The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-30
FIERCE FIGHT With FIRE
Widest Excitement Prevailed
at Jerome Wednesday Night.
MANY DEEDS OF HEROISM
A Car Loaded With Powder Removed
in the Very Nick of Time-Tons
of Burning Coke Fall to the
3OO-Foot Level.

Jerome, Ariz., June 29.-Since the fl
ing of the last associated press dispatch,
Wednesday night, Jerome has been one
scene of wild excitement without in
terruption. The great copper camp has
not before experienced such wild tur-
moil in its weird and charmed career
The disorder had it's incpiency with
the breaking out of the fire in the large
reverberatory at the smelling works of
the United Verde Copper company
Tuesday night, and has increased at
frightful rate. The reverberatory is
one of the principal buildings of the
copper company and within easy reach
of every other building belonging to the
great plant, and 1000 men are employed
around the smelter This force of men
fought the flames with a desperate
courage born of a knowledge of the
far-reaching consequences of the de-
struction of the property.
To the east of the reverberatory is
the smelter and the great copper fur
races, and to the north the power
house with $4,000 square feet of floor
space covered with Corliss engines,
electric light plants. and the like, val
ued at $250,000; coke bins containing
5000 tons of coke, above the trestle
works of the United Verde & Pacific
railway, with train of freight cars,
one of which was loaded with giant
powder. South were the offices of the
company's officials. From its point Of
vantage the fire at the start proved to
be the master of the situation, and in a
few minutes consumed the outer walls
of the bins containing the coke, pre-
cipitating this mass of inftammable ma
terial into the flames. The great heat
generated from this was something be-
yond the power of humans to cope with
and set fire to the trestle work under
the railroad and the string of cars
thereon.
The car loaded with powder was not
thought of until the car next to it was
on fire. A train crew took out an en-
gine and went through the binding
smoke and over the burning trestle to
the car and pulled it safely out of
harms way. not, however, until the
brakeman who coupled the car to the
engine had his hair singed, Five min
| ntes, after the carload of powder was
removed the remaining cars fell on the
fire below.
The company's officials We're deter
mined to save the power house at all
cost To accomplish this all the water
of the city was shut off, and 5000 peo-
pie were without water in the dryest
climate in the world. To further ag-
gravate this cause, the river can be
seen flowing quietly at the foot of the
mountain, seemingly not quarter OF a
mile away. but it is seven miles. Few
complaints were heard, however, from
any of them and a mighty cheer was
given when break was finally made in
the coke and 1t was realized that there
was a good chance to save the mine
and smelter. While this contest was at
it's height tons of live coke fell through
the shaft to the 300-foot level, and be-
fore it could be told great volume of
smoke rolled out of the mine. Volun-
teers We're called for to go down and
fight the flames in the bowels of the
earth and the response was prompt and
hearty. 1t was with the utmost diff
Guilty that the men made their way
through the great shaft leading into
the mine proper The fumes from the
burning sulphur was simply impossi-
BILE for common men to cope with. 1t
took eight hours to get the fire in the
mine under control.
yesterday morning, quoted in the
Butte Miner. w. A. Clark said that the
loss by the Jerome fire is fully covered
by insurance and that work at the
mine will not be seriously interrupted