The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-10
FOUR FIRMS IN A FIRE.
THE OLD WILLIAMSON WARE
HOUSE BURNED.

J.W. Teeple & Co. the Heaviest Losers
Davis Bros. and Kolshorn 81 Bro.
Suffer-R. C. FerrilPs Loss-The Build
ing Observation-Disclosures Men Get
OF With Only $4,000, and Some Of
That Partial Losses-Fireman O'Lane
Injured.
The cotton and furniture warehouses Of
J. W. Teeple & Co., Nos. 2 and 2i< Will
hanson street, burned yesterday afternoon.
The fire broke out few minutes after
o'clock, and in an hours time the building
was Quilted. The building is an old one,
and was five stories high. The eastern wall
was cracked, and the fire was a dangerous
one for the firemen to work on. The rice
straw, which was stored in the building,
sent out such dense volumes Of smoke that
it was impracticable to risk sending the fire
men into the building.
The first two floors were occupied by
Chas. Kolshorn & Bro. for storing keg beer
and bottling besr, and the rest of the build
ing was occupied by J. w. Teeple ~ Co. as
a cotton, straw and furniture warehouse.
All the floors of the eastern half OF the
building were Quilted except the first two,
and the floors of the third, fourth, and fifth
stories gave way.
MR. TEEPLE's LOSS.
Mr. Teeple had between $4,000 and s5, 900
worth of stock in the building,
upon which there was no in
surance, and which will be nearly
total loss. The stock consisted Of 400 or
500 bales of rice straw, a lot Of moss,
furniture, of which there was lot Of wal
nut; chairs on three hoors-in the third,
fourth and fifth stories; a lot of stoves, and
five or six bales of sea Island cotton.
R. c. Ferrill of Sapelo Island had be-
tween three and four tons of sea oats stored
in the building, which were consumed
Mr.. Ferrill's loss is from $500 to $500.
Davis Bros. had $4,000 worth of pianos
stored in the building, which they expected
TO remove TO their Bull street store III a few
DAYS. They were not in the firms ware
house adjoining, because the bridge between
the burned building and DAVIS Bros ware
house was out of repair and was not con
sidered strong enough to haul the instru-
ments over, and Mr. Teeple had given the
firm storage room until repairs could 20
made to the bridge, which were under way
at the time the fire broke out. Mr., Allan Z,
Davis, who has charge of the firms insur-
ance, said last night that the pianos were
insured for 50 500 with bearing & Hull.
Davis Bros. also lose 5000 worth of fire
works ruined by water, upon which there
was no insurance.
Charles Koshorn 81 Bro estimate their
loss at 5000 on empty bottles, upon which
there was an insurance for $3.50 Their
entire insurance was 81 900, in the Mer-
chants, in Wheaton 81 Sons agency, but
Mr.. Kolshorn SAID last night that as far as
he had been able TO learn there was no loss
on their keg beer.
THE BUILDING UNINSURED.
The building was owned by Capt. John
Flannery and was uninsured. 1t was known
as the Williamson building and was proba-
bly, IS years old. The estimated damage
by the fire is $4,000.
The firemen were slow in getting water
on the fire, as the door to the third floor,
where the fire evidently broke out, was
locked, the staple going through the heavy
door and an iron plate on the inside, and
fastened with bolt and nut. The door
was, after fully ten minutes Of hard work,
broken open but the smoke was so sitting
that no one could get inside Foreman
Common of No. l attempted to go in, but
was nearly suffocated and had to be brought
out but recovered soon after being in the
open air.
A HARD FIRE TO FIGHT
The entire department was called out,
even the reserve engine, but the latter was
not called into service. Eight streams
were played on the fire. No. was sta
toned under the bluff on River street, and
supplied two lines OF hose directly from the
river. Owing to the continuous fall of slate
from the roof, and the dangerous condition
Npf the walls the ladders were taken from
the northern walls, and the two lines of
hose were taken upon the ice wharf shed on
the north side of River street, where two
heavy streams of water kept the fire from
rising above the roof of the building.
No. 2's engine was stationed at William
son street, No. 4 on the Bay and No. at
Montgomery and Bryan streets, and these
three engines supplied six lines of hose
1t was 5 o'clock before the fire was well
under control, and two men with a line of
hose were left on duty all night, to watch
the building, as it was feared the fire might
be smoldering in the straw and moss
There were several narrow escapes from
falling slate. Charles Canrow, fireman,
was struck on the head, but luckily the slate
fell with the fat surface downward, and
did no more than to stagger Camrow.
Another heavy piece narrowly missed strik-
ing Policeman H. NJ. Morgan on the head.
FIREMAN DIANE HURT.
Francis O'Lane, call man of the Wash
ington Engine Company, was fighting the
fire in the building on the second floor,
when the pressure on the hose became so
great that the hose got away from him,
knocking bale of hay down on him. The
bale struck HIM in the breast and stomach
and threw him against the wall
O'Lane received a painful bruise
on the head injuries to his
stomach and a sprained ankle. When he
recovered he was nearly sphyxiated, but
he managed to crawl out, and with diff
Guilty climbed the steps from Factors walk
to Williamson street, and going in the first
house asked for the chief. He shortly after
tainted, but revived and was taken in an
ambulance to his boarding house, at No. 50
Jefferson street, where DIR. Sheftall attended
him. O'Lane is not seriously injured and
he said last night that he hoped to be out in
two or three days. His wife and child are
visiting at Valdosta
There was no hydraulic pressure worth
speaking of and the engines were, as usual.
from ten TO fifteen minutes in getting wa
ter on the fire.
THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRE UNKNOWN
The origin of the fire could not be got at.
The warehouse was closed when the fire broke
out Mr. Teeple said that he could account
for it in no way except that it started from
a spark blown in through window. or
from a cigar stump dropped by some one
on the bridge over tho factors walk into
the baling compartment among the loose
gtaw.
The fire at one time threatened the ware
house east of the burning building, occupied
by Clarke & Daniels The Gorrie Ice Com
pany's stables and offices adjoined the