The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-04-08
FLAMES DAMAGE PLANT
FIRE AND SMOKE RAGE AMONG
THE UNION MATTRESS COM
PANYtS STOCK
LOSS COVERED BY INSURANCE
Several of the Employees Have Mar
row Escapes in Fleeing From
the Rooms of the Build
ing.

The plant Of the Union Mattress COM
pany. occupying four-story building at
5S Minnesota street was damaged by
fire to the extent of $4,000. The loss is
covered by insurance. For q time 1t
looked as though the building would be
completely destroyed. but concentrated
work by the fire department kept the
flames from reaching above the second
floor. The nature of the stock, however,
make the loss from smoke and water
heavy. The damage to the building Is
estimated at $1,000 The mattress COM
pany consists of j. w. McHose and
George A. Pardoe The building former
ly belonged to e. NJ. Hallowell. the car
riage manufacturer but is at present in
the hands of the st. Paul Title and Trust
company The loss on the building is
covered by insurance.
When the fire broke out much excite
ment prevailed about the building, and
some of the employees had a narrow es-
cape from the rapidly spreading flames
| A number of young women ran from the
i building without stopping to don their
| wraps Miss Mary Nathan, a stenogra-
| pher, was overcome by smoke and was
/ carried unconscious from the office by
/ the nremen. She soon recovered Suffi-
! ciently to go home Some delay was ex-
! perienced by the department in getting
water on the flames and the fire COM
municating readily to the infammabla
! stock, spread with great rapidity Be
fore the first stream was directed against
/ the flames smoke poured frCm every win
! dow OF the four stories, and volumes OF
j blaze leaped from the lower openings
! Anticipating a fierce fire. Chief Cook
1 summoned six engine companies. and eff
| fective service was done, once the fire.
men got to work
The fire started in the basement, di-
rectly under the Office where picker, :"
/ machine used for separating the ma
terlai to I'LL mattresses. was In opera ton
spark caused by friction Of the ma
/ chine, falling among the loose Infiamma-
! Die material being prepared quickly, de-
Veioped lively blaze. Before steps to
eXttngutsh the fire could be taken it had
spread beyond control and the plant
appeared doomed. AS the flames caught
the materials in the stock, such as
! hair, feathers and paints. clouds of
black smoke poured from the buildings
F. and almost obscured the structure In
| a short time the basement was like a
| furnace of flame, and despite the efforts
of the department, the fire spread to
the second floor. Following an eieva-
tor shaft the fire reached the third floor
but was here headed off. That there
| was not much fire in all of the upper
/ stories. however, was not known by the
firemen and water was thrown into the
building from every available opening
! sc that much of the stock WAS damaged
| In this way. The building Is imne-
| diately adjacent to the Mount Zion syna-
gogue, and 1t was feared the fire might
! communicate to the edifce. The fact that
:, the seat of the fire was in the end Of the
plant most removed from the synagogue
] however. coupled with the work of the
department, obviated danger. though
/ the church interior was slightly damaged
by smoke. %tEsz
When the fire was finally gotten. under
control an investigation showed that the
flames had not spread beyond the third
floor. The heat throughout the build
ing had been intense. though, and with
the water used everywhere the entire
stock was more or less damaged. The
company estimates the value of its
| stock at the present time at $40, coo.
The machinery in the basement and all
of the material there was totally de-
stroyed. On the first floor the firm kept
wire mattresses and beds. This part of
the stock was also badly damaged. On
the second floor was a quantity of hair
valued at $1,000 that is total loss and
many complete mattresses stored here
were also badly damaged. The third
floor was used as show room. where
much completed stock was kept. The
damage here was mostly from the in
tense heat, that blistered the painted
goods, and from smoke and water. A
large stock Of feathers on the fourth
floor and much surplus stock stored
! here were seriously damaged by smoke
and water
The firm carries s14,5OO insurance, placed
O. md IN
Knauft The loss Is distributed among
fifteen companies represented by these
agencies. Mr.. Doolittle declined to give
out a list OF the policies.