Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-03-26
DOUBLE NINE ALARM.

crash just as the men gained the
street With the collapse OF the floors
the fire blazed up more fiercely.
DOUBLE NINE ALARM.
The double nine alarm, the biggest
signal used by the fire department, has
just been turped ill., indicating that the
fire is not under control,
The flames have reached the roof OF
the American Express company's build
Ing and that building will be entirely
destroyed IN all probability. The flames
have spread TO the building on Church
street used as stables by the express
companies.
1t Is now believed that the fire is
under control as the flames do not seem
20 be spreading beyond the building at
81 Broadway, where they started and
that at No. 80, into which the flames
had burned an entrance soon after the
fire was discovered. The buildings at
No 50 and 81 on the two sides Of the
bunlng structures have not caught fire,
but will suffer considerable damage by
water.
SO far as known only one person, a
fireman, was injured.
WHERE 1T STARTED.
The fire started In the basement OF
one Of three express company buildings
which adjoin each other. Smoke was
first seen coming from the tagging OF
the sidewalk and almost Immediately
flames burst forth driving employees
from their desks and necessItating hnr-
"a. 81 Rt.
For more than an hour after the first
alarm engines and other apparatus con-
tinued ito sweep down Broadway the
"two-nine" alarm calling out companies
from as far north as Harlem the
horses blown from their eight-mie run.
For the first time In years the specta-
tors saw some OF the old fashioned two
wheel hose reels that were pressed in
TO service 10 bring extra pipe.
FIFTY COMPANIES PRESENT.
About so fire companies were on the
scene. Trinity church Is Just north OF
the fire and as the crowd began to pack
the street they Overilowed into the his
torlc old church yard with Its ancient
graves and monuments, An attempt
was made TO clear them out and lock
the gates but without much success.
At the beginning the flremen were
handicapped by a very low water pres
sure, One hydrant almost In front OF
the fire, did not flow at all for 10 or 20
minutes and water tower, hurrledly
put In action sent so weak stream
that II hardly reached the building
Meantime, the fire escapes on the
back OF the buildings were alive with
employees paded down with books, pa
pers and bugs and now and then a WOO
man employe being helped down the
precarious structure,
The fire occurred In two numbers OF
series OF old fashioned flye-story
buildings OF the iron and glass class
that was common Is or 20 years ago
The two burned buildings were on the
extreme south OF the building, bordered
by Exchange alley. On the north these
buildings reached to the, big sky
scraper known az the Empire building
from which the tenants were ordered
out just before II was seen that the fire
was under control.
Deputy Chief Binns explained that he
turned In the "two.nlno" alarm IN or.
der to get ae large force Of men as pos
sible at work In the rear OF the build
ings, seeing that II the blaze was not
/ checked there II would rage until II
burned itself out The character of the
neIghborhood In the rear justines this
belief. For several blocks, In fact clear
to the Hudson river, Is mass OF very
old buildings, many Of them used as
warehouses, and OF an extremely In
ilammable character once well start
ed there II Is probable that the fire
would have eaten It's way 10 the river
and the wharfs and other valuable
property that line at this point would
have been lmperilled.