The record-union., 1891-09-21
GREEDY FLAMES.
Five Buildings in Chinatown Laid in
Smoldering Ruins.
The Fire Department Has Desperate
Struggle-A Fire in Another
Quarter at the Same Time.

Quarter at the Same Time.
Chief Guthrie and his force of brave
fire laddies had hard tussle with the
fire fiend Saturday night and yesterday
morning.
1t was about 1890 O'Clock when an
/ alarm rang in from box 13 for a fire
in the grocery store of Emil Bayer, at
Seventh and p streets. A coal oil lamp
had exploded just as Mr.. Bayer was clos
ing up the store for tho night. \ forty
gallon tank of oil was standing near
where the explosion occurred, and the
contents ignited Immediately. Tie
flames spread so rapidly that Mr.. Bayer
barely had time to escape with his life.
As it was, his face was scorched by the
! explosion, and he had to break through
a glass door in order to get out, cutting
his hands badly.
The place was completely gutted The
damage to Bayer's store Will amount to
about $1,000. but this will be part.a lv
covered by an insu ance of S309. lie
building IS owned by parties in San
| Francisco.
CONFEDERATION IN CHINATOWN.
NhHe lae fire department was at work
on the Bayer fire another alarm was
turned in. This time It was from box q,
ana that box invariably means China-
! town.
No fire was in sight mt the time. but
! clouds Of smoke were rolling out Of the
windows OF the jOs5-house and restau-
rant OH the north side OF | street between
Second and Third. Owing to the Payer
ire the department was delayed consid-
! cTaDIy III getting 20 work ON this second
! blaze. And there were other obstacles.
TOO. The hydrant at Third and I streets
one OF the most valuable in this emer-
gency-burst just as the tiremen were
| trying 10 attach hose to il. The water
! spuried out OF the broken hydrant at a
great rate and flooded the street. OF
course the bydrant could not he Used.
and the engine had to be driven down 10
second street in search OF another fire
! plug. As this was the first engine ON the
scene much valuable time was lost.
/ Meantime the pent-up flames III the
! joss-house had forced their way through
/ the windows and were now sweeping
/ outward and upward, cracking and roar
/ ing hungrily, and lighting up the entire
| nelghborhood brilliantly.
! FRIGHTENED CHINESE.
! Wiideyed, jabbcring Chinese were run
1 ming out OF the buildings adjacent to the
]
! clothing with them. All were panic
stricken and seemed to know not which
way TO turn. To make matters worse, a
gang Of toughs who had gathered about
the place 10 plunder what they could,
stoned and otherwise abused tie fright
.ened heathens shamefully.
/ The fire seized the old wooden awnings
on either side Of the joss house and began
to devour them greedily. Then a great
| burst of flame shot up from the rear of
the building and that told the story of
! the destruction of the old wooden rOok-
cries and balconies that had been built
on to the rear Of the brick buildings.
Like the awnings, these all connected,
and the hearts Of the gallant fire laddi $
sank, for they realized that they would
now have hard time subduing the fire
fiend,
The Gregory building, at the corner of
| Second and /, was being threatened. as
there was only one house between il and
/ the jOss-hOuse, and that was the building
occupied by the Chez Kong Tong Society
"a sort Of highbinder organization. The
! first stream from | street was directed at
! the awning and front of the highbinder
! building, in order to save the Gregory
! structure. The flames were quickly
/ checked, and it seemed as if the high
! binder building would be saved, too.
SPREADING RAPIDLY.
oiTGdIilS were turned on from the rear,
but the fire had begun slow but sure
march eastward by means Of the awnings
and rear buildings, and was now n fix
ture III the lodging-hopse on the east side
| of the jCss-house, and could not be dis
! lodged. 1t was creeping downward, too.
and was now making havoc in the pOul-
! try store on the ground floor of the joss
! building. The quacking and sQuawking
OF the ducks here only added to the din
and confusion that seemed to have per-
! meated the entire neighborhood.
The hremen now directed their efforts
/ IL front on the joss-house-up stairs and
! down-and line of hose was, by means
Of ladder, dragged mp on the rickety
! awning. The flames which were rapinp
/ in the joss-house were equelled apparently,
and then the hremen moved over on to
! the creaking and smoldering awning of
! the lodging house. While they were
/ thus engaged the lire broke out anew two
/ doors west of them in the highbinder
building, and almost simultaneously it
attacked fresh building on the east side
/ OF the lOdging-house.
BEGAN TO LOOK HOPELESS.
-Four buildings were now a mass of
/ roaring, seething flames. The sky took
on a lurid hue, and one could see up and
down the streets for blocks, so great was
the glare. The sidewalks were densely
packed with people, and so were the
/ roofs and awnings OF the building oppo-
! site the con1iagration.
! The entire fire department was at work.
/ yet it seemed as ii the efforts Of Chief
/ Guthrie and bis men were all of no avail.
! The Gregory building was again in peril,
and matters began to look hopeless,
when suddenly locomotives shrill toot
was heard and the engine was seen COM
/ ing down the I-street freight track from
! Sixth street.
THE water train!' shouted the fire.
men.
Sure enough it was the Southern
! Pacific's big gtire-eXtinguishinga apparatus.
! The engine steamed down TO a point
about opposit the center of the condagra-
! ton, and soon had its big nozzle manned.
Meantime, the fire was losing 10 op-
! postunities, and by the time the water
| trains stream was in operation, was
firmly lodged in fifth building to the
east. The water train did grand service.
and with its assistance Chief Guthrie
was enabled TO save the Gregory building
and TO check the flames in their progress
I eastward.
The five buildings were completely
/ gutted before the fire was gotten under
| control, and little more than the brick
walls remain. The fire was extinguished
about o'clock yesterday morning
Three of the burned buildings belonged
TO b. q. Steinman, and the other two to
/ J. ID. Tate. Mr.. Steinman's property was