The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-12-04
A HALF MILLION LOSS
ONE-QUARTER BLOCK OF WHOLE
SALE DISTRICT BURNED OUT.
seven Big Firms ON Meridian street,
Between Maryland Street and First
Alley south, Are Heavy Losers.
ORIGIN AT SCHNULL & CO.'S
THIRD FLOOR GAVE WAY AND CAR
RIED A HEATED STOVE DOWN.
Flames Spread south and Destroyed
Buildings OF Fairbanks Scale Conn
pany and Ward Drug Company.
WIND THEN VEERED ABOUT
FLAMES SWEPT NoRTHwARD AND
WIPED OUT MORE CONCERNS.
WOodford & Pohlman and Ecl<hOuse
Bros, Liquor Firms, and Hildebrand
Hardware Company Suffered.
FEEBLE WATER PRESSURE
APPARATUS AND MANAGEMENT OF
FIRE ALSO CRITICISED.
Mr.. v. t. Malott Suggests an Investi-
] gatfOn-Fireman Frank Sloan Dam
! gerously Injured.
FEEBLE WATER PRESSURE
APPARATUS AND MANAGEMENT OF
FIRE ALSO CRITICISED.
Mr.. v. T. Malott Suggests an Investi-
gatfOn-Ffreman Frank Sloan Dam
gerOusly Injured.

The destruction of a half million dollars
of property in the wholesale district of the
city was the fire record of yesterday. Seven
large business houses are completely wiped
out and wholesale buildings extending on
the west side of Meridian, from Maryland
to Chesapeake street, are totally de-
stroyed. The fire began at $40 o'clock in
the wholesale grocery house of Schnull &
Co. All morning and afternoon it burned,
spreading to the adjoining buildings and
consuming the contents. The firemen
worked heroically under the same disad-
vantages that used to exist when buckets
were used around a burning house. AS
is frequently the case the water pressure
was weak at times the streams falling far
short Of the places to which they were
aimed. The firemen stood, with a majority
Of the streams, in the middle of Meridian
street. The water splattered against the
front walls while the. contents of the build
ings burned as freely as IL miles from
fire company.
The fire was not under control until after
noon The department prevented the flames
from crossing Chesapeake street on tbs
south, an alley on the west, Maryland
street on the north, and Meridian street
the district bounded by these thorough
fares was destroyed and then all danger
was past and smoldering and burning
ruins stood as monument of half mil
lion dollars Of property. The firms which
suffer are:
Schnull & Co., wholesale grocers, So to
6S South Meridian street.
Fairbanks, Morse & Co., scales. 20 South
Meridian street.
Ward Brothers, wholesale druggists, 72
South Meridian street.
Eckhouse Brothers. Wholesale liquor deal
ers. "a South Meridian street.
Woodford & Pohlman,, wholesale liquor
dealers. 56 South Meridian street.
Hildebrand Hardware Company, whole
sale hardware dealers, 80 South Meridian
street.
Indiana C,offee Company. in rear of
Schnull & Co.'s establishment.
The fire was one of many incidents. The
flames burst from windows and rolled IL
clouds OF smoke So sudden did the
fire begin that many working i'm tn,
Schnull and other buildings had to flee
for their lives. One employee at Schnulls
escaped by means of the roof. another had
to be rescued from a fallen floor and the
scene was one of great excitement. The
day was bitter cold, the coldest of the
season The buildings were soon covered
with ice from the water which froze as IL
fell, while many of the wires snapped
under the weight OF the ice which formed
on them The wind shifted while the fire
was at its worst. The buildings south OF
the SchnuIl building were fired and then
a shift of the wind to the southwest caused
those on the north TO catch. AT times the
heat was so great that people could not
pass in the neighboring street with COM
fort. The firms doing business on Meridian
street in the square damaged grew appre.
hensive because of the fury of the fire,
and many locked their books and papers
in their safes and prepared to leave at a
moments warning. All the while the fire.
men worked around the burning section,
their clothing frozen stiff doing what they
could to prevent a further spread.
MUCH INFLAMMABLE MATERIAL.
In the establishments which were de-
stroyed there was much infiammable mater
sal In the two liquor houses there were large
quantities of whisky. which burned rapidly
while the bursting of the barrels addec
noise TO the confusion. In the drug house
of Ward Brothers there was material
which burned and exploded. The crowd
was kept at safe distance by the police.
who worked as willingly as the firemen.
on the sidewalk by the Hildebrand build
ing there were several boxes or powder,
left there because the insurance companies
will not allow ii IN any building on which
there is insurance. The crowd was quick
20 discover the powder and the police had
little difficulty in keeping the people back.
Men carried the dangerous boxes, each of
which contained enough explosive TO blow
up several buildings. 10 a place where the
fire could not be expected 10 come.
A large and restless crowd watched the
fire during its early progress, while thou
sands visited the burning ruins yesterday
afternoon The crowd of the morning was
constantly on the move. partly BECAUSE Of
the intense cold and partly because of the
smoke The latter was blown downward,
settling over the spectators, binding the
hremen and completely hiding the buildings.
The smoke would clear for a second and
the crowd would remain quiet for the same
time when down would come another cloud
and then there another move. Men
stood with their overcoat collars turned up
and their hands in their pockets congratu-
lating themselves that they were not fire.
men and telling what they would do IL they
were chief of the department Women
stood with their hands IN nuns or wrapped
| in capes. stamping their feet and gazing
with sincere regret on the work of destruc-
! tion which It seemed utterly impossible "a