Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-07-23
From Mondays Daily.


O'Connor, and he has for some time
been employed as bridge carpenter
in the bridge gang of which Alonzo
NellanS is foreman, and which is work
ing near Batavia. Several others were
made i'll by the smoke, and some mar
row escapes from death were expert
enced, but through the prompt work
of the city's fire department the loss
of other life and of property was
averted.
The Guests.
The people registered at the hotel
were:
John O'Connor, Mt. Pleasant.
G. H. Crotto, wife and child, of Chi
cago.
l.. H. Fountain, of Chicago
Mr.. and Mrs. Bert Barr, Ottumwa.
E. D. Stutz. Ottum%a.
G. P. Strong, Sheridan, Wyoming.
f. S. Stour, Keokuk.
Alex Scouler, FIT. Dodge.
w. H. Peppers, Ottumwa.
John Deurth, Ottumwa.
Thomas Grace, Ottumwa.
J. H. Byruns, Keokuk
F. R. Gettman, Chicago.
Joseph R. Nugent, Chicago.
w. j.. Converse. Chicago.
In addition to these, there We're in
the building, J. E. Meacham, proprie-
tor of the hotel, and his wife, Ralph
Stire, the day clerk, and several other
employees.
Fire Discovered by Guest.
The fire was discovered at about 3
o'clock by w. l.. Converse, of Chicago,
who was in room No. 6 at the head OF
the stairs leading from the first to the
second floors. He smelled the smoke
and called to baker working at
Yonge's bakery, across Jefferson street
from the hotel. This man gave the
alarm, and in a few minutes the fire de-
partment had arrived on the scene.
having been notified also by c. A. Oil.
yer, the night clerk at the hotel.
Origin of the Blaze.
The fire, it seems, started in a small
closet under sort of platform in the
front part Of the buffet. Three or four
steps leading to this landing, and from
there steps lead to the second floor of
the building.
1t was stated today by Mr.. Meacham
that in his opinion the cause of the fire
was the electric light wires that run
through this closet. 1t is said that
some paints and oils We're stored there
and these probably fostered the blaze
This is still supposition, however,
and no one seems sure of the origin.
Gained Good Headway.
The blaze burned hole through
the thin wall leading to the stairway
where the flames found air and were
drawn up the stairway to the second
floor. Just as the fire department ar
rived and the hose was being attach
ed to the fire plug across Main street
from the burning building, flames shot
out of the windows in the front room
of the second story, over the buffet,
shattering the window glass, and the
blaze reached half way across the
street.
A Wise Provision.
Fortunately, another stairway, par
allel to the one which was burning,
leads from the office of the hotel, to
the second floor, a wall separating it
from the one coming up from the buff
fet. The firemen took their hose up
this second stairs and attacked the
blaze from the head of the stairs.
A Narrow Escape.
Meantime the guests had been
aroused by the night clerk, and most
of them had escaped from the build
ing. There are three stories in the
hotel, all the rooms opening either to
the street or the alley at The rear, and
escape was easy. TIL last man to be
taken out alive was l.. H. Fountain,
commercial traveller whose home is in
Chicago. He was in room IL, on the
third floor, and was unable to escape
from the building, owing to the smoke.
Firemen's Timely Action.
Mr.. Fountain went to the window
in his room which looks out upon JEFF
ferson street, and was seen there by
the people below. Assistant Chief
Henry Howell, of the fire department,
with Driver Charles Shocks, made a
fast run to the city hall, where ladders
were secured, and bringing them back,
Howell quickly had them in place SO
the man could reach the ground in
safety.
John o'connor Dies.
John OConnor, the unfortunate
man who met death during the fire,
was sleeping in room No. is, at the
head of the stairs leading from the
second to the third stories. The
smoke, coming up this flight of stairs,
had an outlet through O'Connor's
room, and the man was overcome be-
fore he could give an alarm. Finally,
when the fire was under control, Ed.
Johnson, the merchants police, found
the mans body in a sitting pesitlen
upon the floor, the head resting hrgn
the bed. He had evidently attenptet
to crawl to the window but had bsen
overcome before reaching 1t.
Good Work by Fire Department.
The damage by fire was not great
rs the department did excellent work
in extinguishing the flames. The only
place that suffered extensively was
the stairway where the fire started.
Here the result was disastrous, but
the amount of loss will not be great.
The fire was put out almost as soon as