Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-12
SALT LAKE HAS BAD FIRE
Atlas Block, a Five-stOry Structure, is
Totally Destroyed.
NOTHING SAVED BY THE TENANTS
Fire starts in the Basement and
within Half an Hour the Entire
Building IL EnvelOped
I'm the Flames.

SALT LAKE, Utah. Feb. 11.--Fire that
started in the Atlas block a large FIVE
story office building, located on Second
South street and in the heart OF the bust
ness section, at $3.50 this morning, com
pletely gutted that building, spread to the
Central block. leaving that structure
wreck, and did other damage that will
bring the total loss close to the half-mil-
lion marks, with insurance OF about half
that amount .'
The Are was one Of the 'herCest in the
history of the city, and consumed the de-
stroyed buildings with remarkable rapid
ity. Several lodgers on the top floor Of the
Atlas block had miraculous escapes from
death. The fire started in the basement
and In half an hour the entire building
was enveloped in flames.
Losers In the Fire.
The principal losers are: s. s. Walker
estate, owners Of Atlas block. 500, 900; Salt
Lake Hardware company, stock, $3.50 900;
tenants of Atlas block, $4,000; Central
block, $780, 900. ....
The Bank of Commerce and the private
bank Of, p 2. McGurrin. & Co. occupied
the ground floor of the Atlas block. Out
side Of the of1ce furnishings, however. their
loss is believed to be small although this
cannot be determined until the ruins cool
and the big vaults are opened.
The ID. F. Walker building, a four story
office building east Of the Atlas block, was
saved from destruction by a fortunate
change OF wind. Several times the roof
caught FIRE, and its destruction appeared
inevitable.
The Atlas block was occupied by scores
of professional men. including physicians,
dentists, lawyers, architects and mining
brokers. Their losses are complete.
There are some indications that the FIRE
was Of incendiary origin, but the fremen
have reason to believe 1t was caused by
someone carelessly dropping cigar or
cigarette stub in some debris near the ele-
vator shaft. Two fremen were slightly in
jured.
Two Die in Mine Blaze.
DULUTH, Mimi, Feb. 1.-Two lives
were lost and ten men had narrow escapes
as a result of fire in the Spruce mine,
owned by the United States Steel corpora
tiOn, at Eveleth, Mimi, today.
The dead:
JOHN O'BRIEN.
WILLIAM MATTHEWS.
The fire was caused by the explosion Of a
lantern which had been left near the edge
| OF the shaft on the second level, 150 feet
! below the surface. Ninety feet deeper in
| the mine twelve men we're at work in a
drift There was no escape for them ex-
! cept through the shaft in which the fire
| was raging.
| The efforts OF the fremen were directed
on the blazing woodwork which lined tho
shaft, the hose being run down No. shaft
and carried through to the fire. There was
| ventilation for the flremen, but none for
the twelve men in the drift rlnety feet
below them.
The imprisoned men CROPPED their way
to the point where the drift joins the No. l
shaft and peeredS upward, and when they
could no longer see fire began climbing the
Ten of the men reached the second level
Two, o'Brien and Matthews, were overcome
when about forty feet from safety and fell
back to their death.
Gas ExpIodes in Anthracite Pit.
WILKEsBARRE, Pa, Feb. ia seri-
GUS explosion of gas at No. II colliery OF
the Lehigh and Wilkesbarre Coal company
at Plymouth, four miles from here, injured
eight men, two OF them seriously.
naked lamp ic supposed to have caused
the explosion. Timbers we're hurled in
every direction, doors were broken from
their hinges and many of them were re-
duced to splinters.
! AnseEar College.
HUTCHINSON, Mimi, Feb 11.--Ansegai
college was destroyed by fire this after
noon, together with the library. Three
hundred students lost all their belongings
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