Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1892-10-29
Big Fire in Milwaukee.

fire which started at $50 yesterday af
tcrnoon in the Union Oil Companys store, on
east Water street, Milwaukee, at eleven
o'clock. had burned everything in the ter,
ritory bounded on the west by the north
branch of the Milwaukee river, on the cast by
the lake and on the south by the harbor
branch of the river-twenty-two solid blocks
five of which were occupied by wholesale
houses. factories. distillcries. etc. the rest by
residences. This does not include the vast
yards of the Chicago and Northwestern road
which covers many acres. hundreds of cars
", re burned
For an hour the fire department struggled
bravcly with the elements which were famed
by a gale that was blowing ut the rate OF
tbirty-six miles an hour Chief Foley kept
the fire confined to one block on east Water
street until seven o'clock, when 1t got away
from him and leaped across the street and be-
gan q rapid march towards Lake Michigan
six block away, cutting down i'll short order
r Dohmen 4 Co.. wholesale drugs; VI. Bloch.
wholesale liquors: Bub i; Kipp's seven-story
furniture factory building; Roundy, Peck
ham & Co., wholesale groccrs johnson Broth
crs' cracker factory (American Biscuit Com
pany.) National Distilling Company, Jacob
Welhaur wholesale grocer.
At eight o'clock the flames had crossed
Broadway between Buffalo and Detroit streets,
taking numerous wooden structures anu then
advancing to Milwaukee street.
The entire lower part of the Third ward.
inhabited largely by poor Irish families, is
devastated. About three hundred cottages
have been destroyed, and the poor people are
wandering about the streets loudly amcniins
their loss. Some plan OF relief for them will
no doubt be made, but at this time people
seem to be stunned, and are doing nothing.
Alarms are sent in every few minutes from
Darts of the city widely separated. and 1t Is
thought fircbugs were helping in the work oil
destruction The elegant residence OF j. f..
Hodges, member of the Board OF Trade, at
Ninth aud Cedar streets two miles from the
fire district, was destroyed.
One firemaR was killed aud woman sutto-
Gated The small buildings surrounding the
Gas works were burned. The department
used dynamite in an effort to stop the advance
of the flames. and several buildings were
blown Nh. Four men were seriously injured
by falling walls and taken to the Emergency
Hospital. The members of the Light Horse
SQUADRON and Fourth Battalion were called
out to assist the police in guarding property:
Insurance men estimate inc entire IosS VIII
aggregate $600O000.
Assistance was sent from Racine, Kenoshwa
and Chicago.
At midnight Chief Foley announced that
the fire was under control.
Over 300 frame buildings in the Third
ward are mass of ruins, the inhabitan 5 lit
orally fleeing for their lives and losing every
thing excepting the clothes they wore and
what they could grab. Thousands came from
various parts of the city and throngcd the
downtown streets crowding them so that it
was almost impossible for the coal supply
wagons to get through.
Never in the history of the city has such a
calamity befallen it. Acres of land, embrac-
ing the great manufacturing districts of the
CITY. have been devastated and now lie 4 mass
of smouldering ruins. Almost the entire
southern division from east Water street to
the lake, has been consumed. Through im-
mense factories from four to seven stories
high. which were supposed to be fre-proof,
the flames spread with as much ease as though
they were frame cottages which they attacked
farther on.