Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-04-23
Heroic Efforts Of the Employees
of the Mint Probably Saved
the Structure
BUCKET BRIeADEs ON ROOF
Mint Now Stands Alone, the Buildings
All Around 1t Having Been Destroyed
and Succeeded in Staying the
Flames.

mark of San Francisco that escaped de-
struction tho every building surrounds
ing it was destroyed, is the United
States mint, at the corner of Fifth
and Mission streets. Harold French,
an employee of the mint gave a graph
ic account of how the flames We're sue
cessfully fought. He said:
Nearly $2O,OO0,O00 in coin and bull
ion are stored in the vaults of the
mint and for the preservation of this
prize devoted band Of employees, re-
inforced by regular soldiers, fought un-
til the baffled flames fled to the con-
quest of blocks of so-called fireproof
buildings.
Mint EncircIed by Sea of Fire.
For seven hours "a sea of fire surg
ed around this grand old federal edi-
| fee, attacking it on all sides with
waves of fierce heat. Its little garri-
son was cut off from retreat for hours
at time, had such course been
thought of by those on guard. The
United States mint was constructed in
1874 of granite and sandstone blocks,
massive monoliths, well calculated to
resist fire from without. Within, how
ever, were enough inflammable mater
ials to feed lively conflagration. Iron
shutters shielded the lower floors, but
the windows of the upper story, on
which are located the refinery and as
say office, were exposed. Also tarreu
roof over the refinery constituted
weak spot in the defense. ranks OF
! wood and other inflammable material
scattered about the roof and upper
story were a serious menace.
after the fire had swept past the
Mission street side, and the certainty
of its returning from the north became
| annarent. captain of the Watch Flaws
| ordered everything on the roof that
would burn thrown inso the yard.
Soldiers and mint employees worked
| with utmost haste, throwing grea-
| timbers and tank slaves into the court.
Here are located some thirty tanks OF
blue vitriol, the surfaces of which soon
were covered with debris into which
| increasing showers of cinders fell.
Fortunately the mint possesses gooi
we'll and Engineer Brady at his post
pumped water to the fire fighters as
sembled on the roof. OF these, forty
were mint employees, and they were
aided by a company of coast artillery.
AS the fire swept up Fifth street the
heat increased to a dangerous degree
as one by one the Metropolitan han
and the historic Lincoln school burst
| into flame, reinforced by the roaring
| furnace of the Emporium. On the west
| the block bounded by Sixth and Mar
| ket street on the north, gave the grav-
est concern, for from this quarter the
fire was certain to rage in its fury.
Famed by a roaring northerly wind,
| the flames rioted thru the structures
stretching from the Windsor hotel to
Emma Spreckel's building; sheers Of
fire 200 feet high licked UP the inter-
/ vening houses on Mint avenue. Aug
mented by these finder boxes, the blast
of fire burst on the northwest corner
| Of the mint like the breath of second
Pelee.
Formed Bucket Brigade.
"a few desperate fighters Under ex"
Chief Kennedy, of Oakland wsc', driv-
en- from between the tottering chi'n-
neys under whose twin terrcrs they
had struggled to the last, throwing
buckets of water upon the blazing roof
over the refinery. 1t is largely due to
the experience of former Chisf Ken.
| nedy that this tar covered roof. the
weakest sept of all, was saturare1 with
sufficient water to stay the flames.
When the fire leaped Mint avenue in
1 solid masses of flames the refinery men
stuck to their windows as long as the
glass remained in the frames, Seven
ty-five feet of an inch hose played a
slender stream upon the blazing win :
! dow sill, while the floor was awasll
with sulphuric acid Ankle deep in
this solution the employees stuck to the
floor until the windows shattered. With
roar the tongues of fire licked greed
| lily the inner walls. Binding and suf-
| locating smoke necessitated the aban-
| donment of the hose and the fighters
retreated to the floor below. The roar
of falling walls, the thunder Of BURST
| ing blocks of stone, the din of crash
ing glass, swelled to an unearthly dia-
pason If 13-inch shells were crashing
| against the mint walls the deafening
detonations and the force of their i'm
pact would scarcely have exceeded the
fury Of the attack. Down in the deeps,
where untold wealth is so well safe
guarded, artillerymen, ringed with
blanket rolls and leaning on their rifles,
coughed in the strangling smoke.
LulI After Hours.
"Then came a lull. The walls of
brick buildings across the street had all
fallen. There was yet a fighting chance,
so back to the upper story the fire
fighters returned, led by Superintend-
ent Leach. who by example and words
encouraged his men to extinguiSh the
blazing inner woodwork of the refin-
cry
THE roof was next swept by a hose,
cooling the copper sheated surface I'M
til it became passable for wet acid
| soaked feet An army officer, ak in
hand, tore up sections of blazing tar
roof beneath which stream of water
was directed. At length as 4 o'clock
drew near the mint was pronounced cut
of danger and a handful of exhausted
but exutant employees stumbled out on
| the hot cobble stones to learn the fate
of some of their homes.
"The mint represents a scorched,
| glazeless front on the north and the
west, and the towering smokestacks are
| to be torn down, but the building is in
| tact and the plant is unframed and
ready for resumption of work"
Sir Arthur Nicholson, the chief rep
resentative Of the British mission at
+l,o Vacant Morocoon oopfaranpa ic tn