The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-24

Totals >. ................. .S753. 600 1891, $50
Two-thirds Of million dollars went UP
in smoke yesterday forenoon in a fire
which completely gutted the huge dou-
BILE warehouse Of the st. Paul Cold Stor-
age and Warehouse company, at 201 to 211
Eagle street, adjoining the right Of way
of the Chicago, Milwaukee & st. Paul
railway.
The warehouses were both packed with
merchandise. largely of the perishable ma
ture, and the wreck was complete.
The most hopeful estimates of the in
yesterday was that the salvage on the
insurance might reach 10 per cent, this
being an outside figure.
If the figures as above, necessarily es-
Inmates, as the goods, and the records
of the same, are neither of them acces-
sible now, are correct, then the fire Is
the most disastrous in property loss that
st. Paul has even had.
The fire was discovered a few minutes
before o'clock yesterday morning. and
an alarm turned in from Box Is, Of the
fire alarm system, which Is at Eagle and
Washington streets.
In sending out the call to the various
engine houses, however the call was in
correctly distributed by Operator John
son as from Box Is, which is at Third
and Wacouta streets, in the wholesale
district. A detachment of the fire de-
partment was on the way to this location
before Operator Johnson discovered his
mistake and sent out the correct alarm
Being relieved from duty at o'clock, he
hurried after the wandering companies
on his bicycle and started them right.
Chief Cook, however, who had responded
to the call from the wholesale district
heard the correct call before leaving his
apartments, and on finding no fire at the
district given hurried the companies there
to the right location
Inc chief Is Of the opinion that the
mistake was not momentous as two COM
panles were at the scene as quickly az
they could have been, less perhaps the
minute 1t took to discover the error. and
oy that time the flames had spread so
as to envelop the warehouse nearer the
river entirely. From this the flames
spread to the northerly warehouse. both
being completely gutted.
Inc neat was intense and large aro
pers were hurled out as If by an exnIo-
sion; area after area of the floors fell
VI tifne the second floor held, and the
savage corps attempted to Law their tac-
paulins over the furnishings of the or
hces on the first floor.
WhlIe they were inside noise causad
t5, me crowd TO look towards the top of the
puiiulhg. g Ihe walls were cracking.
Inc hremen saw that this presaoed q
AaIhng of The roof, and thev raised \
shout' which saved the lives Of the rne1I
INSIDE the building. Just as the men
came out, four of them through a nIate
grass window, which they broke for an
tAlt' the debris of the roof tore down he
tween the bare walls, Carrying the ra-n
nahts OF the third floor and the second
floor with It, 'eo'i'1
Chlet Cook caught a CLEAN of fire IN
tle other and larger building which vas
Verltable refrigerator, and deemed ars
PROOF. The only entrance to the buiIdIos
was through the structure which wao
wrapped In flames. He sent two hren,an
on the pertlous errand Of forcing tu,o
doors on the second floor, which oDene6
out on either side of the fire escape
The hremen did their work but vybar
the doors were opened they met with a
wooden wall, and were called down ~
the relief Of the crowds below
Inc flre spread even faster In this briId.
ing than IT did in the first
me building was stocked almost soIid1v
with Grated eggs, butter and other prod.
uce packed In sawdust. Being a modern
cold storage building, the air and thss
packing inside was not damp and the-
FIRE found dry material
Within fifteen minutes after the blezs
was discovered in the second building the &,
roof fell, but the debris was caught ON +.
the floor below, the fourth
The sudden change in Temperatures bad
Continued ON Second Page,