Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1905-09-30
Big fire AT BUTTE
MILLION DOLLAR LOSS In cen.
TRIAL BUSINESS DISTRICT.
Confagration Started About $40 a.
m. Sunday, West of Main and
South of Park Streets-Public Ii
brary Suffers by Loss-AIl Fire APP
paratus in County in Use.

Butte, Mont, Sept. 25.-Fire causing
a loss estimated at about $1,000,000
Sunday consumed the entire portion
of Butte lying between the Shodair
block and Renshaw alley, on the
south side of West Park street, and
half destroyed the public library. 1t
totally destroyed the following blocks:
Maule, York, Barrett, Woodward and
Odgen.
The fire call was turned in at $40
a. m. At noon the four story Symons
store was mass of flames and the
public library and other places were
burning simultaneously At l o'clock ,
Mayor MacGinniss announced the fire
under control.
The Miner building, the Broadway, |
Harvard, Argyle and other buildings
were licked by the hungry flames, but
good work on the part of the owners
and firemen from the hill prevented
what seemed for time a general con-
fagration, as stu wind was blow
ing the flaming embers everywhere.
BY IL O'CLOCK every piece of fire ap-
paratus in Silver Bow county was at
the scene of the fire. The depart
ments from the harus, Cora, Parrot,
Original, Gagnon, Anaconda and 9TH
er mines responded with alacrity and
rendered great service. The fire bat
talions from the Centennial brewery,
from Walkerville, from Williamsburg,
the Butte reduction works and other
places answered the general alarm and
lent valuable assistance to the regu-
lars.
A. H. Wethey, general manager OF
Senator Clarks Butte properties, vol
unteered the use of the fire crews from
the Clark mines and the Butte reduc-
ton works as soon as he learned of the
extent of the fire. Mr.. Wethey also
called up the water WORKS and offered
to start the pumping plant at the Butte
reduction works if it was found neces-
Sary.
About noon telephone messages be-
gan arriving from Anaconda, Helena,
Dillon, Missoula and other places, Of
fering the services of Tie fire depart
ments of the various cities. Anaconda
was one of the first to volunteer and
her offer was accepted. At 1928 three
hose wagons and a steamer with full
crews. accompanied by Mayor McKen-
zie and other citizens, were placed
aboard a special train for this city.
Exactly 33 minutes were consumed
in making the 20 mile run to this city.
Quickly the apparatus was removed
nd within three min
utes after the train pulled into the de-
pot Acting Chief Harper and his men
were on the scene and had several
streams playing on the big blaze. The
Smelter City firemen went to WORK
with a vim and spirit tnat encouraged
their tired brothers, who had been bat
Ting with flames since early morning
The big steamer began pumping, and
with it's assistance water was directed
into the interior of the plaze with good
effect.
Fire Hard to Fight.
II was about o'clock when Tie
fire broke out and First Assistant Fire
Chief ]. #. Shinnick and his men went
TO work at the tap of the gong, and al
the first opening smoke, thick, yellow
and suffocating, belched forth, making
entrance impossible
The cigar company in whose place
the fire was first fought occupies par
of the ground floor and basement o.
the big Symons Dry Goods company's
building.
The firemen realized that to keel
the fire confined to the basement an(
away from the elevator shaft was the
only hope OF saving the block. Thre'
lines of hose, manned by crews wh'
calamity braved the smoke, advanced
into the poisonous cloud and poured
flood of water into the hole. Unfor
tunately. the basement of the Symon
company was easily drained, and TIT
basement being double one, with
subbasement beneath it, was impos
Sible to flood.
The men could not reach the seat
the flames but several went through
the rear sidewalk windows and he'll
the streams as close as they could t
the origin of the smoke.
Spread of the Blaze.
Finally. with a favorable change II
the wind, which kept the smoke pacl
temporarily, the firemen broke in Tn
three doors on the ground floor an
noured the water in the direction o
fine elevator shaft, which roared lik
a mill race A perfect geyser of spark
and burning shingles spewed. its toI
rent across the roofs of buildings
+artipo matches of flames from tn