Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1903-11-26
Buffers Most Destructive Fire.

burned alone and in all its glory, as 1t
stood by itself. Last Friday morning
we had another Opera House fire-but
this time it took number of the most
valuable properties in the town with 1t
and made the most destructive fire this
town has yet witnessed. This Opera
House, or Park Theatre, as it has lately
been called, was built in 1891, just after
the burning of the old one.
The Armory association had already
built, or were at the time building, the
Armory Hall, the lower story of which
was intended for the use of military
company and when the Opera House
burned the company secured three feet
additional from the G. Walker lot for
a stage building, turned the lower floor
of the hall into an audience,room, and
added a stage room about fifty feet
square inside This was occupied by
the stage, dressing rooms, stairways,
etc all built of wood, and as veritable
fret trap as ever existed.
When the insurance inspectors were
here some months ago they ordered an
asbestos curtain to be hung between it
and the audience room, thing that
would stay flames from above, but
could not prevent the stage itself, the
wooden floor of the audience room and
its wooden supports from burning.
Who first discovered the fire is not
known. A. T. Black, Esq, who slept
on the second floor of the building, was
awakened by the smoke, which was
seeping through the floor. at about 5:3O
a. IN. He arose and turned on his cleo
trio light sent in an alarm to Gen
tral," dressed himself hastily and escap-
ed with just what he had on. His room
and the hall were already dense with
smoke. A man named Hughes, who
works at the bottle works and who also
slept on that floor, got out just in time.
The employees of the Central Hotel
noticed the smoke and flames coming
from the roof of the theatre about the
same time and awakened everybody IN
| the house, all of whom escaped. though
on account of the rapid spread of the
flames to the upper stories Of the hotel,
some of them got out with but little
clothing.
All the fire companies promptly put
in an appearance and went to work or
the rear end of the theatre building anc
up the narrow passage between it and
the buildings that front on Main street
They broke open the rear door and wen
in and quenched the fire near the door
but the flames were above and arount
them-a space equal to -four stories il
height, full of dry timber. The Who'll
interior was a mass of seething flames
had probably been burning for hours
andshortly after the firemen got there tn
roof fell in and the fragile 12 inch wall
began falling Chief Jacob BurkhalteT
Chas. Douglass, F. Ziegler and Al. Wal
ter were hurt by falling brick and ha
narrow escapes for their lives. Whel
the roof fell in cloud of smoke an
flame rose thousands of feet and coul
probably haye been seen from every hill
top in the county. The tiny streams O
water might as well have been playe
| upon volcano.
The intense heat and flames sprea
with an irresistible rush t.
the front part of the build
ing; to the Central Hotel, Younk
| ins building. the lower floor of whicl
was occupied by Ritter's grocery
Thompson building occupied by Ma
tional Supply Co., and Leighner build
ing, occupied by Newton - none o
which had fire shutters on the rear win
dows and all of which were eaten ou
| by the flames in short time. The Busi
fnsss College, also, occupied the upper
| floors of these buildings and the flames
made short work of it, but were stopped
by the solid brick wall of the Koonct
building The rear of the Koonce build
ing took fire, but the fremen got in and
on it with their hose and saved it; and
Mrs Lyons building on the corner, sur
rounded as it is by solid brick walls
higher than itself, was not injured. G.
Walkers law office and residence to the
east of the theatre were on fire several
times and was injured by fire and
water and falling walls, which crashed
through the roof and second floor into
the parlor. His son and daughter, who
| are down with typhoid, were carried tc
neighbor's house. w. J. Blacks liv
cry stable op the rear end of the lot
was partially destroyed by fire and fall
| ing brick.
By 0 o'clock the flames had done theil
deadly work. Only the stout front
wall of the Theatre building was yei
standing. The upper floors of the hote.
and annex, and all the floors of the
Thompson, Younkins and Leighner
buildings were destroyed with the front
walls yet standing and the great crowds
that had gathered around the scene o1
destruction began to disperse. Buffers
greatest fire was under control, but wa
ter was thrown all day and two streams
of water were kept going all Friday and
On Saturday the ruins were yet smoul
dering.
THE ORIGIN.
just how the fire originated is not
known. The boiler which made steam
to heat the building was and is encased
in brick wall 1t did not explode, and
as it was provided with an automatic
shut-of the fire did not originate there
u Mess gas was escaping at some Other
point. 1t may have originated from q
gas jet left burning or an electric wire
A watchman should have been kept il
such fire-trap. The fall of the thin
but high, walls so soon after the arriva
of the fremen indicated that the fire
had been in progress for hours before
discovery, as the supporting and ROOT
timbers were already burned away.
THE LOSSES.
The Park Theatre building and equip
ment cost about $40, 900 and was valued
at $50, 900 1t was insured for $15, 600
/ 1t was built in 1891, and was