The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-11-28
Douglass Bros. and Bell S Miles, Wholesale Produce Merchants, Heaviest
 Losers,
CAPTAIN TEETER AND
 FIREMAN SUMMERS HURT
The Total Loss Is Estimated at $5o,ooo. Turkeys, cranberries and Other
 Thanksgiving Delicacies
 Prematurely Cooked.

Last night between the hours of and 1 o'clock. a disastrous fire of unknown l origin, gutted the wholesale produce es- tablishments of Douglass Bros, and Bell
 & Miles on the corner of Morris avenue and Twenty-first street.
 l The heavy stocks of Thanksgiving ana Christmas goods, with which the estap- lishments were filed are practically | total loss, while the building itself double two-story brick affair, occupieo by both firms, is completely wrecked' The offices of the following brokerage firms which were in part of the puiid-. ing, were also destroyed: J. C. Scott' Carlos Veitch, Henry Dean and w. l. Howell. Jn addition, the Steiner Bank building was slightly damaged, as were the offices of Attorneys Ruduipa Ward in that structure.
 While the figures are not exact, the to- tai loss was estimated last night at Soo'oVo' which is practically covered by insur- ance The double two-story brick bulid- ing occupied by Douglass Bros ana Bell .& Miles, is the property of the Caldwell estate.
 Another serious result of the fire was +be nersonaI injury sustained by Captain Teeter, in charge of fire station NO. D. This skillful fireman fell from the second to the first story of the building through the elevator shaft, and sustained inter- nal iniuries and severe bruises, which are considered serious. He was carried in Caudin's ambulance to his residence, loo4 Third avenue.
 The Fire Starts. The firemen state that the fire started about s o'clock. The cause is unknown,
 though it is suspected that defective electric wire in that portion of the build- ing occupied by Douglass Bros, ignited the adjacent woodwork From the state ments of the firemen, the first flame
 that was seen was so close to the divid- ing wall between the two firms that there ! is some question as to whether it had it's origin on the side of Douglass Bros,
 or that of Bell & Miles.
 When the departments reached the scere of the fire. great volumes of smoke were boiling out of every window, and through the roof. This made it impossible for them to locate the flames at once. Suddenly the entire structure DurSI lnto flames and the city for blocks and blocks was lighted by the brilliant glare. The fremen plunged headlong into the fight,
 and from the first floor streams of water
 wera sent upward into the second. where
 the fire had gained it's foothold. As soon
 as some progress had been made, and
 portion of the dense smoke dissipated, the
 fierce heat, battled with the greedy
 and there in direct contact with the
 firece heat. battled with the greedy
 flames until they were driven from their
 positions.
 Curious People Gather.
 No sooner had the original alarm been
 sounded than people began turning their
 faces towards Morris avenue. Within half
 an hour, many hundreds of people were
 gathered about the building. Within the
 firemen were fighting eallantly against
 the heavy odds. Every merchant on Nor
 rs avenue, and every clerk was on hand.
 The annual meeting of the Birmingham