The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-08-20
WILL Be BUILT OF BRICK
New Foundry Department Store
House to Be Permanent,
TO BE ERECTED AT ONCE
Superintendent Hickey Says the Fire
Was Not OF Incendiary Origin.
Tells How 1t Started From
Electric Wires.

When the A. c. NJ company rebuilds
the foundry department storehouse
which was destroyed early yesterday
morning, it will construct the new
building Of steel or brick.
1T is not the policy of the company
to construct. any more wooden or
frame buildings" said Superintendent
John S. Hickey of the foundry depart
ment, yesterday. when the burned
building is replaced it will be with a
permanent structure of brick or steel.
The new building will be erected as
soon as possible.
so far as / am able to Judge, I be-
lieve the damage will be found to be
between $4,000 and s3O,O00 Much of
the stock was saved There were stor-
ed in the building large quantities of
rivets, nails, bolts, safety valves, traps,
all sizes OF globe valves, pipe fittings
and similar articles. These being of
iron, are little damaged. / believe not
more than 5 per cent of this class of
stock is ruined The rubber betting
hose, waste, shovel handles, kegs in
which nails and other iron ware were
contained, were of course all destroy
ed. The quantities of insulated wire
cause the insulation was burned off.
The copper wire is practically safe.
The inconvenience by reason of the
loss of the stock is light because we
carry duplicate stock in Butte.
The loss of the building is not
severe one. 1t could be rebuilt as it
stands for about $4,000. 1t contains a
stone basement, which, of course, is
practically unframed. The dimensions
of the building were 200 feet by so
feet.
Il want to deny the impression given
out at first that the fire was of incen-
diary origin. To-day we have raade
an investigation which shows the fire
could not have been set by human
hand. Furthermore, we know of no
one who would do such a deed.
Back of the office. inside of the
building, was a switch board used for
the arc lights in the building. 1t vas
in the vicinity of this board that the
fire started. We believe that the roof
leaked allowing water to drop down
on the switch board. short circuit;ng it
and starting the blaze. The insulation
on the wire is of inflammable material,
so the fire ran along it and ignited the
wooden timbers. This is the theory
that accords best with the results.
There is also theory that a long
crowbar may have been placed against
two wires, connecting them and caus-
ing a spark.
whatever the cause-and it must
be attributed to the wires-we know
that the fire started from the inside
In no place did it burn down under the
walls. 1t did burn from the inside cut
under the caves, and sparks dropped
from there to a barrel of sweepings
and waste standing outside. This was
the fire on the outside that Waterman
Bliss saw
LAS near as we can place the time
the fire was discovered at 12:43 a. m.
The last person in the warehouse was
the Waterman, who went in at $50 to
get some stock, turned on the arc lights
for a few minutes, and then turned
them out. In making his rounds he
looked in between - and l O'Clock and
saw everything was all right. He lock-
ed the door, went around the back of
the building and down to the stable,
where we have 10 head of horses, to see
that all was safe there. We had a fire
in the stable a year and half ago,
when we lost 10 head of stock, so we
watch that building closely. In five or
six minutes from the time he left the
warehouse he returned to it and dis
covered the fire well under way. He
opened the door, got an eXtinguisher
and went in, but quickly saw he could
do nothing, so ran to the fire alarm
box. He had little difficulty in get
ting the box open. Altogether, 1t was
about ~ minutes from the time the fire
BY that time the blaze had gained
great headway."
Yesterday number of men and
teams were at work clearing away the
debris.