The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-12-31

Years.
CHICAGO, Dec. 30-Fire at an early
hour to-day completely Quilted the
buildings extending from 10 20 ~
Monroe street, badly damaged the build
ing at 212-214 Monroe street, caused a
loss aggregating $950,OOO and resulted
in the injury of nine firemen, two Of
them serious.
The injured: Captain Robert O'Con-
nor, serious; James Wolley, serious;
William Paden Michael OHara, Cap
tain John Evans, Captain William Ca
rey, Captain Thomas O'Connor, Luke
hayes, Lieutenant Oswald.
The fire is supposed to have origin
ated on the second floor in the work.
room of Woolley & Co., wholesale
woolens, at 20 and 222 Monroe street,
and, famed by a fierce northwest wind,
spread so rapidly that when the first
company arrived ON the scene the
whole south end of the building was
mass of flames. A second and then
a third alarm was sent in, but in spite
of the tons of water thrown into the
burning buildings by the thirty-eight
engines and two fire tugs, the wind
and the bitter cold SO hindered the
firemen that for a time the entire
wholesale district was in danger.
The flames quickly communicated to
the building at 216 and 21S Monroe
street gradually spreading to ~ and
214 Monroe, where it's progress was
finally checked.
Immense brands were carried as far
as Twelfth street, and the firemen were
busy extinguishing small fires on the
roofs of surrounding buildings.
The principal losses are: Building at
220222 Monroe street, $225, 900; Ed
wards, Stanwood Company, successors
to Phelps, Dodge & Palmer boots and
shoes, third and sixth floors, $2O0,0OO;
Woolley & Co., first and second floors,
wooden goods, $135.O00; Schwartz &c
Kline, shirts fourth floor, $4,000; John
Harper cloak manufactures, fifth floor,
$1,000; building at 216-21S Monroe
street, occupied by J. w. Butler Paper
Company, $25,000; ]. w. Butler Paper
Company, damage on stock, $3.50 UOO,
fully insured; Henry o. Shepard Com
pany, printers, occupying building at
212-214 Monroe street. 100000.
The building at 217 Fifth avenue was
damaged $1,000.
Beside this there were several minor
losses caused by water.
The escape from death of Captains
O'Connor, Evans and Carey and Fire.
men Padden, O'Hara and three others
who escaped injury was little short Of
miraculous. All of the men were work
ing ON the roof of the building at 216-
rs Monroe street, and as the fire crept
closer to the west side of the struet-
ure, the men were gradually driven to-
ward the middle of the roof. Suddenly
the east wall of the building adjoining
fell with a terrific crash. An immense
mass of brick and timbers crushed into
the roof where Captain O'Connor and
his men We're at work. The roof tore
away from the sides and fell with q
crash to the floor beneath, carrying
pipemen O'Hara and Padden down in
the debris, and leaving the others on
the frail broken edge of the roof. high
above the flames Captain O'Connor,
Lieutenant Callahan and pipeman Hor-
gan finally succeeded in rescuing the
two unfortunate men, and crawling
along the shaking walls they made
their way to fire escape and de-
scended safely to the ground.
After the fire had been raging about
oil iouI anu Hall the Walls began TALL
ing, and several firemen were more
or less injured. James Woolley so Sc
riously that he was taken to the hos
pital
The fire was one of the worst the
ire department has had to contend
with in years. The cold was intense,
the barometer being several degrees be-
low zero, and a number Of firemen
were severely frost bitten.