Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-07-09
PACKING PLANT BURNED.
Loss is Estimated at 81, 100000, En-
tirely Covered by Insurance
Two Men Lose Their Lives.
THE WALLS FALL WITH A CRASH.
Nelson Morris building Saved by
Hard Work of F~iremen-The ORR
gin Of Fire il a Mystery-Watch-
man Overcome by SmOke-Three
others Injured.

others Injured.
st. Joseph, No., July 6.-The main
building of the Hammond packing
plant was destroyed by fire yesterday.
The loss is estimated as high as ST.
SOC, 000. 1t is entirely covered by in
the flames. One of them is reported
to be Charles Miller. fire marshal at
the plant. This could not be verified.
Three men were injured, II of them
seriously. For a time the entire stock
yards district was threatened. BY
hard work the Nelson Morris plant,
300 feet north of the Hammond plant,
was saved. and this saved the Swift
plant, which is to the north of the
Nelson Morris building.
The fire started a !ittle after two
o'clock. By nine o'clock most of the
building was gone. The greater dam
ger was at six o'clock when part OF
the north wall fell and the fierce
flames were shot toward the Nelson
Norris building. Twenty loads OF
hose were out on the Nelson Morris
building. Though the dense smoke
was blown against the big buildings
the work of the tiremen saved tha
building. Many of the tiremen were
volunteers. There were three of the
| city companies at the fire, and the fire
fighters were directed by Chief Kane
of the city department.
The carcasses of 1880 hogs, l,SOO
cattle and 500 sheep were burned.
Nearly 100000 pounds of oleo were de-
stroyed. The contents of the smoke
house were consumed. The entire
north building, measuring 1870 by 400
feet, and ranging in height from five
to seven stories. was Quilted. 1t was
with the greatest difficulty that the
south building was saved. The origin
of the fire is a mystery. There was
no fire in the casing department,
where the fire started. The flames
were discovered about 1928 o'clock by
Charles Cullen, day Waterman. He
gave the alarm, but was so overcome
by the smoke that he was almost suf.
located.
Daniel Smaley, foreman of the cal
department.. fell from the car sheds
on the north of the building and suf'
fered serious injury.
The fatalities occurred about five
o'clock. BY that time nearly all the
building was on fire. A MAI with 4
hose, said to have been Miller, was
seer at one of the windows on the
north side in the hog department. He
walked back into the building and 8
few seconds later those on the out
side heard terrible cries, which LASTED
perhaps half a minute. The man die
not appear again, and is believed tt
have been killed.
Two young men who were in The
room and left a few minutes before
said that two failed to escape, bu'
they did not give the names of thu
men. who were said to be employees
Of the company.
The fire had penetrated to the ole'
department, which is at the northeas
corner of the building, by three
o'clock. The fire then began to burr
~fercely. The beef beds, egg depart
ment and other departments in thu
eastern end of the building as thu
beef house, We're soon ablaze. Tn
eastern part of the building was o
wood, built to allow of an extension
in that direction. This eastern wal
was soon a mass of flames. 1t burne,
slowly at first, but by $3.50 o'cloc1
was beginning to fall apart, especial
~ at the north end, where the ole
department vas located.
The building and machinery wer
covered by insurance to the amour
of $550,000, and the stock was in
sured for about 5000 600. This in
surance was carried by nearly ever
company to the full amount whic
!. each company would accept. Ever
local insurance representative wrot
, as much for his companies as the
would take, and much was write
outside of the United States.
, The insurance on the buildings an
machinery amounting to $550,O0'
probably represents the full amour
: desired by the Hammond company O
this part of the plant, but the $600,0C
. On the stock represent not the entir
amount desired, but all that could b
6 obtained on the stock. Every con
s pany represented here has all ii ca
carry, and in addition all the outsid
companies were filled up and mutu'
and similar organizations were give
u whatever they cared to carry. Coz
siderable was written by foreign con
panies in France and Germany, an
r even Japan. The policies range fro
$780, 900 down to as low as 50 800.
DAMAGE BY WIND AND RAN