The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1913-07-04

CLEANING PLANT BURNED
Spears & Sons Suffer Severe
Loss in Fire which Destroyed
Building ndEquipment
OTHER HOUSES MENACED.
Flames Spread Rapidly, and
Threaten Destruction to Adj
joining Property.

Fire which broke out in the third
floor of the grass seed cleaning plant
of E. F. Spears & Sons Wednesday
night about 1890 o'clock destroyed
the building together with it's con-
tents, entailing loss variously es-
timated at from $4,000 to $4,000.
The fire was discovered by one Of
the workmen who saw the smoke
issuing from the floor above, where he
was engaged at work, and giving the
alarm, all of the men employed in
the building made an effort to check
its progress by the use of hand ex-
tinguishers which were maintained in
the building.
An alarm of fire was sent in and
the department responding readily,
made a heroic effort to cofine the
flames to the top floor, but without
result. The highly inflamable matter
stored in this section of the building
soon got beyond the control of the
firemen who then devoted their en-
ergies to saving the adjoining prop
erty.
The fire is supposed to have re-
suited from spontaneous combus-
ton. On the third floor of the building
was stored hundreds of barrels of fan
cy cleaned grass seed and this be-
ing rapidly consumed, the flames were
communicated to the other portions
of the building
Heat from the fire was so intense
that the firemen experienced great
difficulty in getting close enough to
the burning building to check the
flames, and immense volumes of wa
ter were poured on the blazing mass
from adjoining buildings and from
lines of hose across the railroad track.
AT one time during the height of
the fire it looked as though the build
ing occupied by Hutchcraft & Brtnt
and which contained large quantity
of grass seed, besides expensive
machinery and the Louisville and
Nashville freight depot across the
railroad track would be destroy.
ed The large grain elevator of r.
B. Hutchcraft and the warehouse of
Spears & Son facing on Pleasant
street were in danger of having the
fire communicated to them by showers
! of sparks that were sent SkyWard
when the floors of the cleaning plant
collapsed.
Firemen on the roof the building of
Hutchcraft & Brent in the face of the
intense heat poured water into the
Seething furnace and on the adjoining
buildings. So effective was their. work
after it was seen to be impossible to
save the plant that the stable only a
few feet from the burned building
was not damaged.
The plant of E. F. Spears & Son was
the most complete in the world, be-
ing one of five in existence, three
of which are operated in this city,
one in Winchester and one in LeXing-
ton. 1t was equipped with the most
modern machinery used in cleaning
grass seed and only recently several
new appliances were installed.
1t has been in constant operation
for the past several months, only a
short time ago the firm finishing the
cleaning of the immense crop of grass
seed from last season, which consum-
ed all of the winter months and when
the present crop was harvested the
plant continued to run to clean the
crop of the present season.
When the fire was at it's height it
was almost impossible for spectators to
get within square of the building SO
which leaped high into the air, illu,
minating the sky to such an extent
that it could be easily seen for a dis
lance of eight miles in the country.
1t is said the equipment of the
plant was fully insured. The mem
bers of the firm will not give any in
formation as to their future plans, but
it is rumored they contemplate re
building at an early date a concrete
structure upon the site of the former
building.
Workmen were engaged yesterday
morning in tearing down the brick
vale G the side of the building Ees;
Ito the -ailroad ad removing the &c
bris. The coalition of the walls were
such as to render them unsafe, and il
was feared they might fall at any
moment.