The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1903-09-24
Old Power Plant Of KenOsha Gas and
Electric Co., Completely De-
strOyed Sunday Night
WHOLE SERVICE is ABANDONED.
Company Issues Statement That Service
VIII be Renewed in 4S Hours
Street Railway Suffers

The old finder box, utilized by the
Kenosha Gas and Electric Company
as a power house, met it's doom Sun
day night when it was completely de-
stroyed by a fire which broke out
shortly after eleven O'Clock, and which
entailed loss of from twenty to
thirty thousand dollars. Incidentally
the entire electric lighting system Of
the city has been disabled, and the
street railway company has lost its
sole supply of power. It will be prob
ably several.days before the lights can
be used again but the railway com.
pany expects to have cars running
again tomorrow.
1t was Just after eleven O'Clock that
engineer John Drisel discovered the
blaze in pile of cinders in the engine
room of the plant, and before an
alarm could be turned in the entire
plant seemed to be on fire. The blaze
when discovered had gained such
Roadway that it was Impossible for the
engineer to check it, and he hurried
out to turn ia the alarm. Ia the mean
time Night Waterman Owen O'Hare
had discovered the fire and was tug
ging vigorously at the alarm box near
the Main street bridge. The box re-
fused to work, and Il vas fully ten
minutes before the frs department.
could be aroused a tris time the
flames spread with fe; tul rapidity
and before the arm hat gone in, the
old building was wrs ppet in flames
Great tongues of flames we're stretch.
ing out toward the big'piles Of lumber
in the neighborhood sand the streets
had begun to be crowded with people.
1t was almost impossible fer the FIRE
wagons to break through the crowd
that had cougregated about the burn
ing building. When the 6remen
finally arrived on the scene it was evil
dent that the building was doomed,
but the fremen worked to save the
surrounding buildings and to fight the
flames from the lumber yard adjoin-
ing.
Four streams of water were set to
playing on the flames but they licked
up the water as if it had been fuel, and
nothing was able to save the building
from destruction. The great boilers
in the plant made the work danger
Gus one for the firemen, but they went
into the burning plant and fought like
demons in an effort to save the machin-
cry from being a total loss.
Half an hour after the fire started
I, hat "a
reached the boilers, and a minute
later the crowd was stampeding, but
the only damage was the blowing out
of steam pipe, and while the report
could be heard for blocks, no one was
injured by the escaping steam. The
bursting of theissteam spipe made it
possible for the flames to gain head
way, as the firemen we're forced to flee
from the shower3Eof hot steam and
water which was poured out of the
broken pipes.
Great danger was encountered in
the way of live. wires, but as
soon as possible the fremen cut all
the wires connected31with the plant,
and the work of saving the property
then went on with less danger.
For an hour the. old building burned
and sizzled to the accompaniment of
falling machinery and bursted steam
pipes, and when the fire was finally
extinguished, shortly after midnight,
the scene presented was one Of ruin.
The big pieces of machinery which
had furnished the power for the differ
ent plants had broken through the
floor and was piled in a heap in the
basement of the ruins. Scarcely any
of the smachinery escaped the fire
and nearly all of it was completely
wrecked.
The steam boilerssand pumps used
for the public heating plant seem to
have been only slightly damaged and
it is possiblessthat they can be repaired
and utilized within a few days but all
the otherfmachinery of the plant is a
complete wreck and it will have to be
replaced,
AS soon as the FIRE had been extin,
guished the officials of the company
beg an to plan for some scheme to get
light and heat for the people of the
city. Onegof the officers hurried to
Chicago to secure dynamo and it is
probable that it will be set up in the
plant Of the Simmons Manufacturing
company 50 that the incandescent
lamps will burn tomorrow evening.
There will be no Light Of any kind this
evening.
The street lighting plant is COM
pleteiy burned out and it will be sew
etal days or perhaps week before the
company can set up even makeshift
plant to furnish the city with lights.