The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-15
SELMA'S Bic BLAZE
CORN ELEVATOR BURNED ALI
 NIGHT.
Still Estimated That the Loss VIII be Between 955, 900 and 460, 900
 New Presbyterian Pastor Reaches the City.
Advertiser Bureau.
 Soino TAb 1l.

AQvertlSer 6ureausl Selma. Feb. 1l
 The big fire in the milling department
 of the International Oil Company. smoui-
 dered all night, and 1t was only by the
 vigilance of the fire department that the
 entire plant was kept from being swept
 away by the names. Tho fire was first
 discovered in the upper room of the ma
 .u,ner, uepar tment anu was tnen Durst-
 ing through the roof. The upper room oi
 II,e milling department Is hlied with ignt
 machinery. The DoitinS cloths qulckiy
 ienIted. for every thing in the room was
 very dry. and in very few minutes IL
 was a roaring flame.
 1t was only the work of rev mo-
 ments for the fire to eat It's way tnrousn
 where the corn is stored. was soon IF
 nited. The elevator is a very tall struc'
 ture. being sixty or seventy feet ni9n,
 and 1t was filled with corn from bottom elevator was still on Ire and heaps of
 corn ten feet high lay about the base Q!
 the structure. where 1t haa run ous through holes that had been burned. heaps, and 1t was badly scorched and waIer-soaked. The corn ana water couio be seen to flow out of the holes Tn the side of-thc elevator In streams six incnes in diameter. The International. Company hsd three burning elevator. Messl1 John Rtakely, Briee Finch and John Tucker. The boiler and engine room was not
 badly damaged Ly. fire. as was stated In | The Advertiser this morning. The dam- age 10 the machinery in that room Is slight and Is fully coyered by insurance.
 representasiv. nr: asS and he saia that th. loss ! could not be estimated ct this time As he ! did not know how much of the corn that 1 was in the elevator could be saved. put
 did not think 1t would be Tar rom tne
 paorning. ss5ooo te $6c.ooo There wa. about 80, 900 insur6nce on the building and | the corn. $13o0o of which was on the lat
 The International Company was fortu- l nate in one respect, for 1t did not have all of its corn in tho elevator at the time. simply because 1t would not hold 1t, and seventeen car loads of the corn was etanding on the tracks iD the yards walt The pressure from the water works when, the flames drst broke. out last
 night Twas poor. but as soon as the ire in the engines at the pumping station could be built up the pressure was very good and remained satlsfactory through out the continuance nf the hre.
 The Alabams Cotton Seed oii Com.
 psny's plant is only couple of hundred zine was started up and hose attached l to the pump and for several hours . | stream of water was poured on the nre from that source, thus materially assist ing the city water works In supprassing | the flames. Several negro cabins nearby were set | on fire by falling sparks on the roof. hut l the occupants of the cabins were on the lookout and pu: out the flames as seon as i they were seen. During the height of
 the fire ssms enc went In the engine room and turned oil the steam. and in escaping 1t made a great noise, . cloud
 of smoke as 1t arose toward the sky. A negro man was on the roof at the time | fighting the fire and he was badly fright ened. He concluded that the boiler was l about to blow up, 70 he made leap for | the ground, some twenty feet belsw. and was so badly hurt by his high jump that
 he had to be taken home in 0 hack.
 young man while watching the ire walked off backwards into one of the big open sewers where the street has a cul-
 vert across it. and landed square on his head in about two feet of ics. cold water. He crawled out slightly bruised, thor oughly wet and scared half out of his
 wits. He made a break for the nearest hack and went home.