Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1902-05-29
A TREMENDOUS BLAZE.
S. p. ID. s. L. Co. and Williams Bros.
Factories and Lumber Yards
Destroyed by Fire.

alarm was sounded for what proved
to be one of the towns most destruc-
tive and sensational fires, as the en-
tire factory plant and the contents of
the lumber yards of the S. p. d. &
L. Co. and Williams Bros. , factories,
four dwelling houses and Numerous
small buildings We're consumed, and
went up in smoke in an incredibly
short time.
Throughout the afternoon brisk
wind was blowing from the south
west. A refuse pile of sawdust and
shavings was burning at what was
supposed to be a safe distance from
the lmuber piles, The wind blew
the burning sawdust across the inter-
vening space, crossing the railroad
track and igniting shavings and splin-
ters at the edge of the lumber yard.
By the time the men in the lumber
yard were alarmed and reached the
scene, the fire was past control.
The factory whistle then sounded the
alarm, but by the time the fire COM
pany reached the fire it had gone past
all hope of management
Once gaining u hold in the piles of
dry lumber with the strong wind to
augment it, the fire spread like a fan.
1t looked for a time as though the fac
tory might be saved as the wind was
not directly in its direction Heroic
efforts were made to cut the fire off
from the factory, but to no purpose.
Several of the firemen were overcome
by heat at this point when II gust of
wind blew the heat and flames from
one of the blazing piles directly into
the faces of the foremost. George
Hartman fell unconscious and was
rescued with difficulty. The heat
from the burning lumber quickly be-
came so intense that it was impossible
to get anywhere near the fire. All
then realized that the factories were
doomed and that efforts to save them
were useless. The workers then turn
ed their attention to the threatened
dwellings.
When the fire reached the S. p. ID.
& L. factory it fairly burst into
flame Filled with inflammable mat
ter and already heated almost to the
point of ignition, it was roaring
mass of flames in few seconds
Williams Bros factory and the
small dwellings just north of it were
consumed in few minutes in the
tremendous heat from the larger fac
tory. The residence of @. l.. Edger-
ton and three small dwellings belong
ing to Giles Davis were consumed,
hardly vestiago Of them remaining.
Most of the movables were carried
away before the fire reached them.
The residences just east of the fac
tories were saved by persistant wet
ting down with small hose and by
bucket brigades in the terrific heat
until the big hose was brought to
bear ON them. Lively work was done
to save the residences of G.. Ii. Parker
and o. p Harvey at the north edge
of the lumber yard. At one time
their destruction seemed certain, but
the wind shifted in the nick of time
and bucket brigades held the fire at
the alley until division of the fire
company arrived ON the scene with
the hose. BY hard work, the fire was
checked at this point. Nearly all the
residents of this part of town emptiod
their houses and in many cases the
belongings were scattered far and
wide, so that the loss in breakagc and
displacement is considerable. The
burned district covers about 10 acres
and most of this was covered with
piles of lumber These burned bril-
liantly till far into the night and
large crowds gathered in the evening
to witness the spectacular sight.
| All through the night the fire whirl-
winds kept forming, scattering sparks
and danger to the near by dwellings,
making constant watch necessity.
The next day the burned area pre-
sented desolate appearance, Tn,
greater portion of it being swept bare
as a floor not even ashes remaining
All that remained Of the faotorie,
were few brick and pile Of scraI
iron
The directors Of the S. p. d. s. L.
Co held meeting Tuesday forenoon
and decided TO rebuild Immediately
Some changes will be made in Ia,
plan Of the factory, but in dimension
and capacity the new plant will b,
fully equal If not superior TO the old
Williams Bros. also will rebuild i'm
modiatcly, but will make some chang,
in the location of their plant Be
fore the ground was fairly cool, th,
lumber teams were unloading lumbol
on the blackened area. The S. =. d. &
L. Go. will rush the building Of tn,
new factory with all possible speed
All their men will be employed il
its construction.
A large number Of men were cm
ployed in the factories and yards an,
, the industry is one Of the importan
factors in the prosperity Of Tia,
town.
The aggregate loss Is somewher
near 500 600 Tho $ =. d. & L. Go
estimate their loss at about Sij, 900
with about So, 900 insurance; win
Jams Bros loss is about 5l3. 900, will
r no insurance; G. J.. Edgcrton, abou
( 5000; Giles Davis, about $500 TIN
y loss Of the adjacent neighborhood cal
not easily be calculated, but all th