The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-23
SPREAD BY A BIG GALE.
Rapid Destruction of Steam
boat and Railroad Ware
houses and Cars.
CONSIDERABLE FREIGHT LOST
Osceola, Nebraska, Almost Wiped
From the Map by Con-
flagration.

MILWAUKEE,, WIS.,, Aug pa fire
which threatened to make great havoc
broke out at clock this afternoon in the
warehouse of the Union Steamboat Com
pany in the Menominee River. A thirty
mile wind was blowing and the flames
spread with great rapidity. At 2:3O the
fire was under control. The damage
amounts to upward of $30O,O0O, and some
estimates place the loss at 100000.
The prominent buildings burned besides
the frame dwellings that were destroyed
on Fowler and Second streets were as fol-
lows: Union Steamboat Company's ware
house, Anchor Line warehouse, Pennsyl-
vania railroad freighthouse, Wisconsin
Central freighthouse (owned by the st.
Paul Company, part of Pritzlaff ware
house, H. ]. DeIaney's oil warehouse and
E. T. Doyn's plumbing shop.
The Union Steamboat Company's build
ing was 600 feet in length and in it were
thousands of tons of freight, all of which
was destroyed with the building. Over
sixty freightcars belonging to the st. Paul
Company and in process of being loaded or
ready to ship were soon enveloped in flames
and destroyed.
out in the steamboat warehouse the Wis
consin Central freighthouse, just north of
the river and 300 feet in length, was totally
destroyed. A little while after the freight
cars began burning, fire broke forth from
the cupola of the oil and grease establish
ment of II. J. Delaney & Co., on Third
street, half block from the track from
where the burning cars stood. Following
this the plumb bing establishment of f. T.
Doyn on Second street was quickly
destroyed and the wagon-shop of H.
Trinkner adjoining took fire several times,
but it was put out. A row of small frame
dwelling-houses on Fowler street, directly
opposite the st. Paul freighthouse, took
fire one after the other and were destroyed.
The main freighthouse of the ST. Paul
Company, extending from the southwest
corner of Fowler and Second to Third
streets, had a very close call, but was
saved.
The burned territory extends from West
Water street along the river front up to
the Sixth-street viaduct.
The docks of the Detroit, Grand Haven
and Milwaukee Railway for time were in
imminent danger of destruction. So quick
were the flames to take the freighthouse
of the Wisconsin Company that the officers
were unable to close their safes or rescue
the valuable records, and all these were
destroyed with the building.
The heaviest losses will be those
sustained by the Chicago, Milwaukee and
st. Paul and the Wisconsin Central Com
pany, but owing to the fac that the freight
destroyed cannot now be estimated as to
quantity or kind no figures given at this
time would be near correct, but the damage
will be extensive. The losses sustained by
the ST. Paul Company were about sixty
freightcars of an average value of $4OO
each, more than half of them loaded or
nearly loaded, as the fire came at the
busiest time of the day in the freight
yards. In addition to this the st. Paul
Company owned the 300-foot freighthouse
occupied by the Wisconsin Central, which
was totally destroyed, filled with freight
which was in charge of the Central Com
pany and number of cars owned by the
latter company. The losses to the railway
companies will probably reach 100000.
The losses are nearly wholly covered by
insurance, including goods in transit.
Both the st. Paul and Wisconsin Central
Railway companies and the Union Steam
boat Company, the Anchor line and the
Pennsylvania line were fully insured, as
well as the goods in their hands.
While the fire was in progress, Joseph
McManus, nephew of Detective William
McManus, was run over by an engine and
instantly killed.
OSCEOT4,S HEAVY loss