Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-03-27
lie. scAsE DRY GOODS STORE TO-
TALLY DESTROYED BY BLAZE
OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN
Loss ABOUT $4,000
First National Bank, W. j. Donelan
Store and McEIroy Restaurant Saved
by Efficient Work of Fire Depart
ment-s. c. Cullen and J. A. Phillips
Stores Damaged.
From Saturdays Daily:
Estimated Loss $115,OOO.


Following are given estimates Of the
various buildings and stocks Of mer-
chan1ise with the insurance.:
]. 3, Scase, loss on stock and fix
lures, $4,000; insurance. $4,000.
w. j. Donelan & Co., loss on stock
and fixtures (smoke and water), $780,
600 to $4,000; fully insured.
G. o. Taylor, loss ON building, $751;
600; insurance, $500 or more.
William Daggett estate, loss on
building, $3.50; insurance, $4,000.
First National bank. loss on build
ing, $500; fully covered by insurance.
Mrs. Sarah G. Sears of Boston, loss
on building, $500; fully insured.
McElroy Restaurant Co., loss on fur
niture and fixtures, $500; insurance,
$4,000.
r. H. Moore, loss on building, 500;
fully insured.
Edgerly estate, loss on building,
$500; fully insured.
j. A. Phillips, loss on stock and fix
lures (f1re and smoke), $4,000; insur-
a1ce, $4,000.
s. G. Cullen & Co., loss on stock and
building, $4,000; fully insured.
Whitebreast Fuel Co., loss on fix
lures, 500; insured in full
Order of Railway Conductors, loss
on furniture (estimated), $500; fully
insured.
ottumwa Hardware Co., loss on plate
glass, $50.
Frank Pearson, loss on fixtures,
500; insured in full.
Iowa Telephone Co., cable burned
off, $780,
Ottum wa Railway & Light Co., SER
vice wires, power circuit and auxiliary
trolley feeder wires damages, 500.
BY far the most disastrous fire that
has occurred in Ottumwa in recent
years broke out in the building on
East Main street, occupied by the J..
e. Scase Co., dry goods store shortly
suit of the fire, the stock of the ]. E..
! Z . ing an amount n1s5 Of
about $4,000, WIS completely de-
stroyed, and the building belonging to
G. O. Taylor, is an almost complete
wreck, only the front wall being left
standing.
The stock Of the w. J. Done1an Dry
Goods Co. was damaged to a large
amount by the water and smoke, which
played havoc with 1t, especially in the
Daggett building, next to the fire.
Other neighboring buildings were
damaged to more or less extent.
Disastrous as was the fire, 1t was far
less terrible than it gave early prom
Use Of being. Seldom did any confla-
grafton spread so rapidly as did this
fire. Before the alarm was turned in
the whole rear Of the building was a
mass Of flames.
Origin Mystery.
There are many things about the
fire for which there are seemingly no
explanations In the first place, the
origin Is a matter of mystery. j. q.
Scase and the clerks of the store were
at work inside when the fire started,
yet the blaze filled the rear portion Of
the hrst floor before 1t was discovered
Mr.. Scase ran to his safe in an attempt
to lock it. but the fire forced him back
before he had accomplished his pur-
pose. and before he could leave the
building and cross the street the fire
had spread from the rear end to the
front windows, where the curtains
were afire.
EXPLOSION is Heafd.
It is the opinion of those who were
In the vicinity Of the fire at the time
1t was discovered, that there was an
explosion of some sort before the rear
walls of the building caved in, which
allowed the flames to escape and first
attracted the attention of the people on
the street.
It was only when the rear wall fell
and the flames shot high above the
building that the alarm was given.
The wall fell almost at the instant that
the employees of the Scase store left
the building. They at that time had
not had time to turn in the alarm, and
the alarm was turned in by someone
who saw the fire from the rear.
The theory which appears most
plausible from the stories of those who
were near the store at the time, is
that the explosion was caused by the
action of the flames upon some gas
formed by the action of the fire, or
from the burning of thes many articles
of cotton or other inflammable ma
terial which lay displayed around the
store in profusion, awaiting the grand
spring opening, which was to have
been held today.
Whatever the cause, there is seem
ingly well founded impression that an
explosion or conclusion of some kind
cracked the walls, which moment
later fell with crash that was heard
for blocks. The moment the walls fell
the flames darted skyward fifty feet
above the top of the building
Then the alarm was turned in and
when the department reached the
scene of action it looked like forlorr
hope that either Donelan's store, the
First National bank building or Nc
Elroy's restaurant could be saved
from the flames.
Sturdy, desperately, the firemer
started to fight the biggest fire of theil
experience. But it was heart breaking
work. The few feeble streams thai