The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1914-03-05
Second South Street Business
District Endangered by
Basement Blaze; Cause
Is Unknown.
CHIEF BYWATER is
SLIGHTLY INJURED
Watchman Sees Smoke Pour.
ing From Building and
Turns in Alarm; Hotel
Guests Hastily Leave.

Battling with. tremendous odds the
fire department at ) clock this morn
ing got control of fire in the Con-
solldated Liquor company's bar and
cafe at 4s East Second South street.
For nearly two hours there was grave
danger that the fire would spread TO
adjoining buildings and threaten the
entire business district. The damage
done by the fire to the building and
the stock Of the saloon will approx
mate $4,000, according to the estimate
of Chief Bywatcr.
While fighting the IRE Chief w. II.
Bywater was struck by a falling iron
smokestack and knocked unconscious.
The chief was carried ont Of danger
and he soon revived Within a short
time he was back in the burning build
ing, leading his fire fighters.
| Night Watchman G. T., White dis
covered the fire and turned in the
alarm at ]; ;l5 'clock. AS he was pass
ing the building he saw dense volumes
of smoke, apparently coming from the
| basement of the building.
General Alarm.
Within two minutes The vanguard
of firemen arrived and Immediately
turned in general alarm that brought
out practically all of the fremen and
apparatus in the city. Dense black
smoke, issuing in great volumes from
| the basement, for a time bafflled the
fremen and they were unable TO get
| to the source Of the fire.
In the basement were several barrels
Of whisky and a number Of cases of
beer with a great many empty cases
and boxes. The ipflammabe whisky
furnished fuel for the flames and soon
the basement was mass Of flame, The
fire broke through the floor and came
up into the rear part of the barroom
and the room used for the cafe and
lunch counter,
Chief Bywater with company of
| firemen was operating from the alleys
at the rear of the building and trying
to reach the fire with four lines of hose
through the rear entrance to the saloon
when n large galvanized iron smoke
stack, loosened by the fire and water,
fell on them. Several OF the men were
bowled over and the chief himself was
knocked inseusible. His injury, how
ever, proved to be but slight and he was
soon back at work
Alcohol Fumes.
The dense smoke, laden with alcohol
fumes, formed deadly barrier that
prevented the fremeu from getting
close to the fire, but IN spite Of this
handicap the fremen soon had six
streams Of water, two from the 'front.'
and four from the rear, playing on the
burning building,
Searchlights on the fire fighting ap
paratus and score OF extension lights
the lanterns partially penetrated the
smoke and permitted the men to chop
holes into the floor, through which the
water, pumped in by half dozen en-
gines, was poured on the mass Of
flames in the basement
The hre presented one Of the best
opportunities yet given the department
for testing the lighting apparatus per-
fected by Chief Bywater. The dynamo
is on the body of the chiefs old auto
mobile which was reconstructed so as
to provide electric lights of portable
nature for use in fires where il was
found necessary to cut eff the city cir.
cult.
The cutting of the downtown circuit
so as to make the fighting Of the
flames safer for the fremen would have
made successful handling of the blaze
extremely hazardous had it not been
for the little machine which was
quickly put to work in front of the
building. The dynamo is operated By
the regular engine Of the automobile
which is "cut in' when the car is
not in operation.
Blaze Confined.
Though the fire was burning briskly
at CLOCK this morning, the fremen
had checked the progress of the famos
and confined it to the building. The
basement of the building and the first
floor were completely Quilted, but the
fire had not seriously injured the two
upper floors of the three-story building |
The building is three story brick |
structure, owned by Ezra Thompson
and J. c. Lynch. and valued at $4,000, !
4