Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1898-03-24
CHICAGO'S FIRE DISASTER.
Blaze Makes Short Work Of Big
Building-seven Dead Bod
les Recovered.

Chicago, March 10. - Seven known
dead and nine missing is the record OF
the Wabash avenue fire. The seventh
body was taken from the ruins Friday
morning and was identified as that of
w. y. Wilcox, partner of w. A. Ohm
sted. Three burned and mangled bod
les were on Thursday taken from the
ruins of Wednesdays fire. These were
Charles a. Price, cashier; Henry Il.
Nelson, chemist, and Mrs. NJ. L. Harris,
bookkeeper, all employed by the w. A.
Olmsted Scientific company. Three
bodies were recovered during the prog
ress of the fire. They were: Edward
Binz, 1925 Prairie avenue; worked for
Sweet, Wallach & Co.; Samuel A. Clark,
in the employ of the w. A. Olmsted
Scientific company, and Miles Smith,
1856 Wrightwood avenue.
Chicago, March lit required just
20 minutes Wednesday for one of the
most savage fires Chicago has seen
since the famous cold-storage ware
house fire of the worlds fair grounds
in 1898 to take anywhere from five to
fifteen lives, MAIN 80 people and re-
duce six-story brick building to pile
OF blazing timber, red-hot bricks and
| twisted iron. For time the flames
| threatened to consume the entire block
between Adams street and Jackson
boulevard, comprising the houses of
Lyon q Healy, the Butterick Publish
ing company, the Singer Sewing Ma
chine company, the Story Piano COM
pany, and the Steger Piano company.
The fire broke out in the building at 213-
215 Wabash avenue at II o'clock and
within IS minutes had gained such
Roadway that the course of the flames
could not be stayed, as far as that build
ing was concerned.
The building was six stories high, and
had frontage of So feet on Wabash ave-
nue., and extended back 100 feet to the
alley. The principal occupants of the
building were: Conover Piano COM
pany, Presbyterian Board of Publication,
Sweet, Wallach & Co., Photographic
supplies; Olmsted Scientific company,
school apparatus; National Music COM
pany, Emerson Piano company, Chi
cago Cottage Organ company, Alfred
i'Sih, anu AllTeu
Peats, wall paper. The building had two
elevator shafts, one in the front and !
one in the rear, and reaching from the !
third floor to the roof was a light shaft, |
which gave the flames a chance, and |
it was because of this shaft that the fire |
spread with such awful rapidity.
1t is estimated that 400 persons were
at work in the building when the fire
was discovered. The origin of the fire
is in dispute. BY some it is said to have
been caused by an explosion of collodion
in the wall paper warerooms of Alfred
Peats, on the third floor, and by others
to have been the result of an explosion
among some Photographic chemicals
in the Photographic supply house of
Sweet, Wallach & Co., on the sixth floor.
The sound of the explosion threw the
inmates of the building into a panic,
and on the several floors a wild stam-
pede began for the stairways and ele-
vators. To add to the panic the men
IN charge of the elevators ran their cars
up to the top of the building shouting
"FIre!' on every floor. The elevator
men, however, were cool-headed, and
both made several trips, CARRYING a
number OF frightened occupants to
safety.
Ten minutes after the explosion all
escape for the inmates by stairs and
elevators was cut off. There remained
only the windows and single fire es-
cape narrow iron thing not over IS
inches from side to side. This was
speedily covered with string of peo-
pie, some on one side, some on the other.
Many of those who could not reach the
ire escape made their way to the front
windows, and it was out of these that
Lark, Smith and Binz hurled them
selves to death.
The losses by the fire amounted to
'S2O,ooo, according to the statements of
hose interested last night. The total ,
insurance on the three buildings, 213
o 223 Wabash avenue, amounted to
4OS,95O.