The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-06-13

81 Me- n ( ss.' ~ 49,
Ii was saved only by quick and dan
gerous work by the firemen sdrs seal
ing the ROOT, and and tearing Of the
burning part A bucket brigade was
formed and water was carried from
a we'll half mile distant
from = the plant, and poured
over. the burning roof. The caves
were chopped off. and scarcely any
damage was done to this building.
The office also escaped damage, but
the kilns did not fare quite so
luckily. There is scarcely more than
twenty feet between the kilns and
the crusher building, and although
lit was against the wind. the fire
caught the wooden railing, stafrways
and framework on the outside of the
kilns, and all the wood next to the
fire was burned.
Superintendent on the Job.
Superintendent Carl Jacobson, who
was on the job in the most strenu-
Gus way possible. from the time the
alarm was given by the blowing of
the whistle; climbed to the top of
the kilns with another man, and
chopped away most of the burning
timbers, so that no great damage re-
suited to the kilns. The machinery
in the crusher house is twisted
mass of wreckage. After the walls
and floors fell, the machinery was
| held up by the larger timbers, and it
fell after it had been heated to a
glowing red, and the supports gave
way,
ls@'The fire was caused, as is the
opinion of the management, by the
overheated rock being poured into
the crushers. The rock is burned
in the kilns, then it is hoisted to
the top of the building, and is
ground to dust through series of
crushers, each one of which makes
i the particles a little smaller 1t is
| thought that load of rock which
/, had not cooled sufficiently went into
the machinery, and thus the building
was fired. The blaze was first dis
,, covered in the top of the building
by the Waterman, Valentine Miller, a
i little after ten o'clock. Harry Wright,
a milk man, was spending few mo-
, ments with Mr.. Miller last evening,
and he discovered the fire almost at
, the same time Mr. Miller made his
/, way speedily to the engine room
. where he grabbed the whistle cord
and held it for some minutes. He
/ then telephoned for the fire depart
ment, and went back to the whistle.
The workmen all escaped from the
/, buildings unhurt. superintendent ia
I cobson arrived at the plant in a very
(, few minutes, and did everything in
his power to try in some way to
stop the fire. but he was powerless.
T, The situation was horrible and sick
ening, for he could do nothing but
watch thousands of dollars worth of
property and business which has
taken years to establish, go down
before the memorable rampant tongues
of fire. -
Heavy intonations Shook Earth.
| Luckily not much of the dynamite
or blasting powder was in reach of
the Are. There was, however, some
explosives in the warehouse, and four
heavy intonations shook the earth
as the kegs exploded. People came
in throngs to watch the fire, and
gathered up as close as possible to
+. the building, but when the first ex-
plosion was heard, everyone turned
and ran as if an earthquake was be-
!, hind him. E4'
: Among the first arrivals at the
fire was the stenographer, Miss
Julia Hager, and her part in the
/ evenings desolation was of no small
/, Importance, and the young lady
showed remarkable presence of mind,
/ and shoulderede more responsibility
, than most girls would have done.
She lives but few blocks from
the plant, and at the time when the
whistle first blew she was returning
from the concert given last evening
by Miss Else Jache. She alighted
from the street car at the end of
the line, and after walking a short
| distance heard the whistle blow. She
dropped her music roll and ran like
a professional Splinter for the &C.
ment works. Her first thought when
she saw the flames was for the heads
of the concern, and she at once rush
/, ed to the office. with the intention
of telephoning to Messrs. H. E. and
/, Y. u. Carney, the managers of the
/, plant. She found the office door
locked and she had no key Baffled
, for a moment she despaired of what
!, to do, but little later George Zim-
/, norman appeared on the scene and
he happened to have a key to fit
the office eoor Miss Hager then
telephoned to II e. Carney and tried
| to get his brother, L. j. Carney, but
failed as he was not at home. L. j.
Carney arrived shortly after his
brother did
Girl Aids in Work.
Miss Hager then set to work to
| gather together the most important
documents in the office and superin-
tended the moving of the desks and
filing cabinets from this building. BY
this. time the warehouse was blazing,