Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-01-01
NEW YEAR FIRE.
A Disastrous Conf1agration Mar
rowly Averted.
Fire Originates in 8. L. Myers Motor
Store, Burns the Stock. and Dam
ages Other Buildings.
MISTAKEN GIVING ALARM.

Between one and two o'clock this
morning fire was discovered in the
notion store of S. L. Myer
on Franklin street. The alarm
was turned in from the police station
and the third ward was struck every
time, wnen the fire was located in
the fourth, and this demoralized the
fire department for the time being.
Hose reel No. struck out from the
engine house for the center of the
third ward and had gone IS far as
the corner of Union and Second streets
when the mistake was discovered.
Chief Bates from his residence,
shortly after the first alarm was
sounded, looked in the business di-
rection of the city and saw the fire in
the rear of Myers house. The blaze
was about the size of a mans body at
this time, and was in the basement,
in the identical spot the building had
caught on two previous occasions.
Quickly as possible the department
was gotten together and put on the
right track. By the time it reached
the fire, however, the strong gale
that was blowing from the south
shot the flames through the building
to the stock of goods that was princi-
pally in the front, and by the time
the first stream was running
the entire building was on fire.
When the flames burst through the
roof and front windows, a veritable
whirlwind of sparks shot across
franklin street, and were carried by
wind all over the territory bounded
by First street and the Square and
Franklin street and Main. Many of
them went over the Peoples ware
house OF the Square and were carried
on by the gale, threatening all the
buildings adjacent. From the Myers
house fire crept into the third floor of
Bloch Bros drygoods house. T. A.
Mcdaniel, however, with much pre-
cision, applied stream from a hose
that is always kept in the buildingito
use in such emergencies, and put the
fire out, thereby, in all probability,
averting a repetition of the scenes of
1878 and 1857, fresh in the memories
of majority of Clarksville's citi-
zens. Fire also crept under the roof
of McGehee Bros store, which adj
joins the Click house, and proved
hard to manage. Nearly everybody
thought the building would surely
meet the fate of its neighbor, and
with it perhaps many Others. AT
this juncture Mayor Smith telephoned
to Nashville for help, being of the
opinion that the fire could not be
managed. The board of public
works of that city answered prompt
ly that they could send the engine,
and forthwith began getting it in
readiness for the trip. In very
short time it was on a fiat car, but the
firemen here had succeeded in get.
ting good stream on the fire in this
house and the authorities at Nash.
vile were telephoned not to send the
engine.
McGehee Bros. stock is greatly
damaged by water, the amount of
which cannot be ascertained until
the goods are ali gone through and
examined. The damage to tie
building is nominal and can be re-
placed at a comparatively light ex-
p,nse. Both the stock and building
are insured sufficiently to cover the
loss.
The house occupied by S. l..
Myer. was the property Of e. Click.
1t is valued at from $1,000 to $4,000
and was insured for $50 90. Mr..
Myer values his stock at SO, 500, with
81, 800 insurance.
Bloch Bros. building is considera-
bly, damaged by heat, and their
stock is also damaged by water and
smoke. The heavy plate glass front
suffered materially, but both stock
and building are covered by insur-
ance. Lockert & Reynolds on
the east of the damaged build
ings and Fox & Smith on the
west, were considerably smoked, as
were also several buildings on the
opposite side of the street.
THE PLANTERS HOTEL.
The sparks from the Click build
ing ignited the roof of the old Plan
ters' Hotel, corner Main and public
square, two blocks away. This
building was used as tenement
house and was occupied by several
families of negroes, and VIM. Boyd
also had his carpenter shop in the
upper corner room. The furniture in
the house was all taken out and piled
on the public square. The building
was completely unroofed by the fire
and the interior, especially on the
second floor, was damaged. The
walls are standing all right. The
house was owned by F. Norman