The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-05
Three Immense New York Build
ings Almost Destroyed.
WAS A ROARING FURNACE
Firemen Fought Desperately In Q Blind
ing Rain Storm With the Wind
Blowing q Sixty-Mile Gaie-No
Lives Were Lost.

| of buildings on Broadway, Nos. 253 to
259, and included between Murray and
Warren streets, was almost destroyed
by fire. Within three hours more than
a million dollars worth of property
was destroyed. The fire began in the
fve-story brick building occupied by
the mems furnishing firm of Rogers,
Peet & Co. on the southwest
corner Of Broadway and War
rem street. Adjoining the Rog-
ers-Peet building and south OF IL
was the magnificent white building of
the Home Life Insurance company, and
next to this was the brown stone build
ing of the Postal Telegraph company,
erected at cost of millions only a
few years ago. Within a few minutes
after the discovery of the fire the Rog-
ers-Peet building was a roaring fur
mace and an alarm had been turned in
which brought more than a score of
engines to the scene. 1t was but a
short time when the flames had eaten
through the wall of the Home Life and
were roaring high above that lofty
structure.
Thousands of people had gathered on
the scene and the binding glare of the
flames lit up the lower part of the city
crowds of people grew, and the police
reserves were called out from many
stations and kept the people back for
blocks. Great showers of sparks were
carried in all directions by the gale.
that blew so miles an hour. 1t was a
picturesque fire.
The Home Life Insurance building
was occupied by that company and by
large number of prominent men in
various lines of business. Every effort
was made to save the valuable papers
stored In some of the offices. but many
OF these were lost. The Offices of the
Rapid Transit commission were on the
ninth floor of this building, and II is
believed that all the plans and schemes
or work with which the company has
been working these many years are
| destroyed. In the Postal building. as
well. there were many serious losses of
private nature. and when the flames
reached the operating room of this
structure, which they did within three
hours OF the outbreak. the one or two
solitary operators who remained at their
posts We're compelled to flee for their
lives, leaving unsent messages at the
keys
The fire burned even more fiercely in
the Home Life building. owing to the
great height of this structure, and i'm
an Incredibly short time the upper half
OF this magnificent building was i'm
fiames. The water towers i'm the street
were able to throw their heavy streams
only into the lower part of the struc-
ture, and the firemen, though they
worked with great bravery and untir-
ing energy in the binding smoke and
heat, could do little i'm the face of such
fierce sweep OF flames and gale. 1t
was only a question of time when the
Postal building. so far as the upper
stories were concerned, went the way
of the others
The estimate OF the losses by Chief
Bonner after midnight was a million
dollars, with probability of a otill
further loss should the fire continue
to make anything like rapid progress.
At that hour. however, he believed that
he had the fire under control within
reasonable limits.
At o'clock. however, Il was still
burning fiercely in 'front.' and although
not observable by the thousands of
spectators, was burning still more
swiftly and extending lower down i'm
the rear.
An insurance man roughly estimated
the losses at about as follows: Rogers,
Peet & Co. building. stock and losses to
other tenants, $3.50, 900: Home Life In
surance company. building and losses
to tenants. 100000: losses to surround
ing buildings. $4,000. Chief Bonner
thought that this estimate on the basis
VI n IfillllOn loss WAS ABOUT as
near correst as 1t was possible to make.
The Rogers-Peet building was the
property of the Hoffman estate and
was one of the historic buildings of
Broadway. 1t was erected 35 years
ago
The fire started in the basement of
the building occupied by Rogers, Peet
& Co, clothiers, about $3.50 o'clock
Two policemen standing within half a
block OF Warren street heard a loud
explosion and a moment later saw a
thin line of smoke curling up from the
side of the Rogers. Peet e. Co. building.
At that time rain was falling i'm tor
rents and the wind blew a gale. An
alarm was sent in, but before the first
engine turned into Broadway the Rog-
ers, Peet & Co. basement was a roar
ing furnace with great flames bursting
through the floors above and rapidly
rushing to the roofs. Within 10 min
utes five alarms had been sent in.
bringing engine after engine TO the
scene. By 10 o'clock. so rapidly and
fiercely did the flames make progress,
there was nothing but a shell Cf
the Rogers-Peet building left, with
mountains OF flame roaring a hundred
feet In the air and encircling the ad-
Joining structure. the Home Life In
surance building. In that binding rain
the fremen worked stretching the
black and slippery lines Of hose through
the building, fighting the flames from
every side. Soon a great wave of fire
swept across Warren street and caught
the United States Life Insurance build
ing at the west corner Of Broadway,
numbered 25s and PSI. The wood work
on a dozen windows was afire i'm a mo-
ment. and from that time on several
streams were played on this building
to save II from destruction. When the
Warren street wall OF the Rogers. Peet
& Co. building fell. a dozen firemen
were directly beneath. Several of the
men were struck by bricks. but none
was more than slightly injured Act
ing Chief Perle fell. but was dragged |
TO safety by some of his men.
Just before IL o'clock the Home Life |
Insurance company's building. is
stories high. at 255 and 257 Broadway. |
caught fire. The firemen already had