The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-12-02
ONLY CHEMICALS To
CHECK BIG BLAZE
Residence of J. w. Rogers on
East Side Badly Dam
aged by Fire.
HYDRANTS LACK WATER
Firenen Risk Lives to Save
Property in Face of Great
Obstacles.
HYDRANTS LACK WATER

A iirc which for thirty minutes threat
cned TO develop into II conflagration and
In which three frcmcn narrowly escaped
death. took place shortly after > o'clock
yesterday afternoon. when the residence
OF j. w. Rogers. 1883 East South Tenn
pic street, was badly damaged by lhc
flames and the residences of Il, l.. Nc
Keon. 1oil East South Temple street,
and Gratia Flanders, Ioi5 East South
Temple street, were slightly damaged by
flames from the burning Rogers resi-
dcncc. The total damage il estimated al
5000
The sensational and dangerous feature
OF the nrc Was that when Inc hcadquar-
tors nrc department reached tho scene
While the roof OF tho Rogers homo was II
great blaze. fire hose VAS attached to
wcro turned on. There WAS no water
and tho biz hose remained limp. Az this
Information spread through tie crowd Of
bystandcrS. many Of whom were prop
erty owners who lived near by. n wave
of tear passed through their ranks.
Full Forcc Called Out.
Thomas Holiday superintendent OF the
city watcTworkS. was notified OF the con-
ditinu by Fire chief William Gloro. and
two automobiles were sent through the
lnclghborhood in search OF water. As tho
fire ragged hCrCcr, chief CiloTC called cN-
cry fire department In the city to the
scene with the exception OF No. T.. which
was reserved for an emergency.
As the roof Of the Rogers residence
continued 10 burn the adjoining houses
commenced 10 smoke from the extreme
heat.
All the chemical apparatus owned by
the city was called into commission and
/ 1t WAS solely due 10 tho large quantity
Of chemical that was carried on the ilrc
wagons that tho blaze did not spread
beyond the control Of the hrcmen. the
greater number OF whom were helpless
! in the absence OF water. The condition
looked so serious at one time that Chief
G;lore contemplated sending for e%plos-
| ives in case lt should bcCom" necessary
| 20 destroy surrounding hnuscS 10 pre-
vent the blaze from spreading. The sit =
uation Was douhly grave as the resi-
dcuces in that nclEhborhood are close to-
Cether
After thirty minutes fruitlcss 9earch
for water while the FIRE was being held
I'm temporary check by tho use of cheni
calls, q. hydrapt which contained the long
sought fluid Was located at the corner
OF Tenth East aud First avenue, two
blocks from the burning house.
| A hose vas hastily stretched from this
/ hydrant TO the burning house and the
fire was eHtinsnishcd within rev min
utcs. More than 500 gallons OF chemical
| fluid had been used in holding the blaze
| In check.
Firemon Risk Lives
In the hope that they could confre
| tho blaze 10 the roof Of the house, Az
sistant Chief Fitzgerald, Lieutenant Mills
OF company No. 4. and Fireman Kirtpat.
rick OF The headquarters department
went into the second story Of the burn
ing house with hose carrying the chemi-
cal.
II Was so hot in The rooms or the sec
ond story that tho poodNo Was Sn1oi =
| ing. While tho three men were thus
| engaged. the ceiling OF the room in which
they were working collapsed, bringing
down burning laths and hot plaster and
/ their only avenue Of escape.
Being thUs cut off from tho outside,
! The men withstood tho heat as best they
! could and continued TO pour the chemical
| fluid upon tho burning mass hedging
! them In. Their clothes burned and thelr
hair and eyebrows were singed. but the
fire about them Was cXtlnguishcd be-
fore any member OF the party sustained
serious injury.
Tho fire alarm was turned in by Leroy
Warthnan. sergeant In the Utah Ma
! tional Guard After turning in the alarm
! he organized what bystaudcrs had gath
cred and commenced removing the fur
Uiiurc from the blazing house. PTac-
! tically all the furniture in the house
was removed before II was damaged by
| the chemical fluid used by the fircmcn.
superintendent Explains.
The reason that there was no water
| HOLIDAY, superintendent OF the wafer
works. last night. 'is because OF the cold
weather Of the last few days. The vol
! ume of water entering the cItv's mains
has been decreasing all fall. The SHOWS
! In the mountains are not melting and
! at present we are getting practically 80
water from Big Cottonwood canyon.
| The Rogers home IL located at thc
| extreme end Of the cty's middle sys-
| tom and the water pressure was not
! great enough 10 force what water there
was 10 this point. madc arrangements
! last night TO borrow water from another
! source To relieve this situation until tho
! advent OF warmer weather. In case
/ turn tho water supplied hv the high
! line system into the middle system.
those people who live nigh up on tho
northeast bench VIII not have fire pro-
I lection.
] 81 think that ono ~ the principal rea-
sons for this shortage In water Is tha,
I during the cold weather people allow
their taps To run 10 prevent. the pipes
! from frrrzins. If they continue to fol-
low this method tho water situation can =
! not be improved. Residents must turn