Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-02-11
.ooNe>cS'
cerned ana th'> qS be in need
Vi prompt d public letter
suggestir 30 ..ons from the Cit
liens a luton among needy
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LOSS Ot' PROPERTY.
II IS difficult to get figures. but in
surance experts say that it will be at
ieast Sl.o00,0 900, and may be more.
some of the individual losses known
are: $500 " =
W. A. Hoeveler & Co., loss on build
ing $4,000, with S64 900 insurance:
loss to the LOCO customers who had
goods stored in the building $500. 900.
ABOUT twenty per cent of the later had
no Insurance
The Chatauqua Ice Company, own
ers of the building occupied by them
selves and the Union Storage Com
pany, loss S275,000 on building, wag-
ons, ice making machinery, etc.
The Union Storage Company will
lose nothing beyond interruption to
business, but the loss to their custom
ers is unofficially placed at $3.50. 600.
Losses to others outside OF the large
concerns mentioned will foot I'D $780,
900.
THE FIRE DESCRIBED.
1t was just Z: So o'clock last evening
when smoke was seen issuing from
the fourth floor of the Union Stora ge
OOiiiEioy Oi Inc street,
near Thirteenth street. The building
was six stories in height and occupied
almost the entire block between
Twelfth and Thirteenth streets and
Pike street and Mulberry alley. The
hrst floor was occupied as offices of
the Chautauqua Lake Ice Company
and local Office of the Union Storage
Company, The Second floor front
contained the stables of the Cautau-
qua Company, and in the Twelfth
street end they had their ice making
plant, which occupied the first three
hoors. This was filled with valuable
ice making machinery ard other prop
erty OF the Chautauqua Company. The
remainder of the building was occu-
pied by the Storage Company.
Immediately upon the discovery Of
the fire an alarm was sent in and was
responded to promptly, but owing to
the construction of the building it was
PRACTICAL yimpossible to fight the fire
from without while the volume of
smoke inside the particular division in
which the fire occurred made it impos-
sible to fight it within. The only
openings in the three fire walls divid-
heavy iron doors, and
THESE WERE LOCKED.
For three hours the firemen worked
scarcely knowing what they were do
ing. The iron shutters were impreg-
nable to their attacks. The smoke
that found its way out of the building
filled Mulberry alley and Pike street,
sitting the firemen and rendering
them practically sightless. 1t would
clear for moment or two and they
would again maneuver to make some
Roadway, but to no avail.
Finally at II o'clock the flames burnt
through to the roof and shot upward
a hundred feet in the air, and making
that part of the city as light as day
Suddenly, above the roar of the
flames and the putting of fire engines,
came the first explosion. Those with
in the fire lines fell in all directions
The great puff of air created by the ex-
piosion seemed to make everything
sway and shake. Those not knocked
down by the first and awful blast
started to run and were knocked down
by the reactionaray waves of air as the
falling walls created a vacuum that
oCCllito w vi az III CNCl tItlilS.
1t was on the Mulberry alley side,
where the least danger was antici-
pated, the greatest volumes of smoke
and preliminary outbursts of flame
having come out of the Pike street
side, that the force of the explosion
was most severe, and the greatest
NUMBER OF FATALITIES
took place.
The falling walls crushed in the
rear of buildings having fronts on
Penn avenue. The sides of the Hoev-
eler building, ON Pike street, was also
crushed and@an entry made for the
flames. At the Thirteenth street end
of the warehouse the most terrible
effect of the explosion was manifest.
That entire front was piled into the
streets.
Explosion followed explosion for
about a half hour between IL and 1
o'clock. The fire, after each report
like that of cannon, burst through
walls in all directions. Burned out
walls came topping down and firemen,
policemen and spectators were rem
dered powerless to act by the sense of
awe and terror which the scene in
spired.
In the meantime the scene on Pike
street was even more awe inspiring.
The instant following the first big
explosion the warehouse of Hoevler
& Co. caught fire and this was follow
ed by the falling in of the walls OF the
building of the Chautauqua Lake Ice
COMPANY. AS the wall fell Chief
Humphries. who was standing near
the entrance of the narrow street,
called to the men Of No. II Engine
COMPANY who had just time to get
away from the spot when the line hose
and nine we're buried beneath tons of
debris. Their escape was miraculous,
one fireman named Reilly, being
struck bv a falling brick as he jumped
RI obey the warning of the chief.
Through the Hoeveler warehouse the
flames swept
LIKE A DUST CLOUD
before the wind. 1t contained 600 bar
rels of whisky. One after another
these barrels exploded, throwing blaz-
ing beams and rafters, masses of stone
and brick into the air, and scattering
the firemen, police and spectators.
From the blazing timbers which
were hurled in every direction, the fire
was communicated to the adjoining
buildings. McKellup & Co.'S grain
and feed warehouse, on the corner OF
Pike street. caught in the rear and.
DESPITE the efforts of the flremen, the
flames worked their way into the cen
ter of the building and then mounted