The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-11-28
FIRE SWEEPS THE
DIXIE PLOW SHOP
Moulding Room Goes;
| Houses Threatened.
| WAS ALMOST A PANIC
Families Living Upstairs in Main
Street Prepared to flee.
| DAMAGE WAS ABOUT $1,000.
DAMAGE WAS ABOUT $1,000.
Danger from Paint Averted by Duck Work
of Firemeu-Thls Is the Third Fire ia
the Moulding Room OF the Factory.
Crowds Blocked the Alleys
and lnterfered With the
Work Of F;,emer

! For the third time the mouleiinE-room
of Starke's Dixie PEow Works was burned
last night.
The building was located between Fiji
teenth and Seventeenth Streets. and Main
and cary Streets on ehc north aud south.
While .l,c loss only about SIorr.
the fire was rich in possibilities of de-
structiou. and so dangerous did it seem
! at enc time and so difficult for the fire.
men to reach, that numerous families
! living along Main Street over the stores
directly III front OF TIE new Union Depot
prepared to move The loss is covered by
insurance.
Had the fire ever gained sufficient hedo-
way to reach 1t large quantity of varnish
and paint stored in the western end of
the burning building. there would have
been an explosion which would have seat
tered the fans over hundreGs of feet. Inn
medately after the fire department. ar
rived, however particular attention was
paid to this e.,d Of tire building. with the
result that it was totally DESTROYED. save
for the corner which contained the paints.
board Air Line viaduct which runs direct
Iy over the top of the mouldns-room.
were burned somewhat. although the
harm to the structure vas not such as TO
delay traffic IN any way
BEGAN AROUT MIDNIGHT
The fire was discovered by Policeman
| DugSins about fifteen minutes TO II
o'clock. With Policeman thinner he turn
! ed in an ,,;arm from cary ana Fifteenth
| Streets, and within IL very short While the
| fire department. was there and three or
/ four streams were on the flames The,
1 noriS-of the department vas quick and
/ decisive. and within half an kour the fire
was well Iii hand. Streams We're kept
playing on the ruins until 1:SO o'clock.
| however, at which time the last vestis"
of sparks had been eNtinSuisheo-
| AT first. as the fire sew. there was
something nearly approaching panic IN
| the llnrer stories Of the stores on Main
| Street which were separated from the
| burning building by IL narrow alley. y
! dozen or more families live over these
! shops ana as soon as the cry of fire was
| raised they were all aroused hurriedly
| pulled on their clothes, and then stood on
| the roof and shivered they made semi
| arrangements for flight. Within a few
/ minutes. however I'll danger TO ti:ese
buildings was past, and then All the fur
| ,iture and trunks that had been placeS
! outside had to be put back in the houses
TRAFFIC, WAS BLOCKED.
| While the fire was at least two hundr"d
feet away from Main Street. being eX-
| actly in the center of the Gig block
! which extends from Fifteenth TO Seven
| teenth Streets. it had The effect OF tying
up the car service for an hour. \ hose
! line was laid across the street from in
front OF the new depot and this disorsa-
! uized the car service for the time De
| ing There was Il rumor at one time
/ that the new depot was burning, and
| this drew hundreds of persons who packed
| the alleys and nterfered with the work
| of the tiremen- From time TO time Il stray
f! stream OF water cold ard chilling. scat
| tered judiciously over the crowds which
! bic cked the various alleys, had the effect
| OF making lots of room temporarily for
| the iiremer.
Tie offices and warerocms OF the Dixie
! Plow Works are at No. South Fif-
teeEth Street and there Mr.. f. -. Starke
! oNrer OF the works, was seen early this
rnort:inG. He said he could cot, yet.
| estimate the damage. owing to the face
that he Fad no immediate way OF learn
ing the full extent of the work of tho
flames. Whether or not he would re-
| build hr could not say. 1t IS probable
that he will. The building burned was 9.
frame structure 10 by 90 feet, and car
| be rer:aeed quickly
ORIGIN NOT KNOWN
AS to the origin of the fire. there is
| COZ S:d. bile tiou;1t. 1t is known that t.
started somewhere Fear the boiler, which
is located in the uoulding-room and
froE. there it spread rapidly. Whether
it was spark from the boiler no one
can say. but it IS believed that this was
the c@se. and that the spark settled in
! Il pile OF pattern francs 1ear and thence
! ie;d to the building proper. The flames
were well advanced when Policeman Dug
| gin first saw ther.,.
insurance OF. the burned building and
i contents amounts iii the aggregate to So
ga. This was ali placed through the
rirm OF Julius Straus and Sons. With tn.
Viz gini,t Fire and Marine Company tiers
. is Si,5oO. which amount is distributed
+ an oug other companies. leaving the Eir-
| ginisI Company with actual holdings Of
only sl,5o0, with the British--American
Assurance Company. there is Sc.50G., and
with the Western Assurance Company.
$4,000. This is distributed as follows:
Bi:i;dinS 81 500: engines $50. cupoia $50:
/. patterns. S50o; stock, $500 and machinery.
sa,6e0.