Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-10-14
DETROIT'S BIG FIRE.
100000 DAMAGE DONE BY
THE DEvoURING FLAMES.
BIaze Started In the Detroit Opera House
From "a Calcium Light Explosion
Nearly "a Dozen Buildings Burned
Boy Killed by Failing Walls.

SuOrlly aller nluHlSnls Julld Arthur >
splendid theatrical company had given
their fourth rendition OF "A Lady of
Quality in the Detroit opera house;
the large audience had dispersed the
actors bad gone to their hotels, and
the lights had all been extinguished
by Janitor VIM. Moore and he and his
wife had just retired in their rooms on
the fifth floor of the opera house build
ing, when there was loud explosion
and Moore heard the rear wall back of
the stage fall. Instantly there was
i flashing of flames through the struc-
ture and Moore and his wife hurriedly
fled by way of an outside fire escape,
but even then the flames were shoot
ing through the windows
Roundsman Springer and Patrolman
| Rutledge were standing on the corner
of Woodward and Gratiot avenues
when they heard an explosion and saw
burst OF flame in the direction of the
rear of the opera house. Rutledge
turned in quick alarm and both then
ran down an alley toward the FIRE.
They hardly arrived before second
explosion was heard, followed at inter-
walls of a minute or two with half a
dozen others The explosions were
caused by the calcium tanks used for
the stage lights. There were eight Of
them on the stage. and at each eXplo-
sion a section of the walls would fall
and the sparks would fly in every di-
rection.
Within 10 minutes from the time of
the first alarm all the available fire APP
paratus of the down town district was
at hand and in service and that from
the outlying precincts was hurrying
toward the center of town. BY that
time the whole rear of the Detroit
opera house was one solid mass OF
flames, the sparks from the burning
scenery and light furniture spreading
over blocks of the down town buildings
As the fire grew hotter the efforts of
the firemen were directed toward saw
ing the surrounding buildings, but to
little avail. Constant streams of water
were kept on the rear of the Leonard
& Carter building, but in short time
the windows had gone in and fire was
sweeping through every floor, driving
the flremen from the alley. Over on
the opera house square, which faces
the Campus Martius and the city hall,
the flames were giving the firemen
even q harder battle. The wind was
blowing briskly from the west and as
the roof of thSopera house began TO
crumble and fall in showers of sparks
and burning brands rose high in the
air and sailed away in perfect clouds
to the east. The smoke and flames be-
gan to roll from the upper windows of
the Michel Table Supply Co.'S store next
TO the opera house and it was soon
plain that that building was beyond
help and that the fire department had
on hand job that was almost too big.
From the tall Leonard & Carter build
ing the fire soon worked down into the
upper story OF the next building to the
east, the fve-story structure occupied
by the Central Storage Co., Vaughan
O. Tanner and the Central Music CO.,
and several other tenants. Gradually
it forced its way from floor to floor,
and portion of the falling walls car
ried the fire into the Partisan laundry,
which was soon mass OF debris. On
Monroe avenue, back of the Michel
Co. S stores the big Schmidt and Wcr-
ner buildings had been holding out
against the devouring flames, but they
finally gave way and were soon roar
ing furnaces inside. An explosion evil
IDENTIFY Of chemicals, in the Schmidt
building threw down the walls crush
the two-story Boston shoe store like an
egg she'll. Probably this fact more
than all others saved the Valpey build
ing, on the corner of Monroe avenue
and Farmer street. A change of the
wind then turned the flames back upon
the charred ruins of the burned build
ings and in Il short time the fremen
had the fire under control, after having
worked on it steadily for six hours.
The heaviest losses fall upon the
Michel Table Supply Co. and the
owners of the principal buildings The
principal losses are as follows: Detroit
opera house, So, 900; Julia Arthur Co.,
$50. 200; Michel Table Supply Co.,
SS0, 900: Traugott Schmidt estate,
building, 500. 900. Schmidt estate,
stored wool, $40. 900; Werner, building
and stock, 500, 900; Leonard Il Carter
bailding and furniture stock. $4,000;
Partisan steam laundry, $4,000; Gen.
trail Storage Co., building and stored
goods, SIS. 900; other tenants of stor-
age building, SIS, 900; Michel building,
owned by q. H. Barbour, 20,00O; Hugh
Connolly, ieweler, $4,000; Grand I'M
ion Tea CO., $1,000; =. J. Kinnucan,
tailor, 1900; Wright, Kay q CO.,
1900; Brossy dye works, $4,000; d., q.
II. & NJ. railroad, repair shops set on
fire by flying embers, $4,000. About
20 smaller losses to Woodward avenue
stores and minor tenants of the burned
buildings would probably total $50, 900.
The parents of Robt. Pennington,
aged Is, reported their boy missing
two days after the fire and this led To
search of the ruins OF the Detroit
opera house in the alley where two or
three people claimed to have seen n
boy crushed under the walls. 1t only
required half an hour of work on the
part OF dozen friends to bring to
. lirht t1o III, ~ tha how manrlpd and