Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-02-06

large and costly buildings, Well-stocked
with merchandise in a majority of in
stances, were burned.
About 10 O'Clock the rear wall of the
Arlington Hotel, one of the buildings
burned, fell outward, killing one fire.
man and injuring another.
There were many accidents from fall
ing walls. Sixteen fremen and man
who was spectator are no in the hos
pital and one firemen is buried in the
ruins.
At 2:35 fire was discovered op the
fourth floor of the five story building
owned and In great part occupied by
Root & Heating. wholesale sole leather
dealers, at the corner of Carroll and
Wells Streets. The ferocity of the wind
made it certain that the fire if it got
hold would be disastrous one. The
building with frontages of 1874 feet
on Carroll Street and 1877 on Wells
Street was surrounded by business
blocks. 1t was separated only by the
breadth of Carroll Street from the fine
freproof Jewett Block, fronting on
Senaca Street, and was directly in line
with the new sIx-story block of Sibley
& HOLLYWOOD, candy manufacturers.
On the opposite side of Wells Street
little further north is the Broezel
House, massive six-story structure,
whose guests " ere up and dressed few
minutes after the alarm. They we're
be, for commercial men who largely
composed its guests had painful memo
ries of hotel fires in Buffalo.
The flames had good hold on the
Root & Heating building, and at 3 clock
the flames were a boiling and seething
mass, entirely filling that part OF Carroll
Street directly in front OF the doomed
building. A few minutes after o'clock
the heat was so intense as to be almost
unbearable, even at Seneca Street The
sky was Illuminated for many miles, and
crowds from all parts of the city kept the
police busy.
At 3:25 the rear of the six-story brick
building of Slblev & HOLLYWOOD had
caught and portions of the Broezel
House were smoking. There were
nearly fifty TINS OF starch stored in top
floors of the Sibley & HOLLYWOOD build
ing, and the starch burned like finder
when once ignited, carrying the flames
through from the rear to the front of
the building in few minutes.
AT o:21 the rear of Swift & Stambach's
and L. G. Smiths stores, on Seneca
Street, were in full blaze. The fire ran
along the roof as though the material
that composed it was paper.
At $3.50 the southwest corner of the
Broezel House was burning fast. The
guests were moving out their baggage
and large number OF fremen went to
the aid of the guests in the hotel The
wind had shifted to the northwest and
the sleet was coming down in torrents
which added to the difficulties under
w aich the firprna5l 10 horod
At $40 the roo of S. F. Egan's whisky
store, just east OF the Broezel House, was
on fire. Shortly before 4 O'Clock the
sixth floor of the Sibley d Holmwood's
store fell. At this time the top floor of
the Jewett building appeared a roaring
oven.
The scene on Carroll Street was ap-
palling. On the north side of the street
the Sibley & H olmwood building was in
ruins and the Jewelt building was blaz-
ing from basement to roof. The large
slx-story building occupied by Moffatt
Bros, Hoffeld q Co. and other firms, on
the opposite side, next to the Root &
Heating ruins, was yet untouched, but
at 4:1O the corners OF the top story be-
gan TO blaze though the fremen held
them in check for time.
The walls of the Jewett block now
began to bulge and the crowd gave
howl of warning to the fremen. At
4:l5 the walls fell with a shock that fair
ly shook the surrounding walls and
before the cloud of dust cleared away, a
terrible panic took place. A frantic
struggle was made in getting out horses
from stable next to the Jewett block.
By 4:G5 O'Clock the Broezel House was
abandoned to the flames At Ais the
front of the Broezel fell and the firemen
Ivy
man was felled to the ground but
heroic fellow-worker rushed to his
| assistance and carried him off.
Despite the efforts of the iremen.
Egan's whisky store was in full blaze.
There was nothing to do but leave the
fire to run its course.
At 4:40 fire burst through the fronts
OF Seneca Street stores OF August Eys
and an empty store adjoining
Fowler q Sons place was filed with
seasoned wood for carriages. Adjoining
was small truit store and then came
Sidney Shepard & Co.'s mammoth
stamping works
At o'clock Seneca Street stores I'D to
Shepard's had been pretty well Quilted.
The wind by this time had died out
About noon number of fremen were
| at work IN the ruins at the rear of the
Arlington Hotel when the western wall
| of the rear extension fell without any
warning. All of the men were out Of
the way of the falling bricks and tim
bers but Dominick B. Marion of engine
10 and John Moest, fireman of engine 9.
Moest was struck on the head
with some of the bricks receiving a
bad scalp wound and being otherwise
injureds Poor Marion was instantly
buried in the ruins and if not killed at
once his life must have been soon
crushed out by the immense weight
resting on him. Frantic efforts were
made by his comrades to reach him
but without avail. At this writing his
body still remains buried. Marion is
about 81 years of age.
Part of the wall to the east went
through a portion Of the American Ex-
press barn, completely demolishing
large section of the roof and one side
of the structure.
The official records show that be-
tween 8 and o'clock this morning the
wind maintained a velocity of thirty
miles an hour, and at times, between
and A o'clock, reached tnirty-five
miles. The fire beginning in the
big Root & Heating building spread