The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-09-20
OUT In TEN MINUTES.
A Seventeen Thousand Dollar
Blaze Soon Squelched.
WEST STREET AGAIN THE SCENE.
A Lamp Explosson starts > threatening
Fire In Kncx's Commission Houss-
Firsmenss Prompt Action.

A lamp explosion ct 7:3o o'clock last
evening in the commission houss Of Charles
81. Knox, at 900 West street, started .
blaze which had it not been for the prompt
action of the FIRE department would have
resulted In as serious FIRE as
the late Colman blaze in the adjoin-
ing block. As IL was. the loss Will
foot up less than 81 900. The fire started
at . time when there was large number
of people on the streets. and even before
the department arrived . crowd Of several
thousand spectators had been attracted by
the red light which Tie no the heavens, and
by the shouts of "Firel" The flames had
gained great start bsfore the alarm was
sent in, and the excited people who ar
rived on the scene witnessed the most
creditable squelching Of what might have
been big fire that has occurred In Seattle
for long time
Charles H. Knox, the grocer and com
7:3O O'Clock last evening, in company with
his wife. He CROPPED back in the dark
through the pile Of groceries until he found
lamp. Striking q match, he Lit the lamp
and was about to enter the Office, which is
partitioned of, when the lamp exploded
in his hands, scattering the oil upon the
door, the thin partition separating the stair
way. and upon some boxes. He made
hasty attempt to smother the flames, but
found them too much for him and he
quickly ran out into tine street crying
fire" A crowd began to gather imme-
diately, but in the confusion several min
utes were lost. Finally License Officer
@. d. Butterfeld, who happened
to DO passing, ran up to Front
and Columbia streets and turned
in an alarm Of fire from box 16 So rap
idly did the FIRE spread that by the time
the alarm was turned in the flames had
communicated with the upper floor and
had burned through the front windows.
Dense smoke issued from eve ~ opening in
the front Of the building and the fire was
every moment spreading towards the rear.
The fire had started in the north end OF
the two-story frame building covering half
block. and bounded by West and Marion
streets and Railroad avenue, and on the
north side, separated only by six
foot space, by another building
reaching 10 Madison, Of the Same dimen-
sions as the one in which the FIRE started.
The building is across the street from the
Colman building, destroyed by fire and re-
built about three months ago, and IL sur
rounded on al sides but one by large
wooden structures.
The first alarm brought engine compa-
MES Nos. and 2. hose companies Nos. 1,
and 8, aud hook and ladder company No.
2. and chemical No. 1. As Chief Kellogg
reached West and Madison streets and saw
the flames coming out of the front of the
building, he turned in second alarm from
box A. at West and Spring streets. which
brought hook and ladder company No. I
and engine company No. from North Sc
attic. Engine No. 8, from Main and Tenth
streets, arrived q moment later. and the
whole department was on the ground.
Hose company No. 2, from Pine and
Third streets, attached the first line to the
city plug at the corner OF West and Marion
streets and turned the first stream upon
the front of the building exactly six
minutes from the moment the alarm was
turned in. Engines No. and went
down on Railroad avenue and dropped
their suction hose into the bay, and had
three streams running moment later. A
hose was also attached to Colman's plug,
at the corner of West and Marion streets,
and within an incredibly short space of
time six streams were playing upon the big
wooden building.
Five minutes Of quick work by the de-
partment sufficed to get the flames under
control, and ten minutes after the first
stream was tusned on the FIRE was out.
1t had been confined entirely to the part of
the building in which it had started, and
there was no loss, except that caused by
water, upon any property outside of the
commission house and the rooms above,
q section 24x1OS feet in size.
The losses, as estimated by the losers,
and the insurance are as follows:
C. II. Knox, loss 10000; insurance 81
600, namely, 81, 600 in the German-Ameri-
can and 81 900 in the North British & Mer-
camille, both with w. L. Gazzam; 81 500 in
the South British. with v. w. Baker, and
$500 with the Washington Territory In
vestment Company.
Dixon. Burgeson & Company. dealers in
show cases. occupying most of the second
floor. loss 5000: insurance 81 500
A. Cohn, tailor on che second floor, loss
$500; no insurance.
Seattle Lumber & Commercial Company.
loss on building $1,000; fnlly insured.
Four tailors, Martin Rued, T. T. Euger,
Jacob Wolfe and Joe Fisher, the last
named q boy of IA. were in Coins tailor
shop when they heaid the cry of fire.
They rushed to the door leading down.
stairs, but found so much smoke that
three of them were afraid to venture into
it. Euger, Wolfe and Fisher ran back and
jumped ont of the rear window to West
street, and Rued made his way to the alley
BY the stairs. All came out uuhurt except
Fisher, who received bruise on his face
Two thieves grabbed some goods from
the front of the store and started to run
through the crowd A policeman gave
chase, and they were obliged to drop their
plumber to escape.
Engine No. 3 was out on Eleventh street
being tested when the alarm came in, and
it did not arrive in time to get stream ON
the fire. The chemical company went
into the burning building and did very
effective work in smothering the flames.
Chief Kellogg, in rummaging throughIthe
building after the fire was out. found about
300 gallons of coal oil stored in q space
under the stairs. As the insurance COM
panies prohibit merchants from CARRYING
any oil in buildings along the water front.
it is possible that the presence of this oil
will cause some trouble in collecting the
insurance.
Captain Stanton. of Hook and Ladder
Company No. 2. owns a little dog which
has been the pet of the boys at headquar-
tiers. At this fire Judge" followed the
truck to the FIRE and in some unaccountabIe
way got into the second story and perched
himself in a window from which The q mes
were shooting out in . very threatening
way. The dog did not seem to mind the