Holm.
woods building, according TO the statement
OF one OF their employees, sud the starch
burned Ike finder when once limited, car
Tying the flames through irem the rear TO
the ftOnt Of the building In few moments.
At 3:21 the rear OF swift 4 Stsmbschs's and
T. {. Reyoold's stores on Seuecs street were
IN Toll blaze. The fire ran along tho roof a.
though the material that composed It was
paper. At 3:3D the southwest corner Of The
Brossel Housc was burning fast. The
guests were moving out their baggage and
. large number 81 iremen went 10 The aid
Of the guests In the hotel.
The wind had shifted 10 the northwest
Rnd n sleet was coming down In torrents,
which adde's TO tho difficulties under which
the fremeu labOrcd. AT 3:40the roof OF 4. H..
Egsn's wbiskey-store. Just east OF tho Broesei
House, was on fire. Firemen on Senecs
street directed their Efforts TO the building
Gu the other side OF the street. The front Of
the Bfeess House had become mass u
flames. shortly bs'ore O'Clock the sixth
floor Of Sbley Z IIslmwosd's store fell with
tremendous cash. sending a storm OF d(brls
and embers In oil directions. At thls time
the top 6ocr OF the Jewett building appeared
a roaftug owes.
Toe soepe an Carroll street was appalling.
On Shs nsTth side OF the street the sibey &
hollywood building was IN ruins and the
Je~stt building was hlszing from baremoat
% root. Phe large six.tory building occu.
pied by Ao1au BretberS, Iiofeld & Co.,
and osAoT srms on The opposite side next to
the Root n kestin ruins was yet untouched.
but al 4:lO Tue cofnicss Of the top story
began 10 blaze. though the hTemeu held
them 10 check Tor time. The walls ot tue
Jeweu block nov began 20 bulge and tue
crowd gave a howl OF warning 10 The FIRE.
men. AT 4:lj the wSns Tell with a shock
that fairly Ehosk the surrounding walls. and
before the cloud OF dust cleared away ter.
riOle panic took place.
frantic struFg+ WAS made in getting ont
the horses from the stsb4e next TO the Jewett
block. BY $3.50 O'Clock tho Brocsel House
was abandoned 10 the flames htl:i5 O'Clock
the front OF The Brossel House fell 10 with a
ihundeTng crash and the fremen in front
narrowly escaped. one fireman was felIed
10 the ground. but a heroic fellow rushed to
Despite toe efforts Of the firemen Eagan's
wbisksy-store was in full blaze. There was
nothing to do but to leave the fire 10 run IT'S
course. At $40 the fire burst through the
front Of the Seuecs~sirset store OF August
Eys aud an empty store adjoining. Fowler
Il sons placed was filled with seasoned wood
foI carriages. Adjoining was \ small fruit
store. and then came Sidney Shepard & CO.'S
mammoth stamping Al D O'Clock
the Sensca.street stores up TO ShepNd's bad
been well Quilted. TIE wind by this time
bad died out.
Tie fire extends from A. Y. Kerr & Co.'S
down SENECA street 70 Sid1ev Shepard n
Co.'S. All Of Wells street Is burned through
70 Exchange street. and the corner is burned
out completely to the Arlington House. The
fire Il It'll raging. but IL under control. The
loss will reach $1,000 eco.
About noon numscr OF fremen were at
work in the ruins At The rear Of the Arliuc-
ton Hotel. when the western wall OF the rear
extension fell without snv warning. One
fireman WIS badly hurt by diving bricks and
another was completely buried ia the runs,
probably instantly killed.
Official records show that between and
o'clock this morsiug the wind msintaiHed a
velocity OF thlrty miles an hour, and At times
between 3 and 4 o'clock reached ttlrty-dve
miles. Tie fire. beginning IN the big Root
4 Heating building, spread by contact. or
the forco OF the high wind blowing at the
time. IN all directions, but chiefly to the
pOrthward and eastward. Wells STREET Is =
compots desert from Senecx 10 Exchange
atreets-an appalling chsos OF brick, twisted
iron, and an ineXucAbe tsnsle of wires.
The total area included in the burned district
Is roughly estimated AZ seven or eight acres.
snd The total number OF buildings destroyed
or Quilted ST forty.
The principal Losses are figured about az
follows: Root 4 Heating. $3.50. 900; their
tenants. 500, 200; :. :. JeWstt e. Co., $780,
coo; Fowler & Co., $4,000; :. Il. Esgsn.
e40, 900; sidaey Shepars & Co.. $50, 900; Ar.
lington Hotel, $4,000; A. r. Kerr 4 Co.,
s50, 900; Strootman's bnildinE ana tenants.
$500. 900; losses on Exchaogs street, $4,000;
losses on NORTH side Senscs street, 5000, 900;
other Losses, $4,000. This would make
total OF S27sO,O0O Oplnisns have been
given, however, that the entirs loss will not
Tall short Of $4,000, 600