The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-12-21
Blaze Started Early This
Morning and Ragged for
Seven Hours, Total Loss
Being in the Millions.
9 BUILDINGS WERE
BURNED TO GROUND
Blaze Was in Manufacturing
District and Victims Met
Their Deaths Through the
Walls Collapsing.
(Anerican News Seryice)

met death, seventeen were injured
and more than two million dollars
damage was done by the fire which
originated at the corner of Niath and
Sycamore streets, early this morning
it ragged seven hours. The entire
fighting force of the city finally sub
dued it, after nine buildings had been
destroyed or gutted. The dead are
Robt. Breag, pipeman of engine com
pany, No 4; Morgan Geiger, fireman
and unidentified boy, about eighteen
years old. Collapsing walls were re-
sponsible for al the deaths and in
Juries. The shoe manufacturing plant
of Krippendorf, O'Neill Co. and the
United States Leather company, were
heavy losers.
The fire broke out in the greot shoe
manufacturing plant Of the krippen-
dorf-O Nein company ard before it
could be checked had spread into the
adjoining structures.
Biting Gold Wind.
A biting cold wind which benumbed
spread, AS swiftly as the water was
dashed against the adjoining buildings
1t froze into vast icycles.
The fire was discovered about two
O'Clock. The glare lighted up the city
and drove the panic-stric<en guests
from the Cincinnati hotel in Sycamore
street near by.
The tongues of flames licked their
way into the building of the u. S.
Leather company. adjoining the shoe
plant and before the firemen could
fully concentrate their efforts upon
it it was doomed.
The firemen worked gallantly to
stem the rush of the flames which
ate their way greedily towards the
| business district, short distance
away.
The entire fighting force of the city
was summoned while residents of the
threatened district fled in fear of
death.
Fred Rowe. a fireman was crushed
by the falling of wall. He was
standing almost within the zone of
flames directing a stream of water.
He may die.
| An unidentified man was killed. His
brains were dashed ont by huge
! pole, which fell crushing him under
meath it.
Shortly after o'clock the roof of
the shoe factory and the upper floors
| fell with crash that could be heard
! for five blocks.
Showers Of Sparks.
! Showers of sparks spattered upward
and a great wall of flame, fed by the
additional timber, was driven skyward
by the wind.
At the same time the flames were
driven southwark by the wind envelop-
ing the Sycamore stables.
Adjoining the Sycamore stables is
six-story building occupied on the
first two floors by the Griess- Pfleger
company and on the others by the IT,
S. Leather company.
The engines of the two companies
| were standing at the southwest corner
of Ninth and Sycamore streets and the
men were standing in the middle of
| the intersecting streets when the en-
tire front wall fell towards them with
mighty crash.
Captain Tinley and Guy Morgan, a
fireman, were buried under the bricks
and some of their comrades momen-
tarily ceased fighting the fire to dig
them out.
The flames were borne towards the
morgue and it's attaches were notified
to have the bodies ready for instant
removal They were wrapped up in
| oiicloth for that purpose.
The heat was SO intense that it
drove back firemen and policemen at
times and caused windows great
distance away to crack.
There were sixty guests in the Gin
| cinnati hotel and they were warned
| in time to flee from the structure.
The fire was the most spectacular
that ever occurred in this city. Thou
sands watched it and when the walls
Of the building occupied by the krip-
pendorf-O'Neill company's building
fell panic stricken shout went up.
A fire engine was crushed into a
mass of useless debris by the fail
OF its walls.