The morning call., 1893-06-08
SEEKING THE CAUSE.

There are three points which are so far
not very clear. They are what was the
cause of the fire? Where did 1t originate ?
Was it incendiary? The three questions
are, however. so associated with each
other tnat 4 satisfactory answer to one
would clear up the others.
II. =. Williams. the milkman who, as
far as known. was the first to see the fire,
and who heard the explosion, was seen by
a CALL reporter yesterday afternoon. He
said:
About o'clock this morning / was on
Page street with my wagon, delivering
milk o customers. | had just pu lied up in
front of Mrs. HOly's house, No. 1910, when |
was startled by hearing a report as If n
small cannon had been fired. My mare.
which is somewhat skittish, gave sudden
jump, and | had for a moment all l could
do 10 hold her.
Il delivered the milk at Mrs. Holy's and
drove across the street to the other block
to the house of German lady al No 1926.
l went to the rear, delivered the mllk and
as [ came to the front l saw flames issuing
from the rear of a house that was being
built on the northwest corner of Page and
Lyon streets. That was where l had heard
the report come from.
II drove down Lyon street and saw
ROuntree's barn on fire. the flames were
bursting out along the rear portion of the
building. 1t was burning so fast that l
thought the explosion l had heard must
have been a can of kerosene bursting.
"A police officer with black mustache
was there also, and he asked me to 60 and
sourd the alarm at the corner of Oak and
Devisadero streets, but [ told him he had
better do it, and l would alarm the neigh
b0rs. | jumped off my wagon and rang
the bells of 1904 and 1906 till the inmates
were aroused. then | went along the block
doing the same thing.
Il am certain the police officer rang the
first alarm. l know all the Rountrees,
but did not SEQ any of them for an hour
after the fire started"
Ibid you know that slipper factory,
in which gas engine was used. adjoined
the siable?"
mo, did not. Well, now, If that is so,
| would not be surprised If the report was
caused by the gas engine bursting. l have
worked gas engines and know all about
| them. If the torch had been, throug h
carelessness or neglect, left burning, it
would have overheared the engine and
caused it to burst with loud report. such
as heard, and there would instantly be 4
! blaze from escaping gas.
The report was followed by something
falling. and 1t struck me at the time that
! the horse in the stable might have fallen
| down That, however, did not account for
the report, which was so loud that 1t Is a
wonder to me the whole neighborhood was
not aroused by it.
Il thought the whole building in the
rear was barn, but if there were two
buildings adjoining each other, one being
the barn and the other the slipper factory,
should say the fire started In the slipper
| factory, as when | saw the flames first
! they were all along the rear portion of
what | thought was the one building"
| William Marks of 1912 Page said he
was early at the scene of tile fire.
When | got there" he added, 'Roun-
| trees stable was burning, and I and the
brothers Lowenstins tried TO put out
the flames with garden hose, but they
spread so rapidly that we had to give It
up. From the stable the flames spread to
| the slipper factory and along the fences to
the house on tie corner and to Mrs. Low
enstine's house. the stable being d nailed to
| Mrs. Lowenstine's fence. Then | ran to
! look after my own house and its contents" 4"
James Rouutree, one Of the Ronntree
! Brothers, who built most of the houses
which were burned, said: Zone of the
members of our family was sick, and my
mother had gone TO bring him q glass Of
water about O'Clock this morning when
she saw the reflection of flames on the
window. She reused rs all up and we saw
the fire was either in our stable or in the
slipper factory, the two being close to each
| other, only fence dividing them.
my brother, M. +. Rountree, ran and
sounded the alarm, but it was some time
! before the first engine arrived. When 1t