Omaha daily bee., 1903-06-20
'tOOk of Buggies on Fifth Floor Goes
Up in Smoke.
little DAMAGE TO IMPLEMENT STOCK
By Heroic Work Firsmsn Con6ne Flames to
Top of Building,
FIREMAN MCCLURE HAS HANDS BURNED
BiE Crowds Gather on Tenth and
Eleventh street viaducts to wit
ness the Spectacle and
Police Have Trouble.

A big blaze but small loss characterized
a spectacular fire in the Avery implement
warehouse, facing the Tenth street viaduct
yesterday.
At 2:45 a tall column OF fire shot up from
this building with spectacular effect burn
ing for about an hour. The flames were
visible from almost every part of the city
and thousands of people watched from
windows, housetops and streets. Thanks to
effective work Of the fire department the
surrounding buildings and viaduct structure
were saved intact and the fire extinguished
in a remarkably short period
The burned building was occupied by
| the Racine Wagon and Carriage company
and the Avery Manufacturing company.
| The estimated damage is $4,000 to the
stock of the Racine company and $4,000
| to the building and not over $4,000 to the
Avery stock. The local manager of the
Avery company refused to make an esti-
mate of his company's loss, but II amounts
to about 25 per cent of the value of the
! stock, which he also refused to make pub
| lie. With Meikle & Dodson the company
! carried $4,000 insurance on the stock On
| the building the firm carries 33S,000 IN
| seven companies. Brennan & Love carry
$4,000 the Racine stock.
The fire broke out In the north end of
| the fifth story Of the building, near the
elevator shaft and spread rapidly. An
| alarm was at once turned in but by the
| time the department arrived the flames
had completely enveloped everything on
the fifth floor and were bursting out of
| the roof and windows on the north and
south sides. string OF freight cars which
| were on the track to the north OF the
! building interfered seriously with the fire.
men for several minutes when minutes
| counted. An engine was soon coupled TO
the cars and they were removed. By this
fime the flames had burned through the
fifth floor into the story below.
One Hour of Flames.
| BY the time the water tower was in
working order the flames were Ieaping to
spectacular height, and both the Tenth
and the Eleventh street viaducts were
crowded with people. 1t took just cne
hour from the time the alarm was turned
| in until the firemen were preparing TO de-
part from the building BY the most
heroic work they had succeeded in confn-
ing the flames to the fifth story. Though
the fire burned through the floor It did
not burn anything in the fourth story.
On several occasions 1t looked as though
the building would be destroyed. FrS-
quently the flames were apparently sub
dued only to break out with renewed fury.
At all times the Bushman warehouse which
Joins the Avery building was In great
danger but this was not damaged by either
fire, water or smoke.
While the firemen were making the run
to the Avery building spark from pass
ing engine set fire to the vacant frar'e
house belonging to Charles Connoyer, 90S
South Eleventh street The hose company
from Pierce street shot stream over from
the viaduct and extinguished this with
probably s25 damage done.
The fifth story of the Avery building
WAS filled with buggies in crates and these
were all destroyed. The fourth floor and
part Of the third contained implements OF
! the Racine company and the other floors
contained the implement stock OF the Avery
company. Several desks, office hxtures and
other goods were taken out of the burning
| | building and carried onto the viaduct. 9
ST. Yont, the local manager of the Ra-
cine company was unable TO say what his
company's loss would be, but an insurance
man who Investigated estimated II at 10000.
} Origin IL "a Mystery.
How the fire originated is not known.
From the statement OF Homer shonield.
who with Robert Marshall and Robert
Coe employees of the Racine company dis
. covered 1t, evidently II had been burning
some time before 1t noticed These
men had gone to the lfth floor to get a
buggy for shipment, remained there a few
minutes and then went out. When they
returned a little later the fire was burning
near the elevator shaft. Almost instantly,
Shonfeld said, the entire room was envel-
oped They quickly gave the alarm
y Neither Mr.. Yont or Mr.. States knew any
thing of how the fire originated.
! The new Avery building was erected
: about four years ago and is constructed of
u | pressed brick. 1t is valued at $s5 oOo The
: | entire roof OF the building and the NTH
| floor were destroyed but Il is believed
that the walls are intact and will not have
; TO be rebuilt. The building is located along
> the west side OF the Tenth street viaduct
: and the NTH floor. where the fire started,
: is about even with the floor Of the big
v steel structure. Four stories OF the build
= ing are below the viaduct and below there
= are railroad tracks two sides of the
a building.
The entire fire department was at work
on the flames and though II was a most
, dangerous fire to fight. only one man wa s
injured He was Frank Mcclure OF No
n engine house. Mcclure, with Charles
l, Peterson, were stationed on the fourth floor
? in the elevator shaft. In pulling himself
-, onto the fifth floor Mcclure caught hold
d OF hot iron and had both hands badly
<, burned. He was relieved and had his
p, burns attended by a physician Of that
i; neighborhood.
~ Policeman EHeites Crowd.
AS incident TO the fire at the Avery
building Policeman Lesch had a bad ffteer
W minutes and II the promises Of a number OF
. indignant citizens are realized he will have
a. to answer charges filed with the Board OF
d, Fire and Police Commissioners.
" The trouble came through the efforts oi
m the officer 70 keep the crowd from blockinl
the sidewalks on the viaduct and a number
m of people from standing against the viaduc
=, railing near the fire. Lesch had been OF
:; duty from the time the crowd collected and
had not been successful in keeping the wall
H. open although he used every means at hii
"a command. John W. Meary, a lame man
who had been released from the city jsi
m Thursday refused TO move when the OH
- Ger motioned the crowd back Lesch cauEh