Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-08-13
A DESTRUCTIVE FIRE
The Store of the Santa Fe Mercan-
tile Company Burned Out on
Saturday Night,
LOSS MAY FOOT UP $4,000
A Wrangle Between City officials and the
Firemen-Adjoining Buildings Saved
with Great Difioulty-N No Insur-
ance on the Building.


The Gaspar Ortiz block on San Fran
cisco and Gaspar streets, opposite the
First National bank, was wrecked by
fire on Saturday night. 1t was chiefly
occupied by The Santa Fee Mercantile
company, Adolph Gusdorf manager,
who carried a stock of dry goods and
millinery estimated to be worth about
$2S, 900. The first alarm was sounded at
about 1880 o'clock. Vivian Padilla,
night waiter at Conway's restaurant,
was the first to give the alarm. He was
in front of COnway's when looking
across the street, he saw through the
glass doors in the mercantile COM
pany's establishment a small blaze,
we'll toward the rear of the main room.
He shouted as he ran to the hose house
and set off the fire bell. The fire de-
partment appeared in full force and in
an hour had the flames under control, 1t
was thought. Most of the firemen hen
left the place, but it seems that the fire
was only partially smothered and kept
burning beneath the ceiling and the up
per floor, breaking out afresh later in
several different parts of the big build
ing. The entire building was filled with
a dense smoke, making it impossible to
get into it on either the first or second
floors. The tin roof and the veneering
of tin which encased the second story
rendered the deluge of water from two
nozzles practically ineffective, and al
most before anybody seemed to realize
it the whole interior of the building
was in flames again. The firemen and
the whole GROVE Of workers then APP
peared to become panic-stricken. The
mayor, city marshal and policemen ap-
peared on the scene and berated the
firemen for not holding the flames in
check when they at first had them un-
der control. Most of the bremen quit
work, the chemical engine crew, with
one Or two exceptions. resigned in a
body and quit the service and for a time
there was confusion. 1t was then too
late to save much Of the building and
it's contents, but citizens buckled in and
worked for five hours with a view to
prevent the spreading of the flames to
Walker & Co.'s double story brick adj
joining and other adjacent property.
would certainly communicate to other
buildings, but by dint of hard work this
was prevented.
Alderman ]. w. Akers was one of the
first on the scene after the alarm was
| given, and gave directions to the fire.
fighters to confine their efforts to saving
the abutting buildings. He had taken
the keys from Mr.. Gusdorf and de-
Of creating a draft through the build
ing. At that time the fire, he explains,
vas confined to one real room, where
there appeared to be nothing burning
on the floor, but the fire was dropping
from the ceiling. Mr.. Gusdorf says at
that time, after the flames had been
got under control, as it was thought,
the total damage to the premises would
not have exceeded 81, 500. There was a
large amount of water poured in upon
but the sitting smoke, the tin casing
and the adobe walls made 1t impossible
to reach the main confiagration, and
so it burned on despite the water. 1t
was early discovered that the flames
were spread all along beneath the Sec
ond floor. Eight rooms on this floor
were occupied by Hon. Luis M. Ortiz,
territorial auditor, and his family. who
had locked the premises securely and
had gone to their Los Luceros ranch.
Several persons made an effort to break
down the doors with a view to saving
some of Mr.. Ortiz effects. but say the
firemen stopped them, as it was thought
the floors in all these rooms were un-
dermined and likely to go down at any
moment. Thus it %happended that Mr..
Ortiz lost all his effects, consisting of
household goods, five trunks of cloth
ing and considerable jewelry, some of
which had been in his family for w
100 years, and was very highly priced,
also a small 3O-day, clock brought from
Europe by his father-in-law in 1848, and
which had a remarkable record, having
run constantly for AZ years and never
needed repair. Mr.. Ortiz estimates his
500. Max Knodt's meat market was
damaged, he states, to the extent Of
about $500. He carried $500 insurance in
s. E. Lankard's agency. Felix Griego.
the barber occupying a room adjoining
the meat market, was nominally dam
aged, most of his effects being saved.
The Santa Fe Mercantile company. as
above stated, estimates the value Of Its
stock at about $2s, 900. The books and
accounts were saved, and from the wa
saved a few hundred dollars worth Of
blankets, clothing and notions. The
insurance on the stock figures up about
1923, 900, the bulk Of it being in 8. e.
Lankard's agency, the remainder with
Wunschmann & Cos agency, and $1,000
in the Continental company, now rep
resented locally by A. M. Dettelbach.
There was no insurance on the
building. This was of adobe, veneered
with brick and tin, two stories in
height, about 100 feet on San Francisco
street and extending back on Gaspar
avenue $50 feet. The building and lot
on which 1t stood were valued at $780,
900. Miguel Chaves, Of Rio Arriba coun-
ty, has for several years held a mort
gage on the property, the principal be-
ing $4,000. but with accrued interest,
this now amounts to nearer $1,000, and
Hon. T. D. Burns also had $1,000 loaned
on the same property. Until a year
ago, Miguel Chaves kept the property