The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-04-19

on fire last night. 1t burned fiercely
for more than IS minutes and the
flames from the murky ooze rising to a
height of so feet set fire to the Kinzie
street bridge and the Northwestern rail-
road bridge and to the approaches to
both bridges and the docks between
them. The damage wrought by the fire
was as follows:
To Kinzie street bridge and ap-
To the Northwestern railroad
prldge .------.---- ------------ 1'0OO
To John Druker's warehouse. 200
To the docks. Observation-Disclosures. 200
The blaze and the giant column of
dense black smoke caused by the igni-
ted oil, grease. and gas of the river
were seen by hremen- Without waiting
for an alarm bell, engines and trucks
from the West, South and North sides
practically contiguous at this place
went flying to the scene. Within a few
minutes after the mysterious ignition
the firemen were there. Streams of wa
ter were turned on the burning bridges
first ,as the most valuable things to be
saved, and then they turned the streams
on the river to quench it.
No satisfactory explanation of the
origin of the fire was found by either
Assistant Fire Chief Musham or Mar
shall Campion. They agreed that the
rivers surface was covered with oil
Gas probably contributed to the flames
and caused the fire. but whether it was
sewer gas or illuminating gas the fire
experts could not say. The Kinzie
street sewer emptieS in the river under
kinZie street bridge and it probably
was from the sewer the oil came Where
the gas came from was not learned, but
it may have been generated in the filth
in the river bed.
From all of the manhoIes of the Kin
zie street sewer as far west as DeS-
PLANES street black smoke came up in
to the street and fire alarms were turn
ed in by the police all along the route
of the sewer.
KUJAWA RUNS FOR HIS LIFE.
Assistant Rridgetender William Ku-
java on KinZie street bridge smelled
gas at $50 O'Clock. he said. Then he left
the bridge and went into his shanty at
the west approach and remained there
half an hour, when he was surprised to
see flames leaping and roaring from the
placid face of the river.
Il didn't know what had happened"
said Kujawa. so 1 just run for my
life When I got about three blocks
away see it amt nothing but the river
afire so 1 tears off for box and sends
in the alarm
for the crossing formed at the west end
of the Northwestern bridge by the
tracks of that company and the Chi
cago. Milwaukee & St Paul railroad
He was within 20 feet of the mysterious
fire when it happened.
I can't tell anything about it. except
that I sat here smelling the gas said
Stockwen. THE first thing 1 knew
the river and the sky was on fire and
I was all out of breath from running
away"
Traffic was impeded on the North
western and Milwaukee roads from Z
until $50 O'Clock. Four incoming su-
burban trains on the Northwestern
were delayed in the yards west of the
river The Milwaukee trains were de-
layed by having their tracks impeded
by lines of hose.
CAUSE OF FIRE A MYSTERY.
Just before the fire started a train
spark might have fallen from the en-
eine into the river. setting the oil and
gas anre. The watchman thereabout,
however, said the fire was first seen
near the Kinzie street bridge. 1t began
with a roaring noise. There was no
explosion, all of the ignition was in
the open air. The mouth of the KinZie
street sewer is lower than the surface
of the river and yet the sewer was
tilled with smoke that came up out of
the manholes for a distance of half
mile.
lIinzie street bridge will be closed to
traffic for several days. The structure
was weakened with the burning of the
planks and beams and the west ap-
proach was torn up by the firemen so
as to get at the fire that burned be-
meath. The large warehouses of John
Drucker on the dock south of the
Northwestern bridge were slightly dam
aSGu DS bAS ASAiiCSs Jul ~ OA4lS AACOSC9
burned were two small watchmen's
shanties on the dock. The dock was in
flames for distance of 500 feet.
Bridgetender William O'Hara at the
Kinzie street bridge did a heroic part
by going on the bridge while it was
flaming and turning it open. 1t is
opened by a hand wrench and it was
slow and perilous work but when it
vas open the fireboat Yosemite was able
to get where it could do the best work.
O'Hara retreated TO the other end of
the bridge when he had opened it and
the crowd that had gathered on both
sides of the river cheered him. The fire.
men looked for a leaking gas main in
the vicinity. but did not find it.
TWENTY ALARMS SENT IN.
More alarms were turned in for this
fire than ever were sounded on account
of one fire since the alarm boxes have
been in use. Owing to the peculiar ad-
lacency of the fire to the three divisions
OF the city it was seen in many fire en-
gine houses. and from these twelve still
alarms were turned in From the
street alarm boxes six alarms were sent
and two private calls sent in the alarm.
making a total of twenty alarms for
the one fire. The fire alarm operators
smoke coming out of a Kinzie street
sewer manhole turned in an alarm
This explains why every alarm box
from the river to Halstead street was
registered on the fire. In addition to
these tenders of the two bridges ran
in different directions and all of them
Srnt in alarms.
The Chicago river is combustible. ac-
corning to the opinion of firemen. and