The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-04-05
A : SWEEP OF FLAME
sl,5oo,ooo LOSS AT MILWAUKEE
LAST NIGHT.
KtEe Starts in the Furniture Store of A
r. Tanner & Co., and Spreads-No
Lo ssof Life Observation-Disclosures at
Work-Other Fires.

Lnat started few minutes after IL
o'clock last night in less than one hour
destroyed property worth over ST. 500, 900.
The fire started in the furniture store
OF A. i. Tanner & Co., Nos. 317 tc 1927
Grand avenue. 1t was discovered by
dozens of pedestrians on the avenue
and several alarms We're rung in at
about the same time. Before the en-
g1nes arrived the entire building, 10Ox120
feet, was in flames, and before the fire.
men had stream on the building the
walls began to fall The fire spread
quickly to the building occupied by
Landauer & Co. at Fourth and Grand
avenue. In ten minutes this building
was burned to the ground and the fire
sweeping across Fourth street enveloped
the Y. M. G. A. building and the Foster
building. Jumping aGSoss Grand ave-
nue. the fire consumed a half block Of
three-story brick buildings and again
crossing Fourth street enveloped the
Public Library building, the Fourth
street corner Of which is occupied by
Benedic & Co., clothiers.
There never was a fire in this city
which destroyed so much property in
so short time. 1t is remarkable that
there was no loss of life, although there
remarkable escape was at Grand av-
enue and Fourth street. At 12:45 two
streams were playing on the building.
the cupola of which was burning df-
rectly over the heads of the fremen.
Suddenly it toppled and fell The men
saw 1t coming and stuck to their posts
While death seemed imminent. They
never wavered, although the crowd a
half a block back shouted for them to
run. They needed not, and fortunately
the immense copper cupola struck the
top of one of the engines and fell to one
side without injuring any Of the men.
There were several other narrow es-
capes of fremen from the falling walls.
The upper stories of the row Of three
story buildings, No. 318 to $50 Grand
avenue, were occupied as residences,
and they were crowded with roomers.
The fire came SO quickly the people in
these rooms had to run for their lives
in their night clothes. In the con-
fusion families were separated and
little children were torn from their
parents.
The confusion extended to the David
son hotel, which backed up on the fire.
The fire came up so quickly that for a
few minutes the people in the hotel
thought it was the rear of the hotel
A general alarm was sounded and the
guests ran for their lives, many of them
dragging their trunks and little belong
ings after them. The same condition Of
affairs existed in the Schlitz hotel and
Lombergs European hotel, half block
away.
In the tenement houses for blocks on
all sides of the fire the people moved
their goods and chattels to places of alb
solute safety.
The fire after spreading we'll to the
westward began eating it's way to the
east. The clothing store of Barling &
WaWbold. took fire and it was a total
loss in few minutes. Over the
eastern end Of this building facing
on Third street is the annex of the
etaoln shrduc cmfwyp vbgkqj vbgkqjxx
Davidson hotel, and at 1:3O o'clock the
IRE had reached into this building. In
the number. No. 318 Grand avenue.
there were number of women. Some
OF these were panic stricken when the
fire swept across the avenue and stood
on landing on the side Of the building.
wildly gesticulating and unable to move
or do anything to help themselves.
Police Lieutenant Howard and some
officers went to their assistance, but be-
fore the officers could reach them two
jumped from the second story. Both
struck on pole in the alleyway and
both were injured, but how badly or
who they were could not be learned, as
they were carried off by sympathizers
In the crowd. The loss will be fully
$l,45O,OOO. Insurance men say at least
80 per cent of the loss is covered by in
SURG nee.
s@IIfTENDIARIES BURN THE PLACE.
ta
%:Il.ason & Co.'s Stock Establishment
at Decatur, Ind, Destroyed.