Omaha daily bee., 1906-01-06
FIRE IN KANSAS CITY
Entire Downtown Retail District in Danger
for Short Time.
TWO BUILDINGS TOTALLY DESTROYED
Warehouses Of oolumbu, Buggy Company
and Kinball Piano 'ompany Gene.
COMMERCE BUILDING BADLY DAMAGED
Bank and Offices in the Three Lower Flsers
are Flooded.
LOSS IS ESTIMATED AT $3.50, 900
COMMERCE BUILDING BADLY DAMAGED
LOSS is ESTIMATED At S30o.oOO
Columbus Buggy Company's Loss IL
100000 and the Loss on the
Buildings Is s15O.OOO-Other
Losses 100000.

KANSAS CITY, Mo-, Jan. 5.-The entire
downtown retail district OF this city was
threatened tonight by a fire which started
in the rear Of the three-story brick build
ing Of the Columbus Buggy company, on
Walnut street near Tenth, destroying this
building and the adjoining building occu-
pied by the Kimball Piano company and
the Hettinger Brothers Manufacturing
company, and badly damaging the National
Bank of Commerce building. The fire
started before 10 o'clock and burned fercely
for two hours. The Columbus Buggy com
pany's building and the building immedt-
ately south occupied by the Kimball Piano
company, were very infiammable and the
iremen were powerless to check the flames
in these buildings. Tho stock of the
Columbus Buggy company, too. fed the
flames, and all of the available iremen
and fire apparatus in the city were busted
in preventing the spread of the fire to the
large buildings on each side. II was Inn
possible, however, to prevent the spread
~ the flames to the Commerce building
on the south, and the offices on the first,
second and third floors were badly damaged
by both fire and water. The Commerce
building is one of the finest Office buildings
in the city and the lower floor is occupied
by the National Bank Of Commerce, the
largest financial concern in Kansas city.
The banks loss was confined principally
60 an addition which II built to the Com
merce building about year ago. The
stock of Helinger Brothers Manufacturing
company. which occupied a portion OF the
KimbaIl building. was entirely destroyed.
This firm dealt in dental supplies.
A representative of w. s. Woods, owner
of the buildings damaged and destroyed
and president of the National Bank OF
Commerce. said tonight that the loss on
the buildings would be $4,000 The loss OF
the Columbus Buggy company according to
one OF its managers, is 100000. The entire
loss is estimated at $3S0.00o
Fire Gets Fresh Start.
At midnight the fire chief said that he
feared the Commerce building could not be
saved. The fire. which seemed to be under
control at one time, got fresh start In the
u1par stories OF the Commerce building and
the fremen were unable to cope with It
The destruction of the Commerce building
would increase the total loss by a quarter
Of a million dollars.
Later estimates of the loss, even though
the Commerce building be saved, plac'
the total loss at sSSO0Oo.
The vaults of the National Bank of Com
merce are untnjured-
At o'clock this morning the chief Of tn
fire department said that the fire was prac
tically under control and that only th'
floors below the fourth in the Bank o
Commerce building had been seriously dam
aged. Al that hour the firemen were pour
ing volumes of water into the building.
Bank May Not Open Today.
Cashier Rule OF the Bank of Commerce
was unable to state where the bank woul
open for business Saturday morning. III
said that while the main offices of the ham
had been deluged with water. they Nigh
not be too badly damaged 10 permit of bust
ness being transacted there. The use o
several different buildings has been ten
dered TO the bank officials. but no decision
has been reached as To this point. 1t
thought TO be a certainty. however, that tn
bank will be open for business this mornin
as usual