The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-02
Fierce Fire Destroys 3O8 Buildings.  LOSS IS $6oO,OOO;
 ONE WOMAN IS DEAD Hundreds Are Homeless and Soldiers
 on Duty. Cigar Factories In The Ruins And Thousands Of werlxmen Out Of Employment--Corpse
 0s Child Is Gre
 mated.

Tampa. Fla. March 1.-The entire extreme northeastern section of the city proper was destroyed by fire which broke out at o'clock today and ragged uninterruptedly for four hours.
 The area burned covered fifty-five acres or eighteen and one-half city blocks and sos buildings were destroyed. with a total loss estimated at ssoo,- 900, and one woman is dead as re- suit of shock.
 The burned section included four large and one smaller cigar factories and numerous restaurants, saloons, boarding houses and over 200 dwellings occupied by cigar makers.
 The factories burned were M. Stach- eiburg and Company, loss $lOo.oo0; M. Perez and Company. loss s5o,oeo: Con- Tales, Fisher and Company, loss s4o.- GOO; Esberg. Gurnst and Company. branch of stacheIberg. loss $4o,ooo; Fernandez and Brother, loss s2o.ooo. All the factories carried large stocks of tobacco and cigars.
 The area swept by fire embraced all that portion of the city between Twelfth and Michigan avenues. and sixteenth and Twentieth streets. The fife originated in the boarding house of Antonio Diaz. 1714 Twelfth avenue. and famed by strong wind spread fan-shaped. defying the efforts of the fire department. which was crippled by very weak water pressure. to check it. woman Drops bead.
 1ccupants of over 200 dwelling houses, thrown into panic rush ed out, attempting to save but little of their belongings. A Cuban woman in a del- icate condition, dropped dead from shock, her body being rescued from the burning house with difficulty.
 Tn the big factories it was possible only to save the most valuable of re- cords. books, etc, and the valuable stocks of leaf tobacco and manufac- tured cigars ready for shipment was left to the mercy of the flames.
 Fire Chief Savage was overcome by heat and smoke early in the fire but recovered later.
 Citizens volunteered assistance to the firemen but the spread of the flames was so rapid that but little effective work could be done.
 Among buildings other than facto- ries destroyed were the hotels and cafes of Perez and Castro. and Maxine Caras. six saloons, twelve restaurants and ten. boarding houses. The car barns of the Tampa Electric Company. containing twenty cars were endan- Rered and owing to the destruction of trolley wires cars could not be moved. The fire finally burned itself out at the extreme northeastern corner of the city.
 People Without Shelter.
 Fully half of the people rendered homeless were out of work. owing to the dull season in the factories and their shelter became an immediate problem.
 st. Joseph's Convent was opened to them by order of the Jesuit Fathers and many found lodgings there while others were accommodated in homes throughout the city. Besides these. thousands of men will be out of work on account of the burning of the fac- tories. The insurance is estimated at not more than half of the loss.
 At the home of Miguel Rodriguez. a cigar maker, the corpse of child in a coffin awaiting funeral services was created.
 The State militia was placed on guard tonight in the burned district to prevent depredations.