Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-12-28
FIRE UPON HILL
STREET CAUSES
$4,000 LOSS
OCCIDENTAL HOTEL GUESTS
FLEE FOR SAFETY
TWO FlREMEN INJURED, ONE, IT
is FEARED, SERIOUSLY
Flames Start from Explosion in Base
ment of Decorating Company and
Are isolated Only by Heroic
Efforts
CONTINUED from Page one)


Il caused by smoke and water. The base
4 ments under the several stores in the
building were flooded, and the water is
| from two to three feet deep in places.
Remission & Root, dealers in surgical
i supplies estimate their loss at $20,OOO.
They carried $4,000 insurance on $40,
900 stock. Most of the stock, consist
i ing Of drugs, bandages and surgical IN
struments, was stored in the basement.
! The goods were thoroughly soaked and
ruined On the main floor great dam
age was done by smoke, and streams OF
water from the high pressure hose
i played havoc with the drug supplies.
The loss to the Occidental hotel Is
estimated at $4,000, fully covered by IN
i surance. George w, Won Ache, pro-
prietor of the place, values the Iur7
i nishings at $4,000. Most of the dam
j age was done by water, on the ifst
floor, the costly carpets ana IlXtures
being ruined by plaster which became
soaked and fell to the floor. Von
4 way hotel AIT 1-2 South Broadway.
4 The two places are connected by a
l passageway across the alley. AT the
first alarm of fire attendants were put
to work conveying the guests pelong-
ings to the Broadway hotel. Later,
1 when it was feared the flames would
spread, everything was made ready SO
4 that the guests could leave the latter
hotel at a moments warning
i The second and third floors of the
Occidental hotel did not suffer much.
Some of the rooms were damaged con-
siderably by water, but there We're
several apartments that were only
slightly damaged by smoke.
Singer Wildly Alarmed
The hotel register could not be To-
Gated, and it is probable it was washed
4 I~xr 1an ctr from
the nozzles. Won Ache stated there
were 211 guests registered Saturday
| night. and he estimates the number
| of guests in the house at the time or
| the fire at 200. Several members OF
the Lambardi Opera company had
| apartments at the hotel, and one noteo
| singer created considerable amusement
bv mis- frantic efforts to get the fire.
men to save a woman supposed to be
sleeping in one of the rooms. me
woman in question was one of the first
to leave the burning building.
The damage to the building is est1-
mated at $4,000. 1t is owned by Mrs.
r r Young of 1901 Hoover street.
and is of brick with an interior OF
| wood. 1t was oVerhauled recently and
plastered with a, fire-proofing material
| of an asbestos composition. But lot
this fact 1t is believed the flames would
have destroyed the place. The struc-
1
was decided to Mrs. Young by her
mother. Mrs. Elizabeth Wilson, as a
Christmas present last year. The
| building across the alley, fronting on
Broadway, also is owned by Mrs
| Young. 400
The Juvenile Clothing company 42y
| South Broadway, sustained damages
estimated at $4,000, due to water filling
| the basement of the store and smoke.
T. Schwartz, president of the COM
pany. estimates the value of his stock
at $4,000.
Charlton & Co., proprietors of the
K 10 and lucent store at 431-3S- So
South Broadway, puts the damage to
his goods at $4,000, chiefly by water.
The basement extends through from
Broadway to Hill street, and is flooded
with water to the depth of from one to
three feet.
Two Firemen Injured
Two firemen were hurt while fighting
the blaze in the rear of the building.
CAPTAIN Archie J. Eley of engine com
pany No. was endeavoring to direct
a stream Of water through hole
burned in the floor The high pressure
made it difficult for him to hold the
hose and he slipped and fell head fore
most into the hole. The fire was rag
ing furiously, and for an instant II
seemed as if he would be burned TO a
erisp. Lieutenant Liva appeared just
as Eley fell. He sprang forward, grab
he'd the unfortunate fireman by the legs
and held him until two others, who
; also had seen the accident, came to his
assistance. Eley was dragged from his
perilous position gasping for breath.
His Jacket had fallen over his head and
face as he fell, and to this is attributed
, the fact that he was not horribly
| burned
A few minutes later w. A. Burns. a
hoseman. slipped and fell. He was
burned about the face, hands and ears
Both men were taken to the receiving
hospital and their injuries dressed by
Police Surgeon Wiley.
Eley is thought to be in a serious
condition. He probably inhaled flames
and his injuries may prove fatal he
: suffered considerably and late last
night was in much pain.
The exact location of the origin OF
the fire is not known, but it is believed
it started under the paint store, direct
! w in the center Before the fire was
extinguished the floor at this point col
, lapsed and almost all fixtures on the
/ main floor were dumped into the base
! ment
Fire lines were established soon after
the arrival of the fire department. A
number of officers under the command
of Sergeants Butler and Heath eX-
perienced little difficulty in keeping
the crowds back.
Arthur Irvine, well dressed young
man, was arrested by Detective Zeig-
Ter and locked up at the city jail on a
charge of petty larceny Irvine was
seen to emerge from a room at the Oc-
cidental hotel while the firemen were
passing hose up to the roof, walk out
on the fire escape and then descend.
He was caught by the officer and a
purse containing $3.50 was found in his
rocket. The detective says Irvine adj
mitted taking the purse, but does not
remember from which room he took it
Runs Into Danger
i An event occurred at the fire which
4 demonstrates how little one knows when
his person and his effects are in dan-
| ger during the excitement. Or, stated
/ differently, how dangerous it is often
times to be safe, and how safe 1t is TO
| be in danger.
An aged guest of the Occidental
hotel. who is spending the winter in
Los Angeles and comes from New Jer-
sew, was out enjoying the sunshine at
the time the fire began. When he tried
to return to the hotel he found himself
shut off by the fire line established by
the police. The best he could do was
to stand as close to the hotel as he
could squeeze and watch the progress
of the fire.