The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-01-01
THOUSANDS GO Up IN SMOKE.
Sumter Dry Goods Store Burned
Out Sunday Morning.
Afford Bros. Lose Heavily and
solomons Building is Seriously
damaged.
Total Lass Exceeds Thirty-Five ThoG-
sand 5ollars---Insuraaee S2A,C0C.

sand 5ollars---Insgranee S2A.C0G.
TIE most serious fire that has oc-
Cured in this city since the great
Epperson fire last spring, and one OF
the most destructive of the past seven
or eight years, broke out at 2 o'clock
Sunday morning on the second floor
of the Solomon's building, en- the cor
ner of Main and Liberty Streets.
TRis building is occupied by the
Sumter Dry Goods Co. and Drs. ".
3. and E. P. Afford. The Sumter
Dry Goods Co. occupied the entire
first floor and the rear half of the sec
ond floor, while the Messrs. Afford
had their dental Offices in the front
rooms upstairs.
The fire started in a small room cut
of from the rear end Of the hallway
upstairs, which room was. used for
storage purposes by the Misses Solo
mons, the owners of the building.
In it was stored miscellaneous col
lection of old articles, the greater part
Of which is said to have consisted OF
old furniture and fixtures once used IN
the store when it was occpied by the
late a. a. Solomons. It is said that
this; room has not been opened for
months and there is, no plausible the
ory that accounts satisfactorily for the
origin of the fire, unless it be put
down to the account Of rats and
matches or spontaneous combustion.
The fire had been burning for some-
time before it was discovered, and even
after the policemen on duty detected
the odor Of burning wood and paint
that convinced them that building
in the Immediate vicinity was on fire,
it was was some time before it could
be located. The fire spread from this
little shut-in room, near the center Of
the building and adjoining the wall of
the store occupied by the New Bon
Marche, to the ceiling, and burning
through it, got foothold between the
ceiling and the roof. When the fire
was finally located the flames were be-
ginning to show through the ventilat-
ors in the Main Street end of the
building above the front windows Of
Drs. Affords Office. The space be-
tween the ceiling and roof was at the
time smouldering mass of flames.
The walls separating the several
rooms on the second floor were thin
partitions of pine boards. The fire had
burned through the upper part OF
these and extended TO the dressmaking
department of the Sumter Dry Goods
Co. and rooms adjacent, in which the
reserve stock of dry goods was stored.
The floor was burned through in one
place only-in the small room before
newfoundland this only hole 11a
by feet in dimensions. Through
this Goals of fire had dropped down on
the stairway leading from the Dry
Goods Store to the dressmaking de-
partment, but at this point the fire
had gained little or no foothold, as
there was no inAammable material
within reach.
Just as soon as the fire was located
the fire department. was on hand and
the fight to save the building and pre-
vent the destruction of the entire
block Of stores fronting on Main and
Liberty Streets was begun with the
greatest vigor and determination. The
fight was made from the front, from
the Liberty Street side, from the roofs
OF the adjoining stores and from with
in, one line of hose being carried up
the stairway from the front and into
the upper hallway. The gutters were
plugged with blankets and other goods
taken from the store and the roof kept
flooded with water, while holes were
cut in the tin roof, through which the
water poured in torrents. The fight
against the flames was kept up with
out cessation from shortly after 9
O'Clock until about $50, and when the
fire was gotten under control. It was
a great fight and we'll made, and the
fremen deserve not only the thanks
of the property owners in that block,
but Of every citizen as well, for had
they done less, had they not worked so
faithfully and intelligently, making
the most Of every opportunity and
means within their reach, the fire
would have swept the block clear of
buildings and the loss would have
been many times greater than it was.
The roof of the building is total
wreck, all the rafters and joists being
burned and only the melted and twist
ed tin left hanging between the brick
walls. The second floor is gutted.
nearly everything in it being total
loss, except few bales of domestics
and other heavy goods in the extreme
rear of the second floor, and one
dental chair and cabinet in tie front
room of DR.. Affords Office. These
are badly scorched and soaked with
water.
The goods of the Sumter Dry Goods
Co, although removed as rapidly as
possible, were water-soaked and so
badly damaged by smoke that it is
difficult to estimate the percentage of
damage they sustained. In addition
to the regular stock there were about
thirty handsome dresses unfinished
in the dress making department. and
all of them were burned, together with