Los Angeles herald., 1905-12-05
CORONADO GUESTS
TELL OF ESCAPE
ALL THEIR BELONGINGS LOST
IN FIRE
Chief Lips Conducts an investigation.
Declares Heater Was Cause Of
BIaze-says He Had
Warned Lessees

The total destruction of Hotel Coro-
nado at 6O7 Coronado street by fire early
yesterday morning Las caused Chief
Lips of the fire department to issue
statement to the effect that a heater
used by the Mathewson sisters, the
1essees of the hotel, was the cause OF
the disaster Chief Lips says that the
lessees have been warned on two pre-
vious occasions to remove the heater
pipes which rested against wooden
Joint and were the cause Of two fires
in the same building short time ago
chief Lips also says that the fire
is a warning against the danger OF
erecting structures like the Hotel Cor
onado. The fremen who fought the
flames were unable to check the prog
ress of the fire and were obliged to turn
. their whole attention to saving the
Coronado mansions, a series of flats ad-
joining the hotel.
Many of the guests did not have time
TO collect their personal effects and
wore oompelled to find shelter from
the chill of the early morning in neigh
boring houses, so rapidly did the flames
eat their way.
In the Coronado mansion the lights
became extinguished a few minutes be-
fore the existence of the fire was
known. This is said to bear out the
theory that the fire was caused by
crossed or defective wiring Chief Lips
places little credence in the theory and
is conducting an investigation.
Guests Tell of Fire
Charles W. Thompson, one OF the
well-known members of the Los An
geles Produce exchange, with his wife
and 7-year-old daughter, had narrow
escape from cremation in the hotel fire.
Mrs. Thompson was the first person
to give the alarm. She awoke her hus-
band and told him nurriedly that the
hotel was on fire. He flung up the Sec
ond-story window and gave the alarm.
at the same time telling his wife and
daughter to hurry down the hall to the
main stairway and to cry Fire at
every step and he would follow. They
did so and ran down the stairway
through the smoke, lodging the pic
lures that fell from the walls on the
way. escaping just as the flames burst
out in the wide court. Had they been
a minute later escape would have been
cut off entirely and they would have
been compelled to jump from the win
dows
Millbank Johnson and family occu-
pied the rooms on the same side of the
hotel from which Mr.. Thompson es-
Caped, and the burst of flames caught
little Louise Johnson, burning her
face and hair. After his escape Mr..
Thompson hurried around to the side
entrance to the sun parlor and reached
the apartments of Mr.. Johnson and was
instrumental in getting him and his
family out of the burning building.
Speaking of the fire Mr.. Thompson
said yesterday: 1.-The conf1agration
was something awful I am simply
dazed. We had been at the hotel but
three days. and we lost everything we
had-all of our clothing, jewelry, my
watch, wedding ring, marriage cerJi-
ficate, all our clothing except my over
coat. We Just got out in our night
clothes and had to make a run to
save our lives. The remarkable thing
to me is that no one was injured. Only
a pet dog met death-Suffocated by the
smoke. No, sir; I didn't save a thing.
7 had valuable produce statistics for a
z period of ten years in little books that
I always carried with me for ready
reference, and also many other valu-
able documents. All were consumed
with watch, cash and my clothing and
that of my family. Among the things
destroyed were a collection of priceless
souvenirs and pictures of my little girl
that were taken at different times while
on our two trips to Japan and the Phil
ippines. These cannot be reproduced.
oh. we We're very lucky to escape alive,
and we win have to make the best of
II. I am wearing a borrowed suit OF
clothes three sizes too large for me,
aud I have a hat that doesn't fit, but
my wife and daughter are worse Off
temporarily than I am.
Bittenner FAMILY in Peril
sc. e. Bittenger, vice president of
the First National bank, was among
those who escaped by close margin.
lie and his wife lost everything they
had, but like myself Mr.. Bittenger
saved only his overcoat. 1t will take
us n day or two TO get new clothing and
then we win begin housekeeping all
over again.
MI Thompson said in an hour and a
half the building burned to the ground,
and then only two posts stood near the
front, showing that in the construc-
tion of the building little attention was
paid to fire protection He added that
while the building was burning Miss
MathewsOn, one of the lessees, stood
out in front bemoaning the fate of her
pet dog, while it was known that she
had been fortunate enough to get pos
session Of all the fire insurance poll
cies that were then lying on the ground
at her side. The loss of the little dog
was apparently of greater moment to
her than the knowledge of the rescue OF
the insurance policies. Three Of the
families who were deprived of shelter
Sunday night by the burning of the
Coronado hotel have taken quarters at
the Lankershim. They were not able
TO save anything from the flames, and