The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-03-09


building was flooded.
/ The second and third stories OF the
/ Beckman Commission Co.'s three
story building at 6i5 North Fourth
istreet. caught fire and the building
Twas flooded with water.
It was said the company had sew
Ieral thousand cases of eggs in the
! building
Adjoining the Beckmann store to-
the north is the st. Louis Poultry and.
/ Feed company's store. Ii was food
Led and many chickens were drowned.
! Immediately after it was seen the
fire would partly demolish the Boat
mems Bank building, arrangements
were made for temporary quarters for
/ the bank at 124 North Fourth street.
| Edward He'll, who conducts an
i oyster business at Broadway and
Lucas avenue, saw the glare OF fire
lover the club building as he left his
establishment at 1850 o'clock. He
ran to Washington avenue In time to
witness an explosion which drove fire
and blazing embers through the front
windows of the club and bank and
across Washington avenue against
[other buildings. After the explosion,
he saw men and women at windows.
pleading for help and within few
4 moments a man jumped from one OF
the upper floors and struck the pave
,,ment almost at Heil's feet. He'll said
lsome OF the persons he saw at the
windows sank back into the smoke
and flames. Others crept out on fire
/ escapes and began to make their way
to the street.
4 One man was saved from death
when firemen diminished the pressure
on stream from hose and played
the water on the man while he de-
lscended the fire escape from the fifth
floor to the street. passing almost
isirectly through flames that were
belching from the windows at the
lower floors. When the man first APP
peared upon the fire escape he seem
ed dazed and behaved as If he were
4 about to Jump into she street. He'll
and fireman shouted to him to
lclimb to the fire escape which con-
nected with the ledge on which he
hesitated. The sight of flames lick
ing out across the steel stair below
him seemed to daunt him, but when
the cold water from the hose struck
him, he regained his composure and
began the descent. He was almost
drowned when he reached the street.
i Search for the missing bodies could
not be begun until shortly before
noon, when part Of tho wrecked stsuc.
ture had partially cooled. Firemen
then climbed into the building and
shortly afterward reported finding two
bodies, and q few minutes afterwards
!, two more bodies were found. Ali
were unidentified at noon.
4 Fremen who entered the Boatmen 6
, banks quarters declared the evidence
Of an explosion in the building wac
D conclusive. They found the wall be
, tween the first floor quarters OF the
Athletic club and ths bank driven il,
. toward the bank and columns inside
!, the bank quarters sent away from
: the club quarters. Firemen declared
2 only an explosion would have done
! this.
Fireman standing on part Of the
collapsed roof OF the building which
! had fallen to the third floor Narrowly
:. missed death when the portion of tx
J, east wall that had not fallen sarliel
i in the morning gave way shortly bs
fore noon. The entire east wall dowr
). to the third floor fell into the street
. Portions that tell inside the structure
: howsver, missed firemen who wert
4 playing stream Of water into The
e building. by margin of few feet.
H. c. Henley. chief Of this fire pre-
/ vention bureau made an inspection O.
j. the cellar this afternoon. He report
v ed that he found In there that twt
g. gas meters which were fed from ST,
t inch main had been melted from thei
9 connection. He advanced the theor,
n that the enormous volume of gas thu.
s released ignitsd in the flames ant
e caused the EXPLOSIONS reported by Tho
T. survivors OF the fire. Henley exam
q ined the vaults of this bank and sait
y he found them intact, the flames mo-
D having reached them. The money ii
n the vaults, is therefore safe.
Three Believed Dead.
CLARKsBURG, w. Va, March g.
At least three persons are missing and
believed to be dead and three others
fatally injured by jumping, was the
toll OF disastrous Are, which. early
today, swept one OF the principa
business blocks on West Main street
The four story Lowe building YVES
totally destroyed when the ten story
Union Bank building was Quilted.
Fatally injured:
Robert Hugitt, back and legs brok.
en- in fall from apartment on fifth
floor of Union Bank building.
Marsh Canon. district manager of
1.-THE Philadelphia company of West