The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1914-07-23
LOOK FOR CHILDREN IN RUINS
Firemen Brave Smoke and Flames to
Get Into Bed Rooms of Burning
House But Children Found Far From
Harmless Estimated at Over $4,000
From Wednesdays Dailvl

\
The north side of the city had a fire
of thrills just before ten O'Clock this
morning when blaze broke out in
barn in the rear of the saloon of
Stanislaws Rutkowski at North Main
street and before the flames were UNI
der control the barn and the building
adjoining it had been Quilted and the
flames had spread to surrounding build
ings to the north. The loss from thu
fire will be more than $4,000 and it is
covered by insurance. The property oc-
cupied by Rutkowski for saloon pur-
poses and as residence was owned by
the Cream City Brewing Company of
Milwaukee, the title to it having been
recently secured by the company fol-
lowing long contest with Joseph
Weddlestedt in the circuit court. The
buildings surrounding whichfwere dam
aged were the property of Felix
Nowacki.
Interest in the fire did not center in
the destruction of the old frame build
ings, but in heroic fight made by the
members of the fire department to save
the lives of two children who were
supposed to have been caught in the
smoke filed building. At the time the
fire broke out the three children of the
Rutkowski family had been PLAYING
near the barn and two of them were
alleged to have run into the house
when the fire started Rutkowski aud
his wife believing that the children
were not in the house had made their
way through the smoke filed saloon to
safety. When the fremen arrived they
found the mother frantically declaring
that two Of the children were in the
burning building Before the water
was turned on one of the little tots
was found at the home of a neighbor
and then the fremen were urged to
search for Mary, the five year old
daughter. By this time the old house
was mass of smoke and flames, but
the members of the department fought
their way into the building and made
every possible effort to find the little
girl. Time and again they were forced
back by the smoke. Volunteers rushed
into the house and it was with great
difficulty that the police prevented the
mother of the little girl from entering
it. just about the time that the little
girl was given up as victir, of the
fire she was brought in on the shoulders
of one of the neighbors who had found
her playing in the road some distance
from the fire. With the family reunit-
ed the fremen redoubled their efforts
to prevent the spread of the flames to
the surrounding buildings and they
were successful in their efforts. The
big blaze and the report that the child
had persisted in the flames drew crowd
of more than a thousand people to the
street in front of the building and this
police were forced to fight the crowds
back.
Half an hour after the iremen ar.
rived the blaze was under control, but
the old building was so badly damaged
that it is thought that it will be i'm
possible to rebuilt it. The insurance
of $4,000 on the building was carried
in the James Millar Agency. A num-
Der of the fremen were slightly injur-
ed by falling timbers and breaking
glass. Police Officer John Breidt was
the only member of the two forces dis
abled. He had his left hand so badly
cut by broken glass that he was forced
to go to physician. Frank Goerndt,
who owns the shoe store just south Of
the burned building, was badly scorch-
ed about the face on account of his
showing too great zeal in saving some
new lumber which had been piled on a
porch at the rear of his building.
The origin of the fire is something of
a mystery. Some people claim that
there was an explosion just before the
building was found in flames, but there
was nothing found in the ruins to indi-
cate that anything of an explosive ma
ture had been stored in the barn. It
was pretty well filed with new hay and
it is not improbable that this new hay
caused the blaze from spontaneous
combustion. The fire caused the big
gest excitement known on the north
side in months.