The morning news., 1892-03-10
A BLAZE on THE BAY.
sTODDARD's UPPER RANGE DAM
AGED BY TWO FIRES.

! 46EO d 4 ~ -
| d. Y 81 r. r. Dancy, the American
Tracing Society and Strauss e. Co.
| thu Principal Sufferers The Fire
started in Pile OF Cotton Samples.
a Broken Key ia en- Alarm Box
Delays the Turning in of the Alarm.
Bay street had narrow escape from a
| big fire last night. About IL 30 o'clock the
messengers sitting in front Of the Western
Union office saw blaze issuing from d. Y.
/ q r r. Dancy's Office in Stoddard's upper
range on the north side OF the Bay. nearly
opposite Drayton street. The boys raised the
cry Of fire, and attracted the attention Of
Policeman Bossell, who ran 10 box at Bay
aud DraytOn streets to turn in an alarm.
His key broke in the lock and the officer
bad to blow his whistle for Officer Jernigan
at the other end of Bay street. The two
officers met at Bay and Whitaker streets,
and an alarm was turned in from box s, at
that point.
Several minutes were thus lost, and by
the time the alarm rang In the flames had
made their way out the windows, and
the fire was burning furiously. illumina:-
ing the street Tor several blocks.
THE FIRE UNDER HEADwAY.
Tho flames flashed out Of the front
window Of the offices No. 1857, occupied by
messrs. Dancy In the front and by the
American Trading Society in the rear. The
fire started In the cotton sample room Of
Messrs Dancy, and the trays OF cotton
samples were licked up in few minutes
The flames communicating quickly
with the pitch pine partitions and the win
dow castings Of the offices on the ground
floor, the partitions between Messrs. Dancys'
office and the stairway leading to the top
floor were also soon in flames. The front
windows Of the top floor, which is occupied
by Strauss & Co., the front of which was
used as the sample room, were soon on
fire.
The chemical engine showed it's efficacy,
and the flames were soon extinguished.
THE DAMAGE.
The Dancy office was pretty well gutted.
The damage to the building and furniture
! will not exceed s., 500 to 81, 900. The build
ing is owned by the Stoddard estate and is
insured. but in what agency could not be
ascertained. Strauss &c Co.'s Office ia dam
aged slightly In front and ali the samples
are badly damaged. A canary which was
in this part Of the Office was smothered
by the smoke.
The fremen had hardly gotten back to
| their engine houses when a second alarm
was turned in from the same box that rang
for the first fire. Policeman Frank Smith.
| who was on duty on Bay street, remained
in the neighborhood Of the fire after the
fremen had left. He was standing near
looking into the building with Mr.. r. E.
Pepper, Of Pepper g. Harty, when be saw a
small tongue of flame In one corner OF
Strauss q Co.'s office, just above Messrs
d ancy's place where the fire had lust been
| extlnguished, or was thought to be ex-
tlnguished. The flame was growing larger
| every moment.
A SECOND ALARM
The policeman and Mr.. Pepper went into
/ Mr.. Peppers office and tried TO telepbone
the headquarters for the chemical engine.
| but were unable to do so. In the meantime
the blaze was seen and an alarm turned ia
| by Watchman Moran at the bank, The
| fremen responded IN a hurry, When thew
arrived the flames were bursting out of the
front windows Of the second story and
| the falling eparks had ignited the cotton SAM
| Dles thrown out on the ground below. Some
quick work was necessary, and that is what
the tiremen did. II took about fifteen min
utes bard work to get the fire under con-
troll. For the short time which it had been
burning IL appeared to have made wonder
full progress. The roof of the building
seemed to be full of fire and smoke. In
fact the seat Of the fire seemed to be in the
roof.
THE BUILDING FLOODED.
The place was deluged with water, which
was the cause of the chief damage.
Strauss & Co.'s damage is only their cot
ton samples, unless some valuable papers
were destroyed. None of the members OF
employees Of the firm were at the fire, and
only two or three insurance men.
eChief Puder attributed the second fire to
the cotton samples which were In the blaze
on the lower floor and were deluged with
water, blazing up again and the fire creep
ing up the stud-sills to the second floor.
1t is likely that the fire on the second
floor originated from spark which entered
through broken window pane or soms
crack or crevice and found Judgment in tn,
samples. A man was detailed to watch tht
fire, but had gone after a cup Of coffee. a
hose wagon was taking up the hose when