The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-06
BINDING TWINE BURNS
n. II. CONRE IMPLEMENT COMPANY
BURNED OUT.
Loss Roughly Estimated at 500, 900 ON
Stock and $4,000 on BuiIding-
Burned Over "a Hours.

OitiliiiS III DuSSiCc,
typewriters, ETC.. was completely destroyed
by fire yesterday, together with a large
stock of goods OF. a similar character be-
longing to several manufacturers which
were stored in the same building. The
building, which is located on Capitol avenue,
a half a block north of Washington street,
and owned by Mrs. Maria Rhodius, was
damaged about $4,000. The building con-
tanned goods valued at about 1900, and the
loss will be almost total.
The origin of the fire is a mystery. There
Is no night Waterman, but the janitor
usually sleeps in the building. He was sick
Monday and did not go to the store, and
was not expected Tuesday morning, but
feeling a little better than he had the day
before, he went to the store at the usual
hour, about z o'clock, and opened the front
door. A cloud of smoke rushed out III his
face, and 1t looked as if the inside of the
building was completely enveloped in flames.
He Immediately turned in an alarm and re-
turned to the building. AS near as could be
located, the fire originated in the center of
the building, either in the floor of the first
story. or in the ceiling Of the cellar.
All day long the firemen fought the fire.
with miniature icebergs hanging to their
clothes. They were literally covered with
ice, and it seemed for a while as if they
would surely freeze. One fireman was seen
walking around with his overcoat frozen so
stiff that he could not bend his body. When
1t finally became necessary for him to stoop,
his coat split up the middle of the back.
During the afternoon, Walter Ripley, of
the No. 1 hose company, went into the cell
lar and crawled over the binding Irvine and
became wedged between the Irvine and the
Ceiling. While in this position the frernen,
who were working in the rear of the build
mo fnrnnd III al rnnr nrx-o v7 aryhnrn hn
was helplessly fast. His wet clothes, how
ever, protected him somewhat, until his
was wrong mauaeo His tn9 pli eham was s soon discoyered
and he was released without having SUI
Tered anything more than a few. insignificant
About z o'clock the janftor opened the
doors OF the building and a dense volume of
smoke rushed out. He Immediately sent in
an alarm of fire, which was promptly an
swered by the fire department. But it was
soon evident to the few companies that it
without more aid, and a second and third
alarm were quickly sent ill.,. calling every
building is a tMo-story brick, extending
from Capitol avenue 200 feet to the alley be-
tween Capitol avenue and Illinois street:
flame were shooting out of the windows of
The second floor, licking the building on the
south. which is occupied by Henry Russo
as a feed store. In the front part of the
burning building was a small room, in which
was the stock Of sporting goods owned by
~ AAcA0A~lhb oho thS AOPOAN Wuo = tA0s
there was a quantity of gunpowder stored
n the room. A large force of policemen,
scene shortly after the discovery Of the fire,
and the crowd had been driven back from
the burning building and ropes Were
that powder was stored In the small room
became noised about the crowd quickly
Campbell and patrolman Richardson nervily
started through the dense smoke to search
for the reported explosive. After some mo
mamie thaU oYnnrU06 aach with q IarQa Ran
of powder then returned and carried out
another, and SO on until eight cans, con-
explosive, had been carried out of all dam
ger from the flames. Habich arrived some
time later and succeeded in saving most of
his stock.
CARRIAGES WERE SAvED
Robert Sims, the janitor of the burning
building. succeeded in persuading a few
of the onlookers to aid him in drawing the
buggies and carriages, which were stored
in the front of the building, out into the
street. In this way a large number of the
vehicles were saved, but some one sug-
gested that no insurance could be secured
on the stock If it was removed, and most of
the workers deserted, in spite of the pro-
testations of Sims, who continued to work.
The origin of the fire could not be
along the ceiling of the basement, and it is
thought that these must in some way. have
started the names Inere was a IRE III the
furnace during the night, but as this has
burned every night this winter, it is not
thought that the fire started from it.
The weather was bitter cold, and the diff
ficulties of the firemen were greatly in
creased on that account. In a very few min
It would be frozen. A large break in a
section of rotten hose sent a gusher into
the air to a great height. and the water not
of some size was shortly formed. The water
would splash from the building on to the
There were great cakes of ice hanging to
the clothes. whiskers and hair of the men,
but they never finched. After a time large
pots of boiling coffee and baskets of sand
witches were brought over from the neigh
boring hotels, and several firms sent large
bundles of heavy mittens to take the places
of the frozen ones.
BY o O'Clock the fire seemed to be about
evenly distributed between the two upper
possibility of reaching the fire in the base
ment through the interior. and the outside
gratings were torn away, and several lines
of hose taken into the basement. There,
thousands of bales of binding Irvine were
stacked, and the fire having once gotten
into them, was a stubborn enemy for the
dauntless fremen. At the same time lad
ders were placed at the windows of the two
floors above, and a number of streams of
water were directed at the flames, which
were burning so fiercely there.
After some time the fire was under con-
troll, except that in the basement among
the bales of Irvine, and the fire smouldered
oACAio ttiA q SUI eAt AtAAAo N1&A LII oodl-
nal went to press.
During the afternoon the flames died out
to some extent. but the smoke increased
and drove the firemen back into the street.
From there several streams were kept con-
stantly playing on the pile OF smouldering
Irvine. Late in the afternoon on orders
from Chief Webster, who spent the entire
day in directing the manner of attack on
the fire, some of the firemen entered the
basement and threw out a number of the
burning bales of twine in order to make an
opening for the water 70 reach the heart of
the flames.
The II. t. Condo Implement Company
consists of the following officers: H. T..
Condo, PRESIDENT; W. II. Moore. vice presi-
dent: William Cumback. secretary: s. G..
Condo, treasurer; John S. Morgan. director.
LOSSES AND INSURANCE.
The estimate put on the stock of the
company is varied. The most of the officers
declined to make an estimate, but the best
that could be learned was that there was
about $4,000 worth of Irvine. which was
completely destroyed, and the remainder of
| stock is estimated at from 81 900 to $50. 900,
which places the entire loss on the stock
| at about $500 {.
A partial list of the insurance is as fol-
lows:
Insurance Company of North America.
5000; Western of Toronto. 5000; British
| America of Toronto, $500; Hamburg-Bre-