Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1902-12-26
lFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS DESTROYED
Structures for Housing 10000 Head Of
Sheep Totally Destroyed.
FIREMEN ARE HANDICAPPED BY WEATHER
Intense Cold and high Wind Make Their
Work Difficult.
PLANT WILL BE REBUILT At ONCE
General Manager KenyOn Gives Diree-
tions for RecORstructIOn Before
the Blazing Roofs FAN
To the Ground.


The big sheep barns at the Union stock
yards in South Omaha were totally de-
stroyed by fire Thursday forenoon Il Is
estimated that the loss will be a little
over $4,000, fully covered by insurance.
Just how the FIRE started has not been
ascertained. All that is known so far is
that one of the employees discovered the
oiaze and Immediately sounded the alarm.
betore any Of the firemen arrived the en-
tire main structure was in flames and great
clouds Of black smoke rolled Iazily away
towards the south The smoke attracted
the attention of people all over the city
and within half an hour after the flames
broke out the yards and surrounding fences
were almost black with people
Ihe main structure was 700 feet in length
aeO teet In width and thirty feet high II
was constructed of timbers and was
sheathed on the outside with corrugated
iron. The flooring was Of vitrIned brick.
hThis building was erected several years arm
Last year the stock yards company found
need OF Increased capacity and erected an
addition 200 feet long by 200 feet in width
thirty feet high, south Of the big barn
rms building was similar in construction
TO the other and was also DESTROYED.
At the time Of the fire 993 head OF sheen
were confined in pens in the big barn. When
the alarm was given some of the men at
hand hustled out 500 head into the alleys
and these were saved, the balance were
smothered to death.
The barns burned had a capacity OF TO-
900 head
! The loss on the sheep is estimated at
*S'OOo' fully covered by insurance.
Hard Fight for Firemen.
When "A general alarm was sounded all
Of the packing house companies responded
to assist the city firemen and the stock
yards department. On account OF the heat
and the intense smoke II was a dificult
matter for the fremen to make their way
| into the building for quite a time. Then
the intense cold delayed the making of
couplings and the throwing of water. Every
available stream was turned onto the burn
Ing buildings and It was by extremely hard
work that the fre was put out without rs
spreading more than II did
When II was seen that the big barn was
doomed and the wind was blowing briskly
from the north, driving the flames towards
the addition, every effort was made to stay
the flames. Men at the nozzles OF half a
dozen lines OF hose waded through slush
up to their boot tops and turned streams
on the rapidly advancing flames. These
men did their best to save the addition,
but as the breeze freshened II was found
useless. Then the attention OF the depart
ment was turned to the covered runways
leading to the tracks and chutes where
sheep are unloaded. BY hard work the
chutes and runways were saved.
Many of the men from the packing house
| fire departments responded to the alarm
totally unprepared for such a hard siege.
Some came without caps and others with
out gloves. Quite a number OF meu were
forced to retire on account of frostbite.
Others rubbed snow on hands and ears and
kept at work. .
VIII Rebuild mt once.
After the fire was under control General
| Manager Kenyon was seen In his office by
Bee reporter. He said "As far as 1
can learn. no cause for the Are can be
given. but propose instituting an investi-
cation at once. Perhaps in this way can
determine the cause. The fire in the big
barn spread rapidly, so that It seemed as
II the entire structure was ablaze at once"
Continuing. Mr. Kenyon said: For the
Union Stock Yards company. want to re-
\ turn thanks to the city hre department
! and the packing house departments for the
| excellent work performed under very try
| ing conditions. You may state that the
new hog division was not damaged at all
and that all shipments OF sheep will for a
short time be diverted TO this portion of
the yards. The sheep barns win be re-
| built at once"
Mr. Kenyon directed Engineer King to
at once wire for material for the construc-
tion of barns to take the place OF those
destroyed. The work Of removing the
wreckage will commence today
Mayor KOutsISy Works Hard.
| Mayor Koutsky was on the ground early
and he did everything he could to help the
| hremen. He handled hose waded up to his
ankles in water, and when the FIRE was
under control he dropped his work and
sought a FIRE. He was covered with ice
/ from head to foot. w. L. Holiahd was
another volunteer who did good workI so
! did ]. s. Walters, assistant superintend-
| ent Of the yards and w. II. cressey. chief
Of the Joint Car Inspection association.
Many Of the employees OF the packing
houses rendered assistance in carrying lines
Of hose and helped in various ways.
Two incidents occurred which discoh-
| certed the hTemen to some extent. The
hrst was the report which went over the
lines that the Omaha packing plant was
on FIRE. This rumor took a portion of the
! crowd away for a time. Then came the
report that an alarm from Armour's had
been sent In. The way the crowds fooked
over the fence and across the tracks ana
| down the runways was a caution. This re-
| port the same as the other, proved Around