Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1903-02-27
QUEEN CITY OF OHIO
SWEPT BY FLAMES
Cincinnati Is Visited by $3,-
100000 Confagration.
WORST IN HER HISTORY

Fire Broke Out In the Central part of
the City, Destroying Pixies Opera
House and Other Structures, Besides
Damaging Much Valuable Property.
Cincinnati, Feb. 26.-This city to-
| day was visited with the most destruc-
tive fire in its history. About 1880
O'Clock this morning flames were dis.
covered in the cellar of George Jof-
fees grocery store in the Pike building
on Fourth street, between Vine and
| Walnut
Soon after the fire department had
played on the building, it was thought
| that the flames were under control
but an hour later, however, there was
an explosion, supposed to come from
liquors in storage, and the flames soon
afterwards shot up through the roof
of the 6-story stone front building and
| from that time on for several hours
the fire was beyond control. The
Pike building was totally destroyed, in
| cluding the offices of the United States
Express company, the Adams Express
company, Whites restaurant, owned
| by Maynard & Kerr, George Joffee's
grocery, John B. Martins restaurant
Empson's confectionery, the Henry
| Strauss cigar store and the offices of
the Pike Theater company on the first
| floor, the Pike theater auditorium and
green rooms and other offices on the
second floor and all of the Offices on
the third, fourth and fifth floors. The
| Seasongood building adjoining the Pike
| building on the west at the corner of
Vine and Fourth streets, was badly
damaged.
Other Buildings Damaged.
The building adjoining the Pike
building on the east, owned by the
l. B. Harrison estate and occupied by
the Robert Clarke company, publish
ers, and Duhme Bros, jewelers., on the
| first floor and others in the upper
floors, were destroyed. The Fosdick
building, east Of the Robert Clark
company, and Duhme Bros, and occu.
pied by the Norfolk and Western rail-
roads and others, was badly damaged,
while the Carlisle building, occupied
by the Southern Pacific railway, H
Smith & Sons, and the Cincinnati
/ Trust company, on the first floor, and
very many offices on the other five
| floors, were slightly damaged. The
| front stone walls on the Pike building
and those on the adjoining structures,
occupied by Robert Clarke & Co., and
the Duhme Bros jewellery store, and
Of the Seasongood building, stood the
heat and did not fall. The rear walls
Of these structures, however, which are
of brick. gave way with the falling
floors.
Telephones Were Cut Off.
The fire swept across the alley
| known as Baker street and burned the
| large publishing house of the Ameri-
can Book company at the corner of
Baker street and other property along
Baker street, including the large box
factory of zumbiel & Co.. the carpenter
| shop Of Henry Behrens and did great
| damage to the Bell Telephone building
so that all TELEPHONES In the city were
cut off for some time.
The fire was In the center of the
city and caused great alarm All the
guests in the Burnett house, on Vine
street, just across the street from the
telephone building, were called out
of their rooms, as were those at the
Gibson, the Emery and the Stag no.
tells, which were In close proximity to
the fire. The Kankakee building,
which is diagonally across the street
from the Seasongood building and Pike
opera house and Is occupied by the
Western Union, the Associated Press,
the Big Four and other offices, was
| threatened and all the wires of the
Western Union for hours were in dan
| ger, but this location was spared af
| ter a narrow escape. There was
scarcely any wind blowing, and this
| prevented the fire from spreading in
any direction except southwark to Ba.
ker street. Not only the entire fire
department but also the police and
other departments were on hand ex-
| pecting general catastrophe. Mayor
| B1eischmann was on the scene In per-
son. Nearly all Of the business men
whose places are IN the central part of
the city were called out of bed to pro.
tect their properties. It was not until
after daylight that the fire was gotten
under control and the danger of a gem.
eral con1agration was believed to be
over
Many Narrow Escapes.
About 20 people had sleeping apart.
ments in the Pike building, and there
were reports at first that several lives
had been lost, but none of these reports
have been confirmed. There were
many narrow escapes. Night Watch.
man John Agin and Mat Garretson and
Harry Richardson, doorkeeper, saved
six lives by entering the building and
forcing their way through the smoke
and rescuing dodgers. Five men were
sound asleep in rear room of the Pike
building when they were rescued by
having their door broken in. They
were John Mulvern, B. w. Zeigler, H.
c. Storey, J. F. Mcdonald and w. C.
Aehker All escaped in their night
clothing. Agin. Richardson and Gar