The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-09-14
HOTFIRE SQUELCHED.
1t Threatened Lodging Houses,
but Quick Work Told.
FLAMES DRIVE our OCCUPANTS.
The Omaha House. en- Main street,
scorched-Loss About $3.50.

For short time last evening il looked
- il the entire row Of wooden buildings
running along the south side Of Main, be-
tween South Sixth and Seventh streets,
would be wiped out by herce ire that
started in the Omaha lodging house, To-
Gated abou. midway of the block The
fremen. however. under the direction of
Chief Hunt made gallant fight. stopped
the IRE in short order and by SO doing won
general commentator.
The Omaha lodging house was kept by
Mrs. John Connell. widow. Two stories
were above the street and two below In
al! there were sixteen dodgers, some hay
ing rooms on the first door below
the street and a majority of the others
rooming on the floor off the street. About
7:30 O'Clock last evening there were in the
house Mrs. ConnelPs daughters. Lille and
Adelaide. and Charles Flynn. Mrs. Con-
nell had gone out to visit at one of the
neighbors. Flynn was sitting in the Office
when he saw puff of smoke, followed by
bright flame. come up the stairway from
below. As he ran TO investigate, the
flames increased in volume and he saw
there was danger ahead. He yelled to the
Misses Connell to get out of the house
his escape with the sewing machine.
Ii took but few moments for the
flames 10 assert themselves in all direc-
tions, and before the alarm was sent by
the merchants patroiman there was red
light in the Office and the rear of the
building was smoking. Box IS had not
ceased striking when the sky commenced
TO DC lighted up, and with the noise of the
engines came the yells from the crowd
that was Fastening to the scene. 1t was
an exciting spectacle, and when Chief
Hunt ordered line from hose No. 8 to be
run into the burning mass from the rear
and a second line from the same company
in front, things looked dangerous. The
water pressure was good and the streams
did good work from the beginning, confin-
ing the fire to the floor below the street,
the Office on the ground floor and the
front part upstairs.
On the east side of the building was the
Empire house, only q narrow space sepa-
rating them, and on the west was the
Mutual lodging house, also very near to
the burning mass. At one time the fire.
men entered the Empire house and The
people in the Mutual took out their things
for fear that the whole row was going.
Chief Hunt, however, never let up bit
and suddenly as the bright fire appeared 1t
was smothered.
Then followed the examination of the
buildings by Chief Hunt and Assistant
Sullivan. The Empire and Mutual lodg-
ing houses escaped with practically no
damage inside. but were seorched slightly
on the sides next TO the Omaha
house. 1t was found that the part
of the Omaha house below the
street had been Quilted by fire and water,
but on the other floors little damage had
been done in the rooms except by smoke
and heat. The office and contents were
wrecked and the front part of the building
badly charred. IL is estimated that the
loss on the building will be about $500, or
half lite value. and the loss on the con-
tents, valued at $780, in about the same
ratio. The insurance on the house is 500
and that on the contents $3.50 or $500
During the fire the police did good work
in restraining the crowd, but were forced
10 arrest James Mckay. whom they accuse
of dsorderly conduct IN trying to get
within the fire limits. Engine No. 2 got
her wheels locked with a hack, the driver
of which was having trouble with the Sal
walton army. at the corner of Washington
and South Third streets, but no damage
was reported.