Omaha daily bee., 1908-05-09
TWO ATLANTA BLOCKS BURN
Loss Of Million and Half Dollars in
Southern City.
NO LOSS OF LIFE is REPORTED

Terminal Hotel and y Business
Houses in Her a Down
Town . fsss ~ y
o1k{ SSs~
P,NaNF bust
nes, ~ ms today
as q .tch threatened
Cor a. adestruction throguh
the bu -.oh Of the city and per
haps W ~ the entire downtown dis
| trict "
The fire loss may be conservatively estl-
mated at 81 10000
The Terminal hotel. one OF the largest
in the city, is mass Of brick. 1t had
on Its register 300 guests when the fire
started a block away. Every one escaped
Nearby there was several other small
hotels. but in these there was no loss OF
! life, nor was there any in the Terminal
hotel.
The fire started in the schlessinger-
Meyer Baking company. Madison and Nell
son streets, at $3.50 this morning and within
a few minutes the building was in flames
/ The wagons had just started away with
their early morning loads Of bake-stuff
when the alarm was given. and an attempt
the sohlessinger building to awaken the
| employees asleep there. The elevator failed
/ to respond to the starting mechanism and
the fire authorities believe the fire may
have been due to some defect in the cleo
trio elevator.
Flames Had Big Headway.
When the first fire company arrived the
building was mass OF flames. Chief
| Cummings Immediately turned in a general
alarm. Flames were shooting from every
window of the big building that ran the
entire block from Nelson to Mitchell street
| on Madison, and were leaping high in the
air from the middle Of the building The
water pressure was poor and try as they
could the firemen could not get a stream
that would carry above the second floor.
Half an hour after the fire started,
threatening walls made It necessary 10
remove the engines on the Mitchell street
side Of the building, and fifty firemen with
streams OF water playing upon them drag
geo the engines to place OF safety.
Meanwhile high power trolleys and cleo
trio light wires were falling everywhere.
parts of walls were dropping out and with
the high wind prevailing the flames were
shot across the street to the Terminal
hotel which acted as a sort of a flue for
the fire
Floor after floor Of the Terminal hotel
was soon ablaze. The firemen were Tough,
back until they were in the rear of the
Terminal hotel, where lack Of water again
retarded any effort to check the fire
Within half an hour the walls and roo,
Of the hotel had fallen in.
Explosions ToppIe walls.
Spreading from Madison street TO Nelson
l'street the fire ate its way into the LIQUID
ECarbonic company structure, a ffve-story
building TO the east and within sho,t
space of time there were two terrific ex-
plosions, which seemed to carry all retain.
ing walls and the roof Of this building 10
the basement
| Next to the Carbonlc company's build.
ing was the Inman block which faced on
Forsyth street. This building was a three.
story building extending from Nelson street
on Forsyth north to Mitchell, and CON.
tained nine or ten business concerns.
narrow alley separated the Inmar
block from the fire and It was soon a mas,
Of flames ard fire company after fire com.
pany was drawn away from other spots ant
their combined forces applied here. for Il
was at this point the fire was to be stonnel
from crossing Mitchell and Forsyth street,
and burning further into the city.
East Of the Terminal hotel on Mitchell
was the Marion hotel annex. and ChiId,
hotel The fire stopped after running tn,
latter hotel. Across the street, postoffic,
station 'B," the most important sub-sta,
tion in the city, the Southern suspende,
company and the Southern Handkercbie,
Manufacturing company, the Georgis
Vehicle company, the Piedmont Hat com
pany and McClure's Ten-Cent store all fel
away like so many cigar boxes.
Firemen Run for Lives.
Mitchell street from Madison avenne I,
Forsyth was one great furnace, flamei
shooting across the street from either sid,
with falling walls everywhere and DANCE
to life and limb imminent, but the flremer
stuck to their work and did not draw baol
until they finally had to drop their hos,
and run for their lives as the last wall n
the Piedmont Hat company came down
leaving clear space across whole blocl
I where Of