The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-04-24

I ly condition. However by eleven
| O'Clock this morning he was back at
| the hotel helping to clear away the re-
| mains.
| Miss vina Rost said to be a guest of
| the hotel, was badly burned. Her
| hands and wrists were both scorched
| badly while her hair in front was
| burned off. She is the daughter of
| Ernest Rost who formerly was pro-
prietor of the German bakery on lower
Kansas avenue and who is now night
baker for NJ. Alexander of the Royal
| bakery. Miss Vina has been in Kan
| sas City for some time but returned
only a few days ago. Her parents live
| lady of about "a years. After the fire
she was taken by DR.. Keith to the
Brunswick hotel, where she was given
medical attention Later in the morn
| ing when she had recovered from the
shock of her burns she was taken to
her home.
Lieutenant Goodrich Hurt.
Lieutenant George Goodrich, of the
| fire department, was injured in the fire.
A gas main in the kitchen was causing
nc small amount of trouble and in shut
ting off the flow of the gas Lieutenant
Goodrich received some severe burns in
both hands which will keep him on the
hospital list for several days.
The building is owned by NJ. Snat-
finger. The loss to the building is not
| SO large as was first estimated. The
woodwork on the interior of the build
ing was badly charred. and the dining
room will have to be completely remod-
elled. The walls of the building, how
ever, are still standing and intact and
will probably pass as substantial enough
when the building is rebuilt. Several
of the walls on the south end of the
second floor were cracked by the fire.
The building, however. was not gutted,
and it is likely that all of the loss will
be covered by insurance. 1t is not like
ly, however. that the building could
ever be rebuilt along the same lines, as
| it was to say the least-a deadly fire
trap.
The dining room was recently remod-
eled and the balcony put in at q cost
| of several thousand dollars. New mis-
| sion furniture was installed in this
room. which will be a total loss.
Brown Injured by Jumping.
| c.. w. Brown, a travelling salesman,
| was a guest of the hotel at the time
of the fire, and occupied a room 'front.'
! ing on Kansas avenue near the north
| end of the hotel annex. He was awak-
| ened at the time of the fire by Hally
and Summers, and in his hurry to es-
| cape jumped from his windaw. He
threw his clothes In a bundle onto the
sidewalk below and jumped out, land
ing on his clothes. His ankle was
| sprained in the jump, and he fell over
| on his back. The two hotel employees,
| Hally and Summers, helped him to his
! feet, and spectators later assisted him
| to the Glenwood hotel, where he is
| now registered. He lost his sample
case in the fire.
Hotel Register Burned.
The hotel register was burned along
with the other furnishings of the din
| ing room and office. Had this been
saved the work of Identification would
have been easy. Coroner Keith this
morning announced that an inquest
would be held over all the bodies, and
an attempt would be made to place the
responsibility for the four deaths q;
the proper place. The inquests will
probably be held next Monday morn
ing.
! Notified the Guests.
! 1t was about four o'clock this morn
| ing when the fire first broke out. After
| the presence of the fire had been re-
ported by Walter Sippey, Charles Sum-
mers the night cook of the hotel, de-
tected the presence of the fire and
shouted to Hally who was at the desk
| in his official position as night clerk.
Hally Immediately seized the telephone
and notified the fire department. In
| the meantime Summers chased up
stairs, knocking on the door of every
| room and crying Fire and in this was
| Joined by Hally after the telephoning
Both boys claimed to have aroused
every guest of the hotel and both say
| they received responses from all those
| whose lives were lost.
Fire Spread Rapidly.
According to these two who seemed
to have been the only persons on hand
| at the time who were awake, the flames
| spread rapidly until after the arrival OF
the department. The department was
rather late in arriving owing TO an
| other alarm going in at the same time.
Before the arrival of the department
| the flames had reached the kitchen
| which is located at the east end of the
dining room Immediately below the
rear section of the balcony department
| of the room. This was responsible for
| the breaking of the gas pipe which led
into the kitchen range
This was responsible for the spread
of the flames. After the arrival of the
department, Lieutenant Goodrich, inn
mediately realized the source of the
trouble, and rushing to the kitchen.
he succeeded in shutting off the gas.
In this undertaking his hands were Sc
verely burned
Double Fire Alarm.
From a fire fighting point of view
the disastrous blaze last night was i'm
pregnable. There were no means on
earth by which a fire department
! could save the unfortunate occupants
from their horrible death.
| At fourteen minutes after four this
| morning a fire alarm came in from
the Jenkins Manufacturing company
at Eighth and Railroad streets. This
plant is large concern and fire
1 alarm from the district means CON-
panies from two stations at least. At
| this alarm companies from No. 2 and
| No 4 responded. While flying down
| Eighth street Chief Wilmarth detect
| ed in the north blaze which lighted
up the skv for miles and looked like
Kansas avenue was burning for blocks.
| He turned his horses at once and fly
| ing back to Kansas avenue he saw
| belching out into the street blaze that
| seemed to eat up every building in the
vicinity.
With two big fires staring him in
| the face at once and all of the COM
| panies over the city on run, the To-
peka fire chief was facing problem