The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-01-26
smoke. Once there the strong upward
pull OF air currents completed their

the short circuiting of electric wiring
may have aided their purpose; a great
many of the firemen were inclined to
that belief. In the recent Boutell fire
IN minneapolis the short circuiting of
electric wires acted in almost pre-
sclsely the same manner.
Firemen Are Fortunate
While the conffagration was replete
with exciting incidents and thrilling
accidents, 1T was fortunately attended
py no fatalities or serious accidents.
one OF the most thrilling incidents of
the evening was that of Capt William
a. Rodecker, of engine company No. 8.
Iogetner with six of his men he was
paying lines of hose from the roof of
the Mohler building when the fire shot
PACK TO the front of the building In
the instant the men felt the roof giving
way beneath them and turned to flee
for their lives.
AS they ran the captain, who was be-
nlnd' slipped and went sliding down
into the abyss of flame. One of his
companions seized his hand and pulled
MN, slipping all the while, from the
AWFUL death that yawned to receive
him.
Chief Jackson was here, there and
everywhere, through the fight, directing
the movements of his men, now lending
d hand to extricate some ice buried line
OF hose, now mounting ladder to get
clear view of the situation
It's funny, funny fire. he said to
u o reporter. Il don't understand
now 1t has gotten these two fresh
starts. The men are doing good work
ana they will have it under control be-
iore long. The coldness of the weather
mas bothered them awfully and it has
knocked lot of our hose out"
Weather Helps Fire
S. The weather certainly did play into
the hands of the fire. With the ther-
mometer registering 10 degrees below
zero, a stiff north wind added a bite to
the cold and famed the flames when
ever they came to an open window.
ne streets We're slippery masses of
Ice and slush within thirty minutes
AFTER water was turned upon the fire..
The conditions became worse instead of
eetter. Hundreds of feet of hose were
frozen, useless, into beds of ice
And the firemen themselves suffered
Ihelr clothing turned to sheets of ice
their fingers and faces were numbed
and frequently some one of them would
nave to pause for moment to knock
the great coats of ice free that had
gwen their helmets unbearable weight
frequently 1t was necessary to change
the pipemen on the different lines of
hose through the immediate possibility
of their hands freezing to the nozZles
which they gripped.
The intensity of the cold was also
responsible for another and very se1i-
Gus handicap under which the depart-
ment worked. AS soon as water was
turned off a line of hose to remove the
line to another place the water still re-
naming would freeze within and it
would be several moments before
fresh stream could be forced through.
Oftentlmes the forcing process resulted
in the bursting of the hose.
Hotel Guests Warned
Soon after the blaze was discovered
in the millinery department of Ban
mons the word was carried into Rear
dons hotel, adjoining the burning
building on the east. The place was
crowded with guests, and in an instant
something in the nature of panic was
precipitated.
Women rushed for their rooms and
began frenzied packing of their be-
longings. Few of them had completed
this process before A. A. Deigle, clerk
of the hotel, hurried around the halls
and informed the frightened guests that
the danger was not so immediate as
was first thought. This assurance had
the effect of quieting most of them, but
few would not be persuaded and it
took physical force by a fireman and
one of the male guests to prevent one
woman from tossing her trunk out of
the window of her room.
AS it was, three women and one man
who lived at the hotel appeared in the
streets with arms full of clothing and
other yaluables.
The proprietor of the place, Fred
Hediger, arrived during the lull, but he
instructed the inmates of the hotel to
pack their belongings in readiness to
move. This advice was soon accentu-
ated by the victory of the flames in
the rear portion of the burning build
ing. The force of the water was in
sufficient for several vital minutes to
reach the seat of the fire and the flames
burst through the roof and made such
hot fire among the boots and shoes
in the upper floors that the forty-five
guests of the hotel were again fright
ened.
This time nothing could stop the rush
and before the fight in the rear was
won by the department most of the
valuables of the guests had been re-
moved.
Finally the flames doubled back on
their track and burst again from the
Seventh street side of the department
store and for the first time really en-
UdnSeTeUl the IOtel. water pOuTeU
through skylights and drenched the
halls.
Mr. Hediger made a careful inspection
of the rooms to see that no stragglers re-
manned within and then removed his reg
lister and records to safe place.
A G / o e man accompanied him on
his last round through the building to
see that none remained Everybody was
out and the flames could be heard roaring
up against the fire wall and it seemed as
If it was but matter of minutes until
the hotel would be destroyed.
At this juncture when it looked as #
the whole corner would have to go the
effect of the long, hard fight by the fire.
men began to show its effects and the
flames gradually yielded.
Mr.. Hediger bought the place about
three months ago and says his interest is
worth about $5,000 on which he carries
insurance of 81 500. He estimates his loss
by water and smoke at about $1,000
It was in this hotel about two years
ago that James Younger committed sui
eide in dramatic fashion.
Victim of the Fire
A man who brokenly told the sisters
at st. Joseph's hospital that his name
was Luter, was one of the victims of the
big fire last night He was watching the
engines work at Sixth and Minnesota
when the firemen found it necessary to
move a line of hose. Luter stepped aside
to avoid the pipe when his foot slipped
and he fell face downward to the ICY
curb.
T. $50 49, 1T f~11