The San Francisco call., 1908-11-04
LEVI BUILDING IS
DAMAGED BY FIRE
Structure in New Montgomery
Street Gutted and Loss Esti-
! mated at 100000
Acid in Hat Factory Blamed for
Blaze and Three Firemen
Are Injured

Spreading with almost incredible
rapidity. fire last night envelopeds the
entire Levi building, III New Mont
gomery street. damaging it to the ex-
tent of $4,000 and leaving it all but q
total wreck. Three men were injured
lighting the flames. They were:
]. O'Connor. truck /. deep cash on
arm and hand by falling glass.
Gilbert Rooney, truck 1, cut about
arm and hand by falling glass; also
deep cash in back.
Thomas Collins. operator, cut about
head and face by falling glass.
OConnor and Rooney were taken to
the harber emergency hospital, but Col
liDs was able to go home.
The fire started about midnight, when
the crowds were gathered at Third and
Market streets awaiting the election re-
turns. The tap of the fire gongs sent
the mass scurrying for the scene of
the new excitement, and by the time
the late wagons arrived the approaches
were blocked by a solid mass OF hu-
manity.
WATCHMAN DETECTS FIRE
The blaze was first discovered by
Philip Jourdan, watchman for the
Riaito building across the street. He
observed flames through a window of
the fourth story Of the building, but
by the time he had run to the near
est policeman, James T. Tenancy of
the Morse patrol force, the whole of the
fourth floor was in flames. Tenancy
turned in the alarm, but with such
rapidity did the fire work that before
the arrival of the first wagon flames
were shooting through the top of the
roof and out of the windows on either
| side of the building.
| The smash of falling glass greeted
| the first fremen up the fire escape and
a few minutes later two of them were
being helped down, covered with blood
| There is much uncertainty as TO the
| origin of the fire. The most plausible
| theory was that IL was caused by acids
| In the workshop of the Bloom hat and
cap factory. The flames gained en-
/ trance to the roof through the elevator
shaft. They shot up to the roof. with g
roar which could be heard above the
rattle of wagons and the shouted or
ders. The fire fighters on the third and
fourth floors were driven back by q
/ fierce onrush of flames and IL was soor
observed that to fight the fire through
/ the windows was an absolute impossi-
| bility. and 1t was not until a water
| tower had been erected and put to play
| that any headway was made.
CROWD FLEESIN PANIC
The greatest damage was to the
! building erected about 10 months agc
and which is owned by Jake Levi, the
politician. 1t was a seven story clas:
G structure. valued at about s1O5,00O
less than half of which was insured
The greater portion of 1t was unoccu
pied.
During the course OF the fire ther,
was slight panic. caused by the CRY
that the walls of the Rialto building
| injured by the heat, were falling. TIL,
crowds leaning against them made
wild dash for safety.
| Many were the rumors as to the fir.
being OF incendiary origin. Fire Mar
shall Towe declared that as far as h,
could observe flames burst out on tn,
third. fourth. fifth. sixth and seyentf
floors simultaneously. There was Moth
ing definite regarding this phase OF th,
situation.
Concerns whose offices were located
in the building are as follows: Journa
| of Electricity and printing ofice; II
Arendt & Co. grain dealers; the Pleas
anton drawing company; II. Levi com
pany; Bloom hat and cap factory; Hen
ry F. Allen. drug sundries; Standar,
electrical company, electrical appa
ratus.