Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-03-09
GREAT ESTABLISHMENT AT ca
OAR RAPIDS is CONSUMED 4
BY FLAMES.

TWO MEN ARE KILLED
Joseph skvor, Watchman, Jumped q
Death From the Sixth Story Of ths
Building, Which Was the Largest 81
tho Kind In the World, and r. !.
Lawrence Perlshed.
Cedar Rapids, March 8. -(By Asso
ciated Press )-The killing OF Joseph
Skvor, watchman, who was thrown
from the sixth story Of the building
and F. ]. Lawrence were the
only fatalities In the $1,500,000
fire which practically destroyed the
American Cereal plant here last night.
Skvor only went to work for the plant
last evening. The fire was still burn
Ing this morning but was under con-
troll.
Cedar Rapids, March 8. --(Specialy
The immense plant Of the American
Cereal company in this city,-the big
gest In the world--was almost wholly
destroyed by fire last night. The two
blocks of magnificent buildings are
now a. pile Of blazing and smoking
ruins with the exception of a small
portion of the mill building at the D
avenue end Of the plant. The loss is
estimated at $1,500,O and the insur.
ance is estimated at 100000.
Started In Hull Grinding Room.
| The fire started as elevator fires Susu.
ally do-in the hull grinding room OF
one Of the elevators. At 1880 O'Clock
George Worden one of the employees.
was working in this room. There was
an explosion and instantly the room
vas a sheet Of flames. He stepped
behind a big piece OF sheet iron for
Iprotection. A second later there was
another explosion. 1t blew him about
twenty feet back through the engine
room. burned one side Of his face,
singed his hands and clothes. But he
reached the street alive. Another en-
ploye, Frank Bissel was on the third
4 floor at the time of the explosion. He
slid down belt and reached safety.
viii They RebuIId7
4 The question uppermost IN the
minds OF most people who saw the fire
last night was "Will the mills be re.
built?" The probability is that they
u will. but definite answer on this point
n M ho cd P<,y>
j The mill is known as trust" mill
and was the property of the Ameri-
can Cereal company. The superin.
tendent is in Cuba and his assistant
was in Chicago at the time of the fire.
arriving here today. The mill fur.
|, nished employment for several hun.
dred men, boys and girls, and the fire
will, IL the mill is not rebuilt, mean q
, heavy loss to Cedar Rapids.
The Plant.
The elevator group Of buildings Is a
group of three grain elevators with an
intermediate brick section used as IA
, cleaning house. The elevators were
: built of cribbed frame, metal Clad
j full lower story and basement under
: the bins. They were equipped with the
: automatic sprinklers, the supplies be-
, ing furnished by pressure tank, city
{ water and an automatic pump with an
: auxiliary pump by the company.
= The mill group of buildings on the
r north side Of G avenue consisted Of
a large and compactly built row OF
seven main buildings, Of mixed con-
struction, all well built, mainly Of
brick and part of them fire proof.
They averaged five stories and a
basement and were nearly entirely
q equipped with the automatic sprinklers.
! the supplies being the city water, a
pressure tank by the Cereal company
/ and the pumps.
Sports Show In Flames.
z New York, March s.Madison
Square Garden caught fire at 11:1o
o'clock last night, and the flames
spread rapidly through the northeast
corner of the structure Their origin
was in section of the building used
for storage, which was heaped high
l with packing boxes and light material
used in protecting exhibits while in
transit.
Before midnight, although It was
evident that the lower end of the am.
phitheater was considerably dam aged.
i the firemen reported that they had the
s flames under control. Alarms Of fire
$ followed each other rapidly when IL
r became known that the Garden was
on fire. Chief Croker came promptly
and took charge.
i The fire made wreck of the exhib.
j. it's at the sportsmen's show, but 1t Is
e impossible to give the amount of the
loss. The damage to the building ID
: estimated at $4,000.