Arizona republican., 1910-06-14
BURNED ID
 THE GROUND. T0taI Destruction Of Cum
 miOgs' Home NO INSURANCE CARRIED And Practically Nothing Was Saved-Fire Started in the Bath Room, Tax ing the House and Then Spreading to Barn.
NO INSURANCE CARRIED

The w. T. Cummings home, a mile and three quarters south west of Tempe, was totally destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon at half past one The fire started in the bathroom; how no member of the family who was present at the time can say. but in al- most no time the entire building was a mass of flames. Shortly after the fire. started. embers from the burning building ignited a haystack a couple of hundred feet from the house and the stock as we'll as the barn was also destroyed
 START OF THE FLAMES.
 Miss MOllie s Cummings was in the kitchen at the time the fire started and was first to see it She heard a suspicious wound and. looking out of the kitchen. saw the flames in the the bath room. She gave the alarm and Edwin Cummings, the only man at home. rushed to her aid. The pump stood close to the bath room but the flames from the room made it impOs- sible to do much at the pump. though the two worked there as long as pos sible and until driven away by the heat. Had there been any help and good supply of water it is probable that Edwin could have saved the building then but it soon became evil dent that there was no hope of check ing the flames and he turned his at tention to saving as much as possible. Mrs. Cummings in the meantime had hurried to the telephone and turned in the alarm at town. Mrs. Cummings was resting in the front room when the fire broke out and she immediately began cvarrying out such things as she could. It was only moment though until the flames had made such headway that no one could re- main in the house and practically every thing was lost No clothing to speak of was saved and only a very little of the furniture. One dresser drawer containing valuable papers was destroyed with it's contents but a small box containing papers of con- siderable value was rescued.
 THE STABLE BURNS.
 The house was an old one, con structed some twenty odd years ago. l
 
 was a good deal of wood work about | it and all was as dry as finder. There 1 was a slight wind blowing toward the | barn and haystack and no sooner had | the house a good start than the hay | stack too caught fire. The smoke from | the house brought neighbors and | among the first to arrive were Ben I Pearman and Jay Warner. both son. in-laws of Mr. Cummings. They. with l Edwin. left the burning house and | made every effort to save the barn and | hay stack The stack contained about | fifteen tons of new hay that had been in the stack for couple of weeks. This hay first caught fire and with the meager equipment for fighting the flames. the men were unable to do much. They tried to pitch away the burning hay but the heat soon drove them from this work. Their first move was to liberate the three horses that were in the stable adjoining the hay stack. They barely had time to get them out of the barn and out of dan gers way before the flames attacked the stable and in almost no time it was a mass of flames.
 Help From Town.
 The telephone message that was sent to town was responded to prompt ly and three or four automobiles full of men hurried to the scene. Before they got there, however, a number of neighbors were on hand doing all :. they could to keep the flames from the few remaining outbuildings No one was able to get there in time to l ;nl f.v- less than ten minutes after the fire | was first discovered. the flames had made such headway that no number 1f men could have saved anything.
 A Total Loss. The destruction of the barn and stable was well nig complete and the and their contents were otal loss for net a cent of insurance vas carried on either the house or the
 niture or the barn. Speaking of he circumstance, Mrs. Cummings yes erday afternoon said that only the week before they had talked of taking f ut insurance but had neglected to III To SO.
 Mir. Cummings Away. III MT. Cummings was not at home at III he time of the fire having gone to III Benson a few days ago. He was ex III ,ected home yesterday afternoon an lour after the fire. Miss Mollie HI had returned from Phoenix HI fter a visit of few days only yes- HI erday morning. She was almost HI 'rostrated with the heat and excite nent and Edwin Cummings worked H O hard. carrying things out of the turning building that he was almost IL