The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-11-27
FIRE DESTROYS TWO
WEST SIDE HOMES
Blaze Starts While Family Is
Absent and Spreads to AID.
joining House.

Two small cottages, side by side,
one the home of Matt Egginger and his
family Of eight children, the other that
of Otto Reimers, young married man
and his wife and infant child, were
burned to the ground last night.
The two stand in a group at the foot
Of the bluff and face the road that
runs along the south river bank above
the high bridge.
The fire that rendered the two little
families homeless destroyed nearly all
the belongings of the young man just
starting in life, and those Of the old
man, whose only possessions were his
small house and few pieces of fur
niture.
The fire started in the home of
Reimers, 700 West Water street, while
he and his wife were away making a
Thanksgiving visit. When they re-
turned at o'clock they found the
house enveloped in flames, which had
already begun to eat into Egginger's
house, 500 West Water street, next
door.
The fire is supposed to have started
from the kitchen stove, and it had a
big start before it was discovered by
neighbors. The flames leaped across a
short space and caught upon Egging-
er's house, which it quickly consumed.
Egginger and his family of eight
children were seated together in one
of their three rooms, discussing the
events of the day, when neighbor
opened the door and announced that
the house was on fire. Everyone be-
came excited. Some carried out the
few pieces of furniture there were in
the house, others ran with pals to the
river for water, and one of the boys
ran to a telephone over mile away to
call the fire department.
Fire Engine Arrives Too Late.
Nearly all the apparatus in the city
was at the fire at Sibley and Fourth
streets, and the only engine available
when the alarm was received was No.
10. This engine and chemical were
dispatched. but on account of the re-
mote location of the burning buildings
it was long time before they arrived.
When the engine did arrive, however,
it could draw no water from the river
on account of defective suction, and
the houses were doomed.
Neighbors had broken the door of
Reimers' house and removed a few
articles of furniture, and Egginger's
sons were able to save most of their
furniture before the fire had destroyed
the house. The cottages burned like
finder, the pals of water which the
willing neighbors carried from the
river nearby having no effect upon the
fire. When the two houses were a
mass of flames and threatened the
surrounding homes, the impromptu
bucket brigade devoted it's attention
to preventing a spread of the fire.
stroyed the two houses and nothing
remained of them but the standing
chimneys and heaps of brightly glow
ing embers, Matt Egginger still con-
tinued to fight the flames. Drawing
water from the we'll, he worked with
the fruitless energy of despair, throw
ing bucketful after bucketfu1 on the
flaming pile
ZACH! Mein Colt! Now I have moth
ing but mine children!" exclaimed the
old man, wiping the perspiration from
his brow. Il have worked hard all
my life, and now everything is gone.
Even the woodpile, fifteen cords, sawed
and split, that the boys got out of the
river, is gone. The woodshed, too, is
burned, and the coal is burning. And
winter is coming on And it is Thanks
giving, too! What will 1 do? Colt in
himmel knows''
Egginger, with his wife and children,
the youngest two years old and the
eldest twenty-one, were housed last
night by neighbors.
Three of the sons are employed, and
the father works at the Twin City
brick yards. The house was insured
for $500.
The house occupied by Reimers was
owned by Frank Hogard, 663 Joy ave-
nue.. Reimers had $500 insurance on
his furniture.