The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-08-02

Chicago, Aug. 1.-The lumber district
of Chicago was tonight visited by one
of the most disastrous fires in it's his
tory, and the loss will probably foot up
between $1,2OO,OOO and s15OO,OOO, al
though it will be twenty-four hours be-
fore the damage can be estimated with
accuracy. The following concerns were
entirely cleaned out by the flames:
S. K. Martin Lumber company;
Brown & Richards Lumber company,
Williams & French company, car build
ers; Perlee, Lowe & Co., lumber; Shoe
maker & Higbee Lumber company,
John Spry Lumber company, Edward
Hinch Lumber company, Conway &
Co., cedar posts; w. C. B. Palmer,
cedar posts; Whitcomb Cedar Post
company, Siemens & Halske, manu-
facturers of dynamos.
Wind Drove the Flames.
The burned district is about six
squares from east to west and about
three from north to south. The great
est portion of the district-bounded by
Blue Island avenue, Lincoln street, the
river and Ashland avenue-was burned
over and forty acres of lumber yards
are now nothing but smoking embers.
The Martin yards are $500 feet long
by 800 wide, and the flames originated
in exactly the right spot for the strong
northwest wind which was blowing at
the time to carry them through the
entire length and breadth of the yards
The wind drove the flames so fiercely
that the first engines which arrived
were helpless, and call after call for
additional help was made until over
fifty engines and three fireboats were
at work.
| Piles of lumber, laths and shingles
and cedar posts were swallowed up
with an appalling rapidity, and for a
time it seemed as though the finest
lumber district in the city, which
reaches mile to the south, would be
consumed.
| The wind, however, suddenly changed
at $50 o'clock and began to blow from
1.-THE south and with less violence than
/ before. The flames started rapidly
north, and burned back to a, line level
with its starting point.
Several Narrow Escapes.
The sudden change in the direction of
| the flames caught several engine COM
panies unprepared, and the men were
compelled to run for their lives. No
engines were abandoned, but three of
them had close calls, horses and men
narrowly escaping death.
The fireboat Yosemite was at work
! in one of the slips when the direction
of the fire changed and the long tongues
which shot over made it necessary that
she be removed at once. She was got
ten out of the way, but not before she
| had been severely scOrched in several
places.
The fireboat Geyser had also a close
call, but ran through the flames which
/ leaped over the slip and escaped IN
/ harmed.
Two of her men, John Mccain and
! Thomas Freezing, were badly burned
while fighting the fire. A large "Siam-
csc" hose which they were holding got
away from them and knocked them
over the side of the boat upon a pile
of burning cedar posts a few feet away.
Their injuries are not fatal. In addi-
| ton to the f1remen injured, the follow
ing casualties occurred:
Otto Rafler fell from a lumber pile,
! back broken and will die.
| Unknown man, struck on the head
by flying cap from fire engine, knocked
into the river and drowned.
Peter Phelan, pipeman, inhaled hot
air and badly burned.
Unknown boy, showed into river by
crowd and drowned.
At II o'clock the fire was still burn
ing fiercely, with the probability of
blazing for twelve hours more.
It is extremely difficult to obtain an
estimate of the losses, but the follow
ing are believed to be about correct:
S. K. Marlin company, $500, 900; Wells,
French company, 100000; Siemens &
Halske, 100000; Perlee, Lowe & Co.,
$145, 600; Shoemaker & Higbee, $125, 900;
John Spry Lumber company, $25 900.
Conway & Co.. 100000
Edwin Hines Lumber company, s10-
500
4 Farnum Foundry company. $2.7S0.
Chicago Stove works. $780, 900.
Barbour Asphalt company $50, 900.
Previously reported-S1, 659, 600. Total
81, 673, 100.
Nearly all the firms are heavily in
sured. The loss of S. K Martin & Co.,
is estimated by Mr.. Martin to be $780,
OOO He said at midnight:
Il had in my yard 35.000000 feet Of
lumber, easily worth SS00,000 A Pc
culiar phase of the thing is at midnight
tonight all my insurance, amounting to
over 100000 would have lapsed. 1 had
made arrangements to have it renewed
tomorrow, but between midnight to-
night and tomorrow, 1 would have had
: no insurance. The fire caught me just
five hours before my insurance was
out and inside of an hour all 1 had was
gone"
Mr. Martin declared that before the
: fire his lumber yard was the largest in
: the world.
But it don't matter" he continued.
'fPll have another just as large within
> short time
The loss on the Siemans & Halske
, plant was estimated by one Of the fore
men to be $780,, 900, but this is general
:, lily believed to be a great exaggeration
The principal loss was on machinery,
as the building of the concern was not
> worth much.
The loss of the Chicago Stove works
: is chiefly in patterns, all of which were
made of white metal and were very
valuable. Their plant proper was not
extensively damaged.
At Paulina street, the flames broke
over near the river and destroyed the
mill of the Conway company, but found
poor food in the block Of cedar posts
. piled up over acres of ground at the
mill.
! At midnight tonight it seemed likely
e that the fire would get no further east
and at / o'clock it was slowly decreas-
+ ing.
: But it will not be burned out before
L