The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-10-09
THE BATES HOUSE FIRE.
Some Amusing Incidents-The Losses and
the Insurance..


rotunda. In a moment the Office OF the hos
tlery presented a scene of confusion. Louis
Deschler, who keeps the cigar stand, wildly
rushed from behind his counter and yelled at
Frank Hurley, who takes transfer orders for
Frank Bird in the little Enclosure across from
his stand, Telephone telephonel frew The
several hotel clerks rushed to Webbs section
oil the office, two or three guests of the house
dashed out to find fire alarm box, Head Por-
ter Frank Bennett shouted for water. and in
dutiful obedience to the command of his SUI
perior, one OF the porters secured a bueketful
and threw it on the cold tile floor. Now smoke
was issuing up through the cracks in the thing
ali over the Office
Outside OF the building was presented an en-
treiy different scene. The report that the Bates
house was burning travelled rapidly. Engine
after engine darted up to the hotel from all
ulrecuons, but the people seemed to take no
more interest IN 1t than TO tell each other that
the Bates house fire. The probable
cause OF this was that there blaze vis-
bic. AT times the building was almost hid from
view by clouds of smoke. 1t issued in volumes
from the windows and doors and the few sight
seers, who watched it at the beginning,
pected mOmentarlly to see the sheets OF flame
burst from all parts of it. But they did not
The structure just seemed like vast smoke
house. 1t was at least half hour after the
engines had arrived that rope was stretched
around TO keep back the crowd, which had been
so slow gathering. Finally il became of suf-
hcient numbers 10 make the establishment OF
limits necessary, yet no one seemed
to appreciate the magnitude of the
fire. In the hotel after the first
cry OF fire had been given and the commotion
1t occasioned quieted all was nearly as serene
as II there was no danger near. Ii was just at
dinner time, when the discovery made.
Strangely enough the guests did not rush from
their rooms into the street The dining-r0Om
doors were closed to keep out the smoke
which rolled up the stairway into the corridors
In volumes, and the serving Of dinner was con-
tlnued. Not a guest missed his meal.
The fire department. which had been slow in
coming was, now, that it had arrived, doing
but poor work. The fire was confined TO one
large room in the basement, beneath the Office,
OF which II was the exact size. Heavy walls on
all sides hemmed il in and made spreading i'm
possible. The hremen, instead of working on
this room through doors, which led into il
from other parts of the basement, dragged their
hose into the hotel Office. Almost the first thing
done was to batter in the floor of the elevator.
which gave no advantage, as the elevator shaft
was outside the wall of the burning apartment.
The direction of the hotel attaches finally got
the tiremen TO work from the right direction.
| However by that time portion OF the floor of
| the rotunda had fallen in. This gave every
access to the seat of the fire with streams and
| 1t was soon extinguished.
Outside of the complete destruction OF the
contents of the room beneath the Office, no
other part of the hotel was burned. except the
| ladies' toilet room on the second floor. The
fire was communicated to that room through
the tiue of the big office crate the north side.
| lt was one of the most magnificent apartments
in the building.
The scene outside of the hotel during the
most dangerous time was oddly interesting.
Not more than half dozen of the guests be-
| came frightened. The worst-scared man was a
gentleman with much beard and of foreign
/ nationality. He was named NJ. PhillipsbOn
| and travels for Seigle Bros silk plush house
of Chicago. Mr. Phillipsborn had sold
| Rink, the cloak dealer on Illinois-st.
/ bill of goods in the morning. About an
| hour before the fire started, he sent over and
had his samples brought back to the hotel He
| became so frightened that he paid $40 to a
| drayman TO lower his samples and other bag
| gage out of window on the Westinghouse.
| side. He decamped to another hosiery. He
was the only person who left Mr.. ReibOld's
| hospitality for something not so badly grimed
with smoke. In the evening about the hotel
he was the nub of everyone's laugh. Quite a
| few of the pretty chambermaids and mattresses
| became alarmed, and they presented pretty
| picture as they issued from the smOke-hlled
i building wearing iaunty white caps and carry
! ing their most precious clothing and knick-
! knacks in their arms. Mrs. German the
/
/ upper floors bravely descended a ladder
which the fremen seemed ages in raising. 1t
/ took fully FIVE minutes TO elevate the extern
sion ladder. Mrs. German, however, did not
| have corner on the exhibition OF nerve
! In the fair sex When everything was
hustle and hustle and the fremen we're shout
ing elegantly attired young lady issued
| from one of the upper story windows. grasped
! the rungs of the ladder firmly and descended,
apparently without tremor. Many ladies came
out on the balconies early during the IRE and
| remained there amid the smoke until II was ex-
tineuished The greatest fear was occasioned
when one of the clerks thought Mrs. James
| Mitchell, who is an invalid, might be smother
| ing to death in her room. he ran wildly mp
stairs. Her door was locked. He kicked it
open. She was not there. Her husband, as
| sisted by others, had carried her out In chair.
| Traffic Manager Parker, of the L., r. d W.
railroad, proved himself TO be an exceptional
man of endurance. He had been confined TO
| his room, sick, for several DAYS. When none
! of the fremen came TO his assistance, be got up
and climbed down ladder
| The full effect of the fire cannot yet be esti-
| mated. In the evening the Office was swarmed
! continually with people who came 10 see how
| hotel could be under difficulties. Around
| the great hole where the floor had caved in
was constructed board fence. In 1t was
number of charTed beams and ruined ma
chinery. In the burned room had been the
! double electrical plant and the elevator ma
| chinerv, They were completely wrecked. Mr..
| Reibold said those machines alone cost $4,000.
! The electrical wires were all burned out The
gas pipes. however did not run through the
ruined room. and the hotel was well lit with
| gas. The clerks were as genial as ever and
delighted in exhibiting five names which were
registered during the fire. They were w. J.
| Riley, c. +. Howes, c. p. Washbury. r.. c.
VALLEY and John Shirley. Supper was served
as usual. The water arrangement and kitchen
were not harmed, which makes this possible.
None of the business houses in the hotel
! building were damaged in the least.
Mr. Reibold said he had not given a thought
as to the amount of the damage. All the up
! holstered furniture, he said was more or less
damaged, and the mirrors, wherever the smoke
had got to Them were spoiled. The frescO
work in the Office and corridors was badly
| scOrched, and Mr.. Reibold thought it would all
! have to be taken of. Work will be begun i'm
mediateiy to put the hotel in as good condition
as ii was before the fire occurred The enter
| prising proprietor stated he had already tele-
| craphed to Chicago and that before this after
| noon at o'clock he would have a new electric
| plant In working shape in another part of the
| basement.
Mr.. Reibold received many kilograms from
| hotel proprietors throughout the country, ex-
/ pressing their happiness at knowing the FIRE
was no worse Among the most prominent
| were kilograms from the Palmer and Grand
| Pacific hotels in Chicago, the Southern at ~.
| Louis. and the Louisville and Gait of Louis
vile. The travelling men who were at the hotel
during the fire showed their appreciation OF
1 the proprietor's past treatment By not grumb-
| ling. and doing all they could TO assist him in
righting things.
The loss ali told, including damage to build
| ing and machinery, will probably not exceed