Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1899-05-18
A FIREMAN KILLED.
Foreman McNellis Electrocuted BY
a Wire at Kansas City.
DISASTROUS FIRE IN WEST BOTTOMS
The Warehouse of the Newly Storage Com.
pany, Packed from Basement to Roof,
Destroyed and Damage OF Over
100000 Done.

Kansas City, Mo-, May 1l.-foremar
James +. McNellis, of reel No. 4, lost
his life at fire in the building at 1916
10 Union avenue last night. While
seeking to rescue comrade who had
been reported buried under thedebris
] OF a fallen wall McNells became en-.
tangled in live wire and was electro
cuted, with several of his fellows close
at hand, but poweress to aid him. In
the crash OF falling debris in the alley
at the rear of the burning building
Con O'Hare and John Wymore fire
men, were injured. Therinjuries were
not serious
The flames did over 100000 damage
before they were subdued. No one
knows just how the blaze started, but
at 7'l5 o'clock a number of persons at
almost the same instant saw the flames
bursting from the building, which was
owned by Frank Deardortf and occupied
by the Newly Storage and Transfer
company. BY the time the department
reached the scene the building was
afire from the first floor to the fourth
and burning fiercely. 1t is supposed
that the fire started in box car which
stood on switch which runs into the
basement.
The Deardorff building was five
stories in height and was packed with
merchandise, most of which was high
~ lnfiammabe. Ii had frontage of
As feet and is l2O feet deep. The sides
We're dead walls, making it exceeding
~ difficult for the fircmen to reach the
flames in the center of the building.
The interior was like furnace before
stream OF water was turned on, and
the flames were roaring high above the
roof. A general alarm followed the
first that was turned in.
Within 80 minutes after the fire start.
ed portion of the rear wall fell into
the alley, narrowly missing a group of
tiremen and dragging down the electric
light wires that ran into the building.
1t was in these wires that James +. Nc
Nellis met his death. McNellis was
working in the alley when the wall
fell, some distance from him. Hearing
a cry that some one was injured, he ran
down the alley to assist any that might
have been struck by the flying bricks.
lie had not taken dozen steps until he
collided with live electric wire and
fell into mass of cables coiled on the
ground. Before assistance could reach
him he was horribly burned and died a
few minutes later.
The Deardorff building was leased BY
the Newly Transfer and Storage COM
oany, which occupied the entire build
ng except two office rooms on the floor,
which were let to the Selling Cord
lge company and Goodlet & Bowles,
merchandise brokers. The building I
vas packed from basement to roof }
With cotton, sugar, coffee, binder !
wine, cordage, dried fruits, nuts and :
'anned stutfs, held in storage by the |
Newby company for various whole
alers Two hundred bales of cotton. q
no tons OF cordage and 5000 bags of a
binder Irvine fed the flames that
apidly ate their way through the
loors. A vast quantity of peanuts and
so barrels of sugar made in burning a
ense smoke that settled heavily into
he surrounding streets and hung in
asst clouds over the entire west bot.
Dms.