The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-02-26
Fire Breaks Out in Heart of
Business District.
Firemen Handicapped by Frozen
Water Pipes.
HELP is CALLED FOR.
Syracuse Department Delayed
on Account of Cold.
Started in Basement of Dry
Goods Store.
THE LOSS is HEAVY.
Estimate Run as High as
So, 100000.
Flames We're Reported Under
Control at Noon.
Flames We're Reported Under
Control at Noon.

Rochester. N. V. Feb. ga great
fire is raging here. Main street in the
heart of the business district is in
flames Buffalo and Syracuse have
been appealed to for help. Dynamite
now is being used to check the spread
Of the flames The loss has run into
the millions.
The commissioner of public safety at
8 o'clock estimated the probable loss at
five millions.
The weather is ideal for fighting fire,
as there is scarcely any wind blowing.
Had there been even a moderately high
wind the firemen say nothing could
have prevented repetition of the Rtl-
timore fire AS 1t is the firemen are
battling under extreme difficulties. as
water mains are not working as they
should. The extreme cold this winter
has frozen up many of the mains. and
for the past two weeks the fremen
have been engaged in thawing out the
pipes. On account of lack of proper
apparatus this work has been slow.
At o'clock Chief Little and Com
missioner of Public Safety Gilman tel
egraphed to Buffalo and Syracuse for
assistance.
Al s o'clock the engines had not ar
rived. The assistance from Syracuse
is on its way.
At 2 o'clock the fire was burning
fiercely. although the fire department
was sanguine that the fire would be
prevented from spreading.
The fire started so early in the morn
ig that very few people were on the
street, but by a. m. there were thous-
ands crowding the scene of the disaster.
The explosions of dynamite used to
check the spread of the flames was sup
plemented by the thunder of falling
walls. Mayor Cutler and Commissioners
of Public Safety Gilman were on the
scene shortly after the fire was discov
cred. Commissioner Gilman estimated
the loss at o'clock at between five and
six millions. The huge Granite building
belonging to Sibley, Lindsey & Curr
We're occupied by hundreds of profess
siOnal men, lawyers. doctors, dentists
and business men, was gutted from the
basement to the tenth story. The en-
tire tenth floor of the Granite building
was taken up with the offices of the
Vacuum Oil company, a branch of the
Standard Oil company. At S:45 there
was a tremendous explosion in the base
ment of the Granite building, where the
Slbley company conducted large drug
department. There have been several
previous explosions in the burning
buildings.
Since o'clock the trolley current has
been cut off and the maze of wires in
the firse section has been crushed to the
ground.
The Granite building will be a total
loss. Across st. Paul to the west is
another large dry goods store, Burke,
Fitzsimmons, Hone & Co. The efforts
of the fire department are centered on
the west wall of the Granite building
to prevent it from falling and spread
ing the fires on the west side of St
Paul street. Should the fire once
spread to the west side the entire busi-
ness section would be al the mercy of
the flames. On the corner diametrically
opposite the Granite building is the
Chamber of Commerce building, eleven
stories high.
The building occupied by the Roches-
ter Dry Goods company just east of the
Granite building is totally DESTROYED
and the walls have fallen.
At 9:15 Assistant Chief Frank Jaynes
was injured by a fall, his head being
cut open.
The fire is reported to have started
in the basement of the Rochester Dry
Goods company at 4:30. A fuse con-
nected with the electric motor that
runs the elevator blew out and the
next moment flames were rushing up
the elevator wall. In a few minutes
the building was in flames.
The hre spread to the Walkover Shoe
company Just east of the Rochester
Dry Goods company and this building
was entirely burned out. The fire is
under control on this section. but
has spread to the rear of the Granite
building on Division street. The Cox
building which fronts St Paul street
on the corner of Division street is on
IRE and is doomed. There have heen
several explosions in this building.
At 1910 the Syracuse fire fighters ar
rived, having been delayed on account
OF the severe cold which is DELAYING
traffic on all the railroads in this mart
of the state.
WORST IN CITY'S HISTORY
Rochester, n. Y, Feb. 26-The worst
confagration in the history of Rochester
broke out shortly before 5 O'clock this
morning in the basement of the Ro-
chester Dry Goods company's store AT
1876 Main street. The fire. which ac-
cording to the night watchman in the
store, Thomas Connors, was discovered
soonafter it started. but it spread with
such rapidity that by the time an alarm
was turned in, the entire front of the
store was mass of flames. The fire
department responded promptIv Az
eistant Chief Jaynes realized at once the
dangerous nature of the fire and turned
in general alarm. By this time tbe
flames. had spread to the building occ1I-
pied by the dry goods firm of Beadle &
Sherburne company. Chief Little ar
rived on the scene promptly after the
general alarm was sounded He real
ized that the flames were beyond the
control of the local department and an
peals FOR more fire apparatus were sent
TO the chiefs of the Buffalo and Svra-
1Gse departments. Nearly five hours