The morning news., 1899-12-31
CONFEDERATION IN CHICAGO.
Loss rs ESTIMATED AT NEARLY A
MILLION DOLLARS.

Two Large Monroe street Buildings
and Their Contents Were De-
strOyed-T'wo Flremen We're seri-
ously Injured-Wan Fell In ana
Several Narrowly Escaped With
Their Lives-Firemen Had TO Com
tend With Severe Cold.
Chicago, Dec. 30.-Flre at an early hour
to-day completely gutted the buildings ex-
tending from 216-222 Monroe street badly
damaged the building at 2l2-2l4 Monroe
street causing loss aggregating $780,
600, and resulting in the injury of nine
hremen. Two of them, Capt. Robert
O'Connor and James Woney. were serious
ly injured.
The fire is supposed to have originated
on the second floor in the work room of
Woo.ley & Co. wholesale wooens, at 220
and 222 Monroe street and famed by a
fierce northwest wind, spread so rapidly
that when the first fire companies arrived
on the scene the whole south end of the
building was a mass of flames.
a second and then third alarm was
sent in, but in spite Of the tons of water
thrown into the burning buildings by
thirty-eight engines and two fire tugs the
wind and the bitter cold so hiudered the
fremen that for a time the entire whole
sale district was in danger
The flames quickly communicated to the
buildings at PIG and 2lS, but there their
progress was finally checked. Immense
brands were carried long distances, and
the firemen were kept busy extinguIshing
small fires on nearby roofs. The prin-
cipal losses follow:
Building at 22O-222 Monroe street, loss
Se25 0o0 Edwards, Stanwood g. Co., sue
cessors to Phelps, Dodge & Palmer, boots
and shoes. third and sixth floors. woolen
goods. loss SlS5,000 building at 2l6-2ls
Monroe street. occupied by j. W. Butler
Paper Company. loss $25OJO j. w Butler
Paper Company damage to stock, $780,
600, fully insured; Henry o. Shepard Com
pany, printers occupying building at 2l2-
2l4 Monroe, loss, 100000 The building
at 217 Fifth avenue was damaged to the
extent of 5000. Most of the losses are
wen covered by insurance.
some Narrow Escapes.
The escapes from death of Capts.
O'ConnOr, Evans and Carey, ana Ftremen
Pad5en, O'Hara and three others was lit
tie short of miraculous. All of the men
were working on the roof of the building
at z16-2lS Monroe street. and as the fire
cfept closer to the west side Of the struc-
ture. the men were gradually driven to-
ward the middle of the roof.
Suddenly The east wall of the building
adjoining fell with terrific crash An i'm
mense mass of brick and timbers crushed
into the roof where Capt. O'Connor and his
men were al work The roof tore away
from the sides and fell with a crash to the
floor beneah h, carrying Pipemen OHara
and Padden down in the debris and leav-
ing the others on the frail broken edge of
the roof high above the flames.
Capt. O'Conuor. Lieut. Callahan and
Pipemen Fountain and Horgan, finally
succeeded in rescuing the two unfortun-
ate pipemen, and crawling along the
shaking walls. made their way 10 the fire
csc ape and safely to the ground.
AT er the fire had been raging about an
hour and half, the walls began falling,
ard several firemen were more or less in
ju ed, James Wolley so seriously that he
4 was taken 90 the hospital
The fire was one of the worst in years.
ard the intense cold hampered the firemen
in their work.