The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-12
Loss ON the Building and Stock Will
Reach S12S,0OO, There Being Prac-
tfcaIIy No Salvage.
FOURTH BIG FIRE IN A WEEK
ORIGIN UNKNOWN, But SUPPOSED
TO BE ACCIDENTAL.
trOus Fire of Jan. 13, 1sSS-Mr.
Stout's Third Fire.


street, between Georgia and Louisiana
streets, suffered another loss yesterday aft
ernoon, which will reach nearly or quite
$4,000. George ". Stouts wholesale gro
Gerry house was completely destroyed not
even the front wall, which is still standing.
being fit for use again. Shortly before
o'clock fire was discovered in the second
floor of the building, which packed
full of grocers woondenware and canned
goods, packed in light pine boxes. These
goods We're all perfectly dry and very in
nammable. AS soon as the fire department
arrived second and third alarms We're sent
IN, and in a few moments the entire fire de-
partment was the scene. The water
pressure was low, and for a while it seemed
as if the fire was certain to communicate
to the cornice of the A Kiefer Drug Com
pany's building, and, even if the building
should be ultimately saved, cause an al
most total loss to the immense stock of
goods, but, fortunately, by the use OF a
Samese'-throwing two engine streams
through one nozzle-water was thrown to
the cornice and communication thus cut
off. This was all that saved loss of fully
$4,000 in the Kiefer stock
That building is fitted throughout with au-
tomato sprinklers, sealed with q soft metal
which fuses at $50 degrees. If the fire had
burned through the cornice the caps would
have melted and extinguished it, but at
the same time would have caused large
damage to the stock.
The fire first appeared on the second floor
just above the office, and is supposed to
have originated in a pile of cotton batting
and light pine bucket covers When first
seen by an employee the flame was very
small, and an attempt was made TO smother
it, but the surrounding material was very
infiammable and in few seconds the fire
mad shot up to the ceiling and spread with
amazing rapidity. An alarm of fire was i'm
nediately sent in from Box 90. at the corner
of Meridian and Georgia streets. The fire
department made a prompt response, but
before the first company had reached the
building great volumes of black smoke were
pouring from the windows of the second
and third floors. Short ladders were quick
ly placed at the second-story windows and
several streams of water were soon playing
on the interior The employees OF the estab-
llshment, for a short time, tried to remove
some or the stock, but were soon driven
out by the smoke. which Immediately filed
the entire building. Chris Shoemeyer an
employe of Murphy & Hibben had run into
the Stout building and was assisting in load
ing some of the goods on the elevator on
the second floor, when some one above
started the elevator upwards Shoemeyer
was caught by the elevator in such a man
ner that he sustained painful wrench in
his neck and was otherwise bruised though
not seriously injured.
When the firemen arrived they entered the
burning building through the front windows
OF the second story, and also at the rear.
but in very few minutes the smoke drove
them into ha cfr
started the report that one of the firemen
who had gone into the building had not ap-
peared, and for some time there was con-
siderable apprehension felt until all We're
accounted for. Shortly after the ffremen
had withdrawn the flames burst through the
windows where the ladders had been placed
but several streams of water soon drove
the flames back into the heart of the build
ing. and great clouds of black smoke again
poured from every window. Shortly after
the first line Of hose had been laid it was
stepped on by one of the fire horses and a
small hole cut, through which the water.
spurtec high into the air, and a number
of the spectators We're given wetting
dred feet Of rope. was on the SCENE Of ir tha
fire shortly after the first of the fire depart
ment, and officers from the surrounding
Campbell. The ropes were stretched in such
way that the spectators could go no fur
tiicI QoWA M0fiu1an street imam Georgia,
below. : 49, A'i0"eu A0t'A u 'ne ai'es
time 1t was evident that the entire building
was doomed. The volume of smoke in
creased. and the building above the second
building is four stories high in 'front.' but
only two in the rear. and on this lower
laid, and while water was being thrown min in
| the front windows there was fierce fight
| waging in the rear. For time the fire
In fn1 snl, 49,
| most dense black smoke Imaginable to pour
from the building and settle to the earth.
distant were nearly suffoca t '' ana nearer carer
to the build building It was impossible to see an
! Of affairs did not last long. and the chok-
| ing black smoke gave way to some extent
| to a lighter colored smoke, which foated
There is a thirty-fve-inch fire wall be-
| tween, the building of Mr.. Stout and that
1 fa ey Peter ,g soer and occupied by
| fer felt little apprehension for the safety of
| his stock during the early progress of the
| and upward from the third-story windows,
! which had already been broken out by the
! but little fire above the second story, and
| when it became necessary to throw water
| above that there was found to be a lack of
! pressure. Consequently the flames burned
| unchecked for some time, while the tiremen
| arranged the .'Siamese'' by connecting two
| streams from engine No. to line of
| hose. thereby forcing the water through
| the nozzle with double pressure. When this
| power was turned on shout went up from
the crowd as the stream shot through the
| air TO the top of the burning building In
| the meantime the flames had burned into
the fourth floor, which was stored full of
| wooden material of all kinds used in gro
| Gerry supplies. These, of course furnished
! the most combustible matter for the flames.
and with the pine boxes of canned goods
| on the third floor the flames were fed in
| such manner as TO leap from the windows
| as though blown by huge bellows. They
| curled up over the roof and around the
outside to the top story windows OF the
| Kiefer building. 1t seemed ii the flames
| were angry at the obstacle in the form of
the great fireproof wall and We're deter
| mined to reach the drug stock. The fire
| licked the large window panes. and soon
| after burst through the roof of the Stout
building. There were tiremen on the top
| of the Kiefer building. and a number of
| streams of water played over the roof
thereby preventing the flames from enter
, ing there Inside the building on every
floor, We're other. firemen some with chem
| ical lines and others with the ordinary fire
hose. For time the fire ragged so fiercely
In the adjoining building that the top floor
of the Lieber building was flooded. both
from the water thrown the roof and
| that thrown on the inside. This gradually
ran through the floors and caused the small