The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-01-26
.spokANE.s DISASTER.

The Great Eastern block Totally pe,troy-l
e'i iiy fire--t'ivs Lives X Known TO I1a.s
Besn Lost, Md More Eodles Are Sap
POSED 70 he In tiir Rims. ,5.
SPOKANE, Wash, Jun. GA flre, In
which The loss will run up to 100000
worth orproperty, and at the very least
five lives were lost. took place last
night. The Great Eastern block, at5the
corner or Post street ard Riverside ave-
nue., sixstories Il, height, and constructs
cd OF brick, caught fire about HAS b.
m. and In three hours was totally de-
molished. % q
All OF the upper floors and part OF the
third floor We're used for lodging pur-
poses and At least 100 people were asleep
IN the building when the flre started.
While most OF them escaped With only
their clothes, Il 10 thought h number
perished. What makes the horror
greater Is that no one knows who Is still
Imprisoned. As tho people We're re-
moved from the burning structure or
escaped themselves, they sought places
or safety. The last out OF the upper
iioors report forms lying in the hall and
women shrieking in the flames. The
been In the engine room.
Mrs. Stark oliver. wife OF DR.. Starlc
Oliver. who lived on the second floor,
says CHE heard an explosion shortly be-
fore the flames appeared. The boiler of
the engine may have exploded and
caused the fire to start. There Is an
other theory, and that IS an explosion
among chemicals In the basement,
stored there for the Photographic supply.
OF. John W. Graham C Co. The Great
Eastern block was built in 1890 at a cost
OF s2s0, ,oo0. and was owned by Louis Le-
Sinski, OF San Francisco who carried
about $4,000 worth OF insurance.
The fire was a singularly hot one and
the fire department was long in getting
1t under, control. Even then the flames
rose hundreds OF feet In the air, as long
as Two, hours after its start. g5{
All the hose IN the department. were
brought Into use and the stores nearby
were called upon for all their stock.
Because OF the net work OF wires sur
rounding the: building, 1t was with the
utmost difficulty that the ladders were
elevated. While they were going up the
people were at the windows, flames and :
smoke bursting out about them. shriek-
Ing. Crowds OF people on the streets
below .shrieked in sympathy with them.
City. Neb.. fell or Jumped from a. nth
story window TO the cement pavement
below. She died at the Sacred Heart
hospital two hours later.
A thrilling rescue was that OF Robert
Mason, his wife and their two-year-old
son. from the fifth floor, on the Post
street side. From q fire escape on the
fourth floor. seven feet TO one side from
the window, tiremen threw them o rope,
which Mason made fast 10 his bed and 3
came down hand over hand, carrying
his boy, Mrs. Mason following. As she
hung suspended far above the ground
the crowd watched with breathlcss in-3
terest. When she was grasped by q
fireman q shout Of Joy went up. u -
FIremen are still playing water on the j
embers OF the Great Eastern block
which burned early this morning, and It
will not be safe to search the ruins for
the dead until tomorrow. Miss Rose
Wilson and Mrs. Rose Smith are known
to have perished. W. B. Gordon, a /
prominent mining expert, his wife and
three children, aged Il, and q, are :
missing. and 1t Is almost certain that
the entire family perished.
Mrs. C.. T. Lewis Is also among the i
missing. Mrs. H. G. Davies. who Jumps
ed from the fifth story window. died,
from her injuries this morning. Z a