Los Angeles herald., 1905-01-29
FLAMES SWEEP
BUSINESS CENTER
OMAHA WRECKED BY SERIOUS
CONFEDERATION
FIRE RACES FOUR HOURS
Explosions Feed Flames and for a
Time the Wholesale District Is
Threatened-Loss Estimated
at 100000

BY Associated Prass. fts
OMAHA, Neb., Jan. pa fire, which
property estimated at approximately
$7O0,0OO, started at 10:3O last night from
what is believed to have been an over
heated stove in the commission house
of Mullen & Co., located at Eleventh
and Howard streets. At 2:30 the fire
was under control.
The flames spread so swiftly that
Chief Salter at once turned in a gem
eral alarm, which brought the entire
department of the city to the scene,
not, however, until the flames had got
ten quite beyond control.
Five commission houses were To-
Gated in the building where the flames
started, and all of these were en-
veloped in a very short time. In the
four stories above and covering quar-
ter of block was located the stock of
a wholesale dry goods concern which
furnished the flames with inflammable
material and added to their fury.
Before the firemen were organized
the entire building, covering a quarter
of a block, was a mass of flames.
Adjoining buildings occupied by
ance were in the path of the fire and
were soon ablaze. Across the alley to
the north q five-story building oc-
cupied by large manufacturing and
jobbing shoe concern caught in the
upper stories, and the fire soon spread
to the lower floors and the entire
stock was destroyed.
Explosives Feed ConfIagration
ed was located in the wholesale dis
trict and contiguous to it were large
number of large jobbing houses.
AS soon as the firemen discovered the
drygoods house could not be saved
they diverted their attention to adj
joining buildings. Despite their efforts,
however, the flames continued to
spread. They finally ate their way
into the building occupied by the Por-
ter, Riordan, Hoobler company, where
was stored large stock of chemists
materials. There were a number of
explosions which tended to reinforce
the fury of the flames. The Carpenter
paper building was next threatened and
firemen at once directed their atten-
ton to the structure, starting a num-
L.. 20 ,fx,4 20 nlax ytV,ex t1n
and other parts of the building.
Flames Spread Rapidly
The fire started at 1910 tonight In
the fruit commission house of ]. N.
Snyder at Eleventh and Howard
streets, and although a general alarm
brought the entire fire department to
the scene the flames had gathered
such headway before the firemen ar
rived that they could not be checked.
They spread rapidly to adjoining busi
ness places in the same building and
by 1870 had entirely destroyed a solid
half block of five-story buildings be-
tween Harvey and Howard streets and
Eleventh street and the alley in the
rear.
Wholesale District Threatened
At that hour the firemen directed
their efforts to prevent the spread of
the flames to the immense wholesale
paper house of Carpenter & Co. to
the main building of the M. e. Smith
dry goods company the former just
oil 10 hIIr1 1iYt
structure and the latter directly across
Howard street.
Despite the fact that the entire
force was at work on the buildings
with the entire equipment of the city
fire department throwing half hun
dred streams on the interior of the
building, the flames continued TO
spread for several hours. They ate
their way into the building occupied
by Porter, Riordan & Hoohler. manu-
o'clock, and series of explosions fol-
lowed, causing the flames to spread
with renewed vigor
Adjoining Snyder's commission house
on the north were four other commits
sion houses and the fire had enveloped
those places before streams could be
started on them.
These firms occupied the first story
and the basement of the tive-story
building on the corner of Eleventh and
Howard streets and the upper four
floors were occupied by the M, e. Smith
Dry Goods company as a storehouse.
The building ran clear back to the
alley. The stocks of all the firms
We're soon in ashes. The flames early
threatened the five-story building oc-
cupied by r. p. Kirkendall Shoe com
pany, covering a quarter of block
Notwithstanding heroic efforts Of the
firemen the fire soon ate its way into
the upper stories of the Kirkendall
building and down the elevator shafts
and stairways. This structure was an
entire loss, together with the stock Of
the Kirkendall company