St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-16
WENT UP IN SMOKE.
A Minneapolis Fire Involves a
Loss Of Over Half a Mill
ion Dollars.
Nothing Is Left But the Ruins
Of the Big Security,
Warehouse.
The largest Stock of Binding
TWine in the Country
Is Burned.
Several Of the Occupants OF
the Building Narrowly
Escape.

The Security warehouse, the largest
and finest agricultural implement ware
house in the Northwest, situated on
North First street and Fourth avenue,
less than block and half from fire
department headquarters, was totally
destroyed by fire yesterday. The fire
was discovered shortly after o'clock,
and no time was lost in sending out an
alarm, Officer Ward, of the north sta
ton, running to the station at head
quarters and giving the alarm. For
some reason the firemen were tardy in
arriving, and then there was long wait
between their arrival and their getting
into service, many of the spectators claim
ing that it was all the way from fifteen
to twenty-five minutes before any water
was thrown on the fire, and by that
time there was no hope of saving the
building or its contents, which were
valued at nearly S1,000,000. Chief Stet-
son was the first to arrive, then came a
hose cart, and about five minutes after
wards the truck from headquarters
ambled leisurely along. Then the en-
gineS began to arrive, and second alarm
was sent out. All this time there were
two men standing in the windows OF
the upper floors yelling for ladders.
They had been cut off by the flames and
smoke from the elevator and stairway,
but were finally rescued. The firemen,
after they got to work, poured water on
the ruins in listless sort of way, but
apparently took great delight in turn
ing their streams on the great crowds OF
spectators who had been attracted by
the fire.
The building was seven-stOry brl ok
structure, 150x60 feet, standing on lots
Nos. 1924, 1926 and 1928, North First street,
and running back to the st. Louis and
Great Northern tracks. There was
basement under the entire building.
The building was owned by Morse q
Wood and was finished last April. The
cost was in the neighbOrhOOd of 900.
1t was occupied by Wood Il Morse, who
transacted transfer and storage busl-
ness, and about twenty different farm
implement manufacturers were repre-
sented in the building. The basement,
which fronted on the tracks in the rear
of the building, was used as shipping
department.. The first floor was given
up to offices and show rooms. The Sec
ond was occupied by William Deering
& Co., the third by the Appleton Manu-
featuring company, and the fourth,
fifth and sixth floors to general storage.
A large quantity of household goods,
books, pictures, pianos and silverware
were stored on the sixth floor, and as
the owners of these goods are out of the
city it was impossible last evening to
obtain any list of the losses, but con-
sentative estimate placed the loss on
this floor at $4,000.
On the second floor there was stored
about fifty car loads Of baled hay, and
it was there that the fire was first dis
covered. When the smoke first made
it's appearance w. W. Morse, the junior
member of the firm, with an employe
named Peter Paulsen, was on the nth
floor. They were cut off by the smoke
and flames. and struggled to the WIN
dows, where, after a long wait, they
were rescued by the firemen, who put
up the ladders. III. B. Wood, the senior
member of the firm, also had narrow
escape. When the alarm was given he
went to the second floor, and attempted
to eXtinguish the flames. The smoke
was very thick, but ne managed to
make his way to the stairway, where he
fell, overcome. He was carried out,
and soon revived. Adjoining the ware
house Oh Fourth avenue north was a
two and half-story stone dwelling.
owned by the estate Of Matthew KEGS,
and occupied by the families of NJ.
Freedman and L. Borowskey. The
wall of the warehouse fell upon the
roof of the dwelling, and the little
building was crushed like an egg shell.
Adjoining the warehouse on First
street was the Deere block, owned by
| Deere & Co., of Moline, ILL.,, and W. j.
Dean and q. G. Weber, of Minneap-
oils. This building was filled with
| plows, buggies, wagons and agrlcult-
ural implements valued, with the
building, at 100000. Owing to the fact
that the Deere block was protected by a
blank wall, the fire did not get into it,
but a portion of the roof was carried in
by the falling wall, and the stock was
| damaged bv smoke and water to the eX-
tent of $4,000, which is fully covered by
| Insurance.
The Losses.
The loss on the Security building is
estimated at $712, 900, most of which is
covered by insurance. The building,
which was owned by Morse & Wood,
was valued at $50, 900, and insured fol
s35, 1000. Last evening Messrs. Morse
| and Wood made the following estimates
of the loss to the different parties rep
resented by them:
| National COrQaSe company 's..SZZo,OOe
| L. Waterbury & Co., New York. 80. 100000
| william Deering & Co., Chicago =. 100000
"1 WauFee ..... 'o ............... 10000
h Mi. 'A .'....... o 49,. 25.ooo
01 Dixon, ill.,. ...... =. 2o,oos
A Kennett s Square Pa. ~ 10000
Appleton Manufacturing company,
| Appleton, Wis. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. $4,000
o. S. Kelly 4 Co., Springfield, Ill.,. 10000
| Patten Staffer & Never. Conestoga.