The record-union., 1899-09-19
In Less Than an Hour After The
Flames Broke Out
Al Least a Quarter Of a Million Dollars
Worth Of Property Was Destroyed.
Plants Of Two Milling Companies
and an Iron Pipe Company, To-
gether With a Large Quantity
of Lumber, Burned-Three Men
Injured, Two Perhaps Fatally.

4 LOo <AINGELE1Os sept. lC.-GTaSllC-
ally an entire block bounded by Com
mercial, Alameda, Requena and Will
mington streets. was destroyed by fire
| this afternoon. The buildings de-
stroyed were those of the Los Angeles
Farming and Milling Company, the
Perry Mill and Lumber Company, the
plant of j. f. Holbrook, dealer in iron
| pipe and oil We'll casing, in addition to
a large amount of lumber belonging to
| the two lumber firms.
| Three men were injured in the fire.
two of them probably fatally. They
are: George Knowlton, assistant engi-
neer, fatally burned; James NJ Dieter,
engineer, seriously burned; H. B. Teb-
belts. overcome by the heat
| The fire originated in the engine room
of the Perry Mill and Lumber Com
pany. A spark from the engine fell into
pile of shavings, and Immediately the
whole place was in blaze. In a strug-
gle to put out the flames Knowlton and
Dieter received their injuries.
AS soon as possible an alarm of fire
was turned in, and this was closely fol-
| lowed by a second alarm. BY the time
the engines reached the scene of the
confiagration the big three-story brick,
the whole yard and the mill of the
Perry Company was ablaze.
| Next to the Perry Mill on the east
were the buildings of the Los Angeles
Farming and Milling Company. These
were of frame, and the big one-story
building that runs along Alameda
street was soon a roaring furnace. The
| firemen had an almost impossible task
| in fighting the flames, on account of the
| intense heat. Even the police had easy
work in keeping back the crowd, as the
| heat did their work for them.
| The fire department. realized that It
| could not hope to save the buildings
already on fire, and therefore put near
/ ly all of their energies into an effort to
keep the buildings across the street
from destruction. The small shops along
| Commercial street smoked from the
heat, and many of the occupants were
| in fear that the hungry flames would
drive them from their homes and busi-
ness The hose was kept playing on
these buildings, and they were saved.
| After the walls of the warehouse at
Alameda and Commercial streets had
| fallen, the troughs leading from the
bins in the upper part of the Farming
and Milling Company's warehouse We're
| eaten open by the fire, and a stream
of wheat ten feet in diameter poured
down onto the fire below. This served
to smother one of the hottest parts OF
| the blaze.
| At 3 o'clock the fire was under con-
| troll, though the lumber company and
| the milling company's plants were
swept clean, with the exception Of one
warehouse of the latter on Alameda
| street.
Though of very short duration, the
| fire was one of the most destructive
that ever occurred in Los Angeles. at
| least a quarter of a million dollars
worth of property going up in smoke in
| less than an hour.
| The Los Angeles Farming and Mill
! ing Company had a stock on hand
! valued. with the expensive machinery,
at $4,000, which is practically a total
| loss An insurance of nearly 100000
was carried.
The Perry Lumber and Milling Com
pany carried stock valued at $125,0OO,
| including a large number of valuable
patterns, which it will be difficult to
replace This company only carried
| $4,000 insurance.
There are a number of small individ-
ual losses, which foot up in the aggre-
/ gate the amount named.
During the progress of the fire.
man, three women and a boy, were
standing on porch in the rear of Emil
Faure's saloon, when the floor gave
way and all were precipitated a dis
! tance of twenty feet to the ground The
three women were injured, but none. it
| is believed, fatally.
James Dieter, engineer of the Perry
| Milling Company, and George Knowl-
| ton, his assistant, were both horribly
| burned in the fire. The chances for
Knowlton's recovery are very slight,
and Dieters condition is scarcely less
! serious.
The fire is still burning, but 1T is un-
| der control.
Ward Cunningham, foreman of the
/ Perry Mill and Lumber Company, is
missing, and his family and friends fear
| that he perished in the flames. They
have been searching for him all the
afternoon and evening, but not the
! slightest trace of him has been found.
/