The Mena weekly star., 1908-05-14
ATLANTA SCORCHED
TWO BUSINESS BLOCKS OF THE GEORGIA CITY DESTROYED
 BY FIRE.
TIE LOSS IS ESTIMATED AT sl,5OO,OOO
Three Hotels Among the Buildings De- stroyed-Lack of Water Pressure Hindesed the Bremen and the En- tire Business District Was Only Saved by Desperate Exertions.

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 Atlanta, Ga, May 9.-Two solid business blocks are in ruins as the result of fire which threatened for time to carry it's destruction through the business section of the city and perhaps wipe out the entire downtown district. The fire loss may be conservatiyely estimated at 1,5O0,- 900.
 The Terminal Hotel, one of the larg- est in the city, is mass of bricks. It had on it's register 200 guests when the fire started block away. Every one escaped. Nearby were 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 Schlissinger- Meyer Baking company, Madison and Nelson streets, at 3:30 Friday morn ing and within few minutes the building was in flames. The wagons had just started away with their early morning load of bake-stuff when the alarm was given and an attempt was made to start the electric elevator in the Schlissinger building to awaken the employees asleep there. The ele- vator failed to respond to the start ing mechanism and the fire authorities believe the fire may have been due to some defect in this electric ele. vator. When the first fire. company arrived the building was a mass of flames. Chief Cummings immediately turned in general alarm. Flames were shoting 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 fire men could not get stream that would carry above the second floor Half an hour after the fire started threatening walls made it necessary to remove engines on the Mitchell street side of the Schlissinger build. ing and 50 firemen with streams of water playing upon them dragged the machines to a place of safety. Mean while high power trolley and electric 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 sort of fiue for the fire.
 Floor after floor of the Terminal hotel was soon ablaze. The firemen were fought 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 roof of the hotel had fallen in. Spreading from Ma1i- son street to Nelson street, the fire ate its way into the Liquid Carbonic company structure, a five-story build Ing to the east and within a short space of time there were two terrific explosions which seemed to carry all retaining walls and the roof of this building to the basement. Next to the Carbonic company's building was a three-story building extending from Nelson street on Forsyth north to Mitchell and contained nine or ten business concerns. A narrow alley separated the Inman block from the fire and 1t was soon mass of flames and fire company after fire company was drawn away from other spots and aAfa1Nfnnd for it was at this point the fire was to be stopped from crossing Mitchell and Forsyth streets and burning fur. ther into the city.
 East of the Terminal hotel, on Mitchell, was the Marion hotel, annex and Childs hotel The fire stopped after running the latter hotel. Across the street postoffice station D. the most important sub-station in the city, the Southern Suspender company and the Southern Handkerchief Manufac- turing company, the Georgia Vehicle company, the Piedmont Hat company and McClure's 10-cent store all fell away like SO many cigar boxes
 Mitchell street from Madison ave nue to Forsyth was one great furnace, flames shooting across the street from either side with falling walls every. where and danger to life and limb imminent, but the firemen stuck to their work and did not draw back un- til they finally had to drop their hose and run for their lives as the last wall of the Piedmont Hat company came down, leaving a clear space across whole block that where once was one of the busiest blocks of the city. The fire was not under control until after eight o'clock.
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