Weekly Arizona journal-miner. [volume] (Prescott, Ariz.) 1903-1908, 1903-08-12
A DESTRUCTIVE
MIDNIGHT FIRE
Mrs. Alex. ThOmpsOn's
Buildings Destroyed.
Loss Is About Twenty Thousand
DOllars-0nly a Small
Insurance.

city was startled by the alarm of fire
and in a minute or two amidst the
cloud of smoke which was rising in
the still air ON north MonteZuma, was
seen a volume of flames break out of
the large two story frame lodging
house known as the Montezuma or Ba-
con house. The fire apparatus was
seized by willing hands and was soon
on hand to put out the fire, but on &C
count of the mains being only three
inch pipes and the water plugs all fill
ed up with mud which had settled
in them for months past without be-
ing flushed out, the firemen were un-
able to get the water on the fire for
fully fifteen minutes, so the Journal
Miner is told by parties who were
there. This gave the flames a fearful
start in a frame building like this
one was, and when water was finally
secured the pressure was so light that
it could hardly be thrown to the top
of the building, and consequently lit
tie Roadway could be gained in fight
ing it. 1t was evident almost from
the start that the Bacon house would
be destroyed and all efforts we're turn
ed to get out what furniture that
could be saved and try to save the ad-
joining buildings. The large new
two-story frame building which was
erected only few months ago by Mrs.
Alex. Thompson, who owned all the
property that was destroyed by the
fire, soon caught fire and was entirely
destroyed, as was also the small frame
house in the rear of the lot in which
Mrs. Thompson lived herself.
Another new two-story frame build
ing, which was occupied by Mrs. IT.
Kinds as a lodging house, just south
of the Bacon house, and also owned
by Mrs. Thompson, caught fire and
was very badly damaged, the roof be-
ing entirely destroyed, and one side
of tie house practically ruined.
The house owned by j. G. Keegan
was also scorched and damaged to the
extent of several hundred dollars, and
was only saved from total destruction
by the most heroic efforts of the fire
department and the large crowd as
sembled.
Mrs. Thompson was seen this morn
ing by Journal Miner man and she
said as near as she could tell the fire
caught from a lamp which must have
exploded in the northwest room up
stairs. The house had not been occu
pied for several days except by herself
and she was overhauling it and repaint-
ing and papering it. Yesterday gen.
tleman rented one of the rooms for a
few days, and being stranger, when
she went to bed she took a lamp to
his room and left it burning so he
could find the room when he came
home. She says he must have not
come home at all and the lamp eN-
ploded setting the house on fire as
there was where Mrs. Robert Burch
first saw the fire and sounded the
alarm. Mrs. Burch was the lady who
occupied the new building ON the
north which was destroyed. Most of
her furniture was saved.
Mrs. Thompson said there was about
$1,000 in all of insurance ON the build
ings and furniture, while the total
loss was about $50, 600, or a net loss to
her of over SIG, 900, which represented
all she had saved in twenty years of
hard work. When asked if she would
rebuild the houses she said she did
not know what she would do yet, as
she was so distressed and nearly pros
trated over the loss.
No one was seriously injured during
the excitement, although several were
slightly hurt, one man being hit in
the head with wash bowl which was
thrown out of one of the houses, while
two fellows were hit ON top of the.
head by an iron bed railing thrown
from an upstairs window. One of
these men was knocked senseless for
several minutes and was taken away in
a hack.
The building where the fire started
was one of the old land marks of the
city, having been erected over twenty
years ago. Barney Smith informed
the Journal Miner that he had helped
to erect this building when he first
came to the city in the eighties.