The Oskaloosa herald., 1909-08-26
DECATUR SWEPT
Ya BY 100000 FIRE
Illinois City Has Water Famine
Following Big Blaze.
PATRONS OF HOTEL IN PANIC
ii Springfield Sends Engine to Help 10
cal Department in Fifteen Hour
Battle With Flames--Many
Firms Lose.

i1 Decatur, H., Aug. 23.1Fire which
started at one o'clock Sunday morn
ing in the Moorehouse & Wells hard
ware store on East Main street was
under control at four o'clock in the
Afternoon. The loss is placed at
s1,000,0O0, but the figures are purely
speculative. The insurance is about
80 per cent. of that amount.
Following the fire, which is the
worst in the history of the city, De-
catur faced water famine. 1t be-
came necessary to shut OFF the resi-
denee districts, the supply of water
in the reservoir being down to seven
feet The waterworks last night
worked under fire pressure to refill
the reservoir. The condition tenn
porarily placed the city in a hazard
GUS position, especially il another fire
should start.
Panic In Hotel.
During the fire a blaze was discov-
cred in the engine room of the De-
catur hotel, situated a half block
/ west of the district that was being
destroyed. There was panic among
the guests, who realized that the fire.
= men had bigger job ON their hands
than they could handle. Prompt work
by the hotel people resulted in ex.
{ tinguishing the flames before they had
: a chance to spread.
va In response to call for help,
Springfield sent an engine and fire
crew under the direction of Assistant
2 Chief Cullen, and this gave the city
four engines with which to fight the
by falling walls covering several hun
bred feet of hose.
The following buildings, together
with their stocks of goods, were de-
stroyed:
Moorehouse & Wells Hardware
Company. Henry Bachrach, clothing;
John Spots, cigar dealer; Sans con-
fectionery store, City Book store,
Dicks poolroom, DanZeisen's meat
market, Peerless cold drink parlor,
White Front pcolroom, Union Pacific
Tea Company, Munro's soft drink
parlor, Brinkmeyer building. Rogers
& Clark, shoe store; f. H. Cole Shoe
Company, Shade Lokey, shoe store.
Frank Curtis. jewelry store, badly
damaged; Young's clothing store, P.
Augustine, optical store, Noah's Ark.
Those partly destroyed are: E. w.
Armstrong, drug store; G. w. Harris,
hat store; Post, jewelry store; FL
wood & Handlin, clothing; Chodat
Book store. Ralph G. Young, shoe
store These buildings face on East
Main street, Merchant street and
Water street, and are in the very
heart of the district. Everything
mentioned was either wholly or prac-
tieally destroyed.
Starts in six-story Building.
Moorehouse & Wells, in whose
building the fire started, occupied a
modern six-story building, which was
one of the show places of the city.
Their loss is complete and is esti-
mated at 100000. Other losses range
from $4,000 to $4,000, but it is i'm
possible to get accurate figures.
Special police measures have been
taken for the protection of the city.
The work of rebuilding the burned
district win start just as quick as
the ruins cool sufficiently to permit
men to remove the debris.
The only person injured during the
3 fire was Robert Lunsford, driver Of
hook and ladder truck No. 3. He was
struck by a falling plate glass win
dow in the City Book store and badly
eut!ug