The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1909-11-25
MUCH DAMAGE IS
DONE BY FIRES
Two Bad BIazes Sunday Afternoon
and Evening.
OLLIE RATHER LARGEST LOSER
Entire Stock of Fruit and Candy Is
Destroyed--carIon & Sons
Lose Valuable Patterns -
Other Losses.

Two alarms were received by the
fire Department Sunday afternoon
and night, making total of fourteen
since the first of the month. The first
was the Cement block factory of
George Carbon & Sons, a building
that joins the Ice Company plant on
the east. Between five hundred and
one thousand dollars of damage was
sustained. The second fire was in
the c. Winter building at the corner
of High avenue and b street, where
damage of several thousand dollars
resulted. f
Carbon Blaze.
The fire in the building of the Car
lon Construction company was dis
covered about two: forty-five o'clock
Sunday afternoon. The fire depart
ment was misdirected and was sent
west on High avenue to the corner
of G street, the Ben Templeton gro
Gerry corner. An investigation was
here made and the team had hard
run of mile and a half in the oppo-
site direction to reach the fire. When
the department arrived the flames
were licking up the frame portions OF
the building at rapid rate and the
blaze rose high over the building.
About a third of the roof of the build
ing was consumed and all of the
company's patterns and considerable
amount of material, tools and other
working property was destroyed and
damaged.
The ceuse of the fire is unknown.
No fire had been in the building
since Thursday of last week and the
material in the building was not of an
infamable character Mr.. Carbon
thinks the fire might have started
from hot ashes dumped against the
side of the building, The damage Is
hard to estimate. The loss on the
building will be two or three hundred
dollars. The loss of the patterns and
other property is more serious. The
loss may possibly touch thousand
dollars.
Winter Building Damaged.
The department was called to the
business block at the corner of High
avenue and B street. shortly after ten
o'clock Sunday night. The building
is a two story and basement struc-
ture, occupied on the first floor by the
Thomas & Holmes Implement bust
ness, No. 223 High Ave. West, and
the Ollie Rather Candy Kitchen and
restaurant stand, No. 221. The sec
ond floor was known as the Red Men
hall and is used for lodge meeting and
public entertainments. The base
ment floor was used by the Frank
Fitzgerald pantatorium and for stor-
age and surplus stock of the imple-
ment house.
The fire originated in a rear room
of the pantatorium and cleaning shop
beneath the candy kitchen and in
about the center of the east side OF
the building When the fire depart
ment arrived the smoke had pene-
trated to all parts of the building, but
was pouring from the basement in
great thick clouds. No flames were
to be seen when the water was turned
on, but the smoke and the fumes
were intense. The firemen began
fighting the fire in the basement.
They were not successful in this how
ever. The fire burned to the west
side of the building and for a few
minutes reached the second floor. A
third line of hose was laid and quick
ly took care of the fire on this side.
The fire repeatedly burned through
into the candy kitchen and the flames
were kept back only with difficulty.
The excellent water service on the
occasion assisted materially in hand
ling the fire. e..
AS near as the firemen could tell
the fire had started in pile of cloth
| ing or material in a cleaning room
of tie pantatorium and was quickly
communicated to partitions and ma
.eriai stored In the rooms. The stun
In the basement was of generally
infiamable nature and was soon con
,ributing to tine intense heat. The
fremen had difficulty in getting 81
! the .cat of the fire on account of the
partitions and other Instructions md
the fire gained strong foothold or
riie building on this account. When
the flames burst through the fiool
into the Rather place the full effect
of the furnace in the basement was
realized. The heat instantly becamt
intense and the plate glass front wal
cracked and fell out. The destruc
ton of the restaurant is about com
plete and the basement rooms, ex