The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-01-25
DESTRUCTIVE FIRE
ON SECOND AVENUE
Carriage Works and Hardware
Go. Warehouse Burn
LOSS AMOUNTS TO $4,000
Birmingham Stove and Hardware Co.
is Heaviest Loser, But n. Abel
Suffers Serious Damage
Fire Difficult to Fight.
LOSS AMOUNTS TO $4,000

and Hardware companyS warehouse on
Second avenue between Sixteenth and
| Seventeenth streets.
The total loss from the fire is about
$40, Co., covered by about $4,000 insurance
The origin of the fire is unknown, but 1t
Is believed by Mr.. Able, in whose place
| 1t started, that it was the work of in
cendiaries.
The fire was discovered by the master
painter in Mr.. Ables shop, who rooms
on the second floor of another of his
buildings on the opposite side of Sec
ond avenue, and at that time it was burn
! ing fiercely and spreading rapidly. There
was some delay in turning in the fire
| alarm, and when the first piece of appa-
ratus arrived the roof on one of the
buildings was ready to fall in, and two
other buildings were ready to fall In and
two other buildings were on fire. The
entire western side off the warehouse of
the Birmingham Stove and Hardware
company, and the roof, both of which
were made of corrugated iron, were red
hot and the entire interior of that build
ing was on fire in few minutes.
1
company is the firm formed by the union
of the Hopkins Stove and Tinware COM
pany and the Estes Hardware company,
and almost the entire wholesale stock of
both was packed in this building
The Estimated Loses.
AS well as could be estimated yester-
day the losses and insurance on the
various buildings and contents were as
follows:
Contents of Birmingham Stove and
Hardware company, value, $4,000 to $40,-
900. Loss, $4,000 to $4,000. Insurance,
about $4,000. Building loss about $1,000.
Fl. Abe1-value buildings, $500. Insur-
ance on buildings, $1,000. Loss on build
ings, $1,000 Value of stock and equip
ment $1S,OoO.. Loss on stock and equip
ment, $4,000. Insurance on portion dam
aged, about $4,000.
1t was impossible yesterday to get at the
exact figures in either the losses or the
insurance of either firm. Mr.. Abel has a
portion of his plant ON the north side and
a portion on the south side of Second
| avenue There was $4,000 insurance on
that portion of his business south of Sec
ond avenue, but portion of this was not
damaged at all.
The exact amount Of stock in the ware
house of the Birmingham Stove and
Hardware company is also hard to esti-
mate because recently the entire stock
of the Estes Hardware company and all
of the wholesale stock of the stove and
tinware company has been put into this
building.
Originated In Blacksmith Shop.
The fire originated about the center of
the blacksmith shop of the Abel plant
The building was entirely of wood and
there were many shavings and other light
material to burn rapidly. 1t had evidently
been burning some time when discovered,
as the glare walked people across the
street
There were number of carriages. wag-
ons and other vehicles in the buildings,
and they were all destroyed, or badly
damaged Owing to having these We
hicles in the building, Mr.. Abel carried
insurance heavy enough TO protect them.
From the blacksmith shop the fire
quickly spread to the stock room, the
woodwork shop and both buildings and
contents added fuel to the flames. The
firemen prevented the flames from spread
ing to the paint shop and from entirely
destroying a portion Of the buildings In
the rear. and several vehicles were pull
ed out of the yards by negroes and people
who were attracted by the flames.
When the fire was first discovered there
was some delay about sending in the
alarm. No telephone was convenient, and
some time was consumed in finding the
nearest fire alarm box, which was about
two blocks away.
Packed With Crockery.
The building of the Birmingham Stove
and Hardware company was only about
twenty-five feet tall, but it faced rs feet
on Second avenue and ran back $50 feet
to First alley. 1t was packed to the roof
with stoves, crockery, lamps, clocks hot
air furnaces and hundreds of other arti-
cles of trade.
The building was constructed entirely Of
corrugated iron. which was built ON
frame of woodwork. The intense heat
from the Abel buildings, which were only
about twenty-feet away, heated the entire
side and top of this building red hot The
rafters soon caught and the contents of
the building seemed to burst into flames
all over in a minute. There were i'm
mense quantities of inflammable material
in the building and it made fire which
the firemen were unable to approach
for some time. There were tons of straw
which is used for packing glass and
crockery inside the building.
Firemen Have Hard Job.
This building had but two entrances,
and they were both in the rear on the
alley. The firemen were unable to get
into the building from the front or either
side. When they attempted 10 pull the
iron veneering off with the hooks they
would merely tear a small hole in the
iron and would be unable to get the
sheet off. After they got through the
iron sheeting they were met with piles
of dishes, glassware, immense boilers.
stoves and other immovable things piled
to the roof right against the walls. They
had to tear these out of the way and then
crawl into the building on their hands
and knees. Owing to the compact man.
ner in which the store was packed the
streams of water were not effective more
than a few feet from the nozzle of the
hose, and the firemen would frequently
have RI cJear a snare arn1.nd them NV