Birmingham state herald., 1895-10-24
M0NTGOMERY'S FIRE PEND Early Yesterday Morning Re- suited in $40,000 Loss. ANOTHER FIRE. AT PIKE ROAD Loss Ten Thousand Dollars-lnsurance Seven
 Thousand. REBUILDING WILL BEGIN AT ONCE There Was No Wind and the Fire Was Confined Within Thick Walls-Mont-
 gomery Fire Department Sum-
 moned Too Late.
REBUILDING WILL BEGIN AT oNCI

Montgomery, Oct. 23.-(Special)- 1.-The | fire fiend got in it's dreadful work last night both at Montgomery and Pike | Road.
 A few seconds before 3 o'clock this morning the town was alarmed by the | blasts of locomotive whistles in the rail- way yards about the depot and several | minutes afterwards the fire bell sounded A big blaze had begun in the rear part
 of the third story of the building occu- l pied by George E. Lum, dealer in ma chinery supplies.
 This building is in the very heart of | the wholesale block on Commerce street, | between Bibb and Tallapoosa, and when | the firemtn got to it the blaze had al- | ready eaten out the roof and spread through the entire story. It seemed most probable that at least the buildings occu- | pied by B. M. Washburn & Co.,, on one | side, and T. w. Hannon on the other, would surely burn before the flames could be checked
 The firemen began playing on the fire with streams from the street and from the alleyway in the rear. T can't send my men on top of those buildings" Chief Robinson WAS heard to remark Live electric wires make those roofs a death trap"
 There was no wind and the fire was confined within the thick walls of the Lum building until about o'clock, when the Washburn house was burned into the third story. but there the Babcock ex- ungulshers were effectually used in checking it's progress, and no water had to be turned on
 The firemen had pretty tough fight. the hoSemen being forced to stand on ladders leaning against the edge of the roof of the block of some eight or ten stores, which are of uniform height and
 thus kept the blaze from spreading. When the Advertiser went to press the l fire was under good control. The big establishment of George E. Lum was completely gutted and at conservative estimate the damages to building and stock will amount to some 1 thing like $40, 900.
 Mir. Lum had not reached the ruins at 4:10, and nothing could be learned from him about the losses. He has insurance.
 but no one could be found who knew how
 much. The building is the property of
 MT. P. J. Anderson and it is said to be insured. MT. Washburns losses will | amount to very little. and MT. T. w. Hannon is hardly damaged at all. In the floors above McKenzie's whole sale grocery place, which is next door to | Washburn's, there are numbers of sleep ing apartments and the tenants there
 
 | much alarmed, gathered up their effects and got ready to vacate at moments
 notice. How the fire originated is yet to be discovered.
 When a reporter reached the building going around to the rear, the blaze had
 not dropped below the third story and he noticed that a steam pipe stuck out of one of the windows and was puffing vol umes of steam, which evidently came from a boiler of some sort. Tha rai pd ,f,nn tc ha, been the first to give the alarm of fire and when the companies reached the spot it had been under headway fully twenty minutes. Two mounted police
 men report that they were at Riverside park when the alarm rang out and got
 to the fire before a single one of the ap- paratus arrived.
 It was probably good thing for the city that it occurred at night, because at that time there are very few people on the street to see the fire department
 "jogging along" in a slow trot on their way to the blaze. To outsiders it would naturally suggest the comparison of the department to funeral procession, and that would not sound we'll as every one knows the town is not dead.
 The sooner the council gets together and repeals the "trotting" ordinance the sooner will property holders lie down to sleep with better feeling of security.
 At Pike Road.
 There was disastrous fire in the little village of Pike Road last night in which two store houses, the railroad depot and a gin house were burned to the ground.
 It happened at a late hour, after the Central train had gotten in, and particu- lars were almost impossible to be ob- tained. Pike Road is the third station from Montgomery on the Eufaula road, about sixteen miles out. There Is no irhf at the railroad ta1Qp Tlh office and the operator--who is also sta- tion agent-goes off duty at o'clock.
 About II o'clock Chief Robinson re- ceived the following message:
 "Pike Road, Ala. Oct. 22, 1895. "Whole place Is on fire, give us what
 "E. S. HAMPSTEAD"
 Chief Robinson at once consulted the mayor who advised that if there was any water to be had on the scene, en- zines and hose should be sent at once. The chief then wired to know about the water, and a message received at a few minutes before 12 o'clock was the last heard:
 I .'Do not come. Too late to do any good. F. s. ARMIsTEAD."
 It was very hard matter to obtain any facts at all. but the following de- tails sifted out by reporter seem to be pretty authentic. The fire originated in a gin house belonging to MT. E. s. Arm dstead. the tax collector of Montgomery county A telegram from Pike Road was sent to his residence, 716 South Court street, but 1t could not be learned what was in 1t. Two store houses adjoining the gin house then caught as did also the depot, all on the right hand side of the railroad going out, and the long drought having made everything as dry and in- fiammable as keg of powder all the buildings burned like so much finder, and 1t was only matter of few mo- ments before a big heap of ashes was all that marked the spot where they had stood not long before. One of the stores belonged to Mr. Willard Finn, who had 1t stocked with the general merchandise to be found in country store. It is not