Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-01-23
LEVIN STORE BURNED;
TOTAL LOSS $l0l,950
Bad Early Morning Fire Totally Destroys Dry
Goods Store and Building. damages
Adjoining Properties.
ORIGIN OF BLAZE IS NOT KNOWN

from the appearance of the flames
that the fire had probably broken out
first in the basement and perhaps in
the east half of the building first. The
| fire was burning fiercest IN the east
| half. Kirby said, when he got there.
Cafe Empoye Discovers Fire.
The fire was discovered at EOS a. m,
by Ray Farr night man at Shrubs
cafe. He saw smoke rolling past the
cafe door. and told Harold Parker, an
other restaurant employe, tina, there
was a lot Of steam" coming from
somewhere.
Steam, nothing" said Parker, that's
smoke and hi turned in the alarm
| The fire departments arrived at 2:l0.
and found flames shooting out Of win
| dows at both ends OF the store. En-
| trance was impossible. Ten lines OF
hose We're manned from the front and
back and kept playing constantly un-
| Ill after o'clock. Water was turned
off gradually, but one yream was kept
on the smo!dering debris until well into
the day
Floor colapses.
! All the aremen's efforts were devoted
to keeping the blaze confined to the
one building. Shortly after o'clock
the first floor of the Levin building fell
| in With a tremendous crash, which
smashed the plate glass window in
the east side OF Gates cigar store. and
| broke the windows at the top Of The
entrance. The steel ceiling at the
back of the store also fell out on ac-
count Of the intense heat BY $3.50 he
| building was practically in ruins.
| Women Loose Everything.
Mrs. NJ. Davis. Mrs VI. Swain and
| her little daughter, Esther. who roomed
in the second floor of the building at
los East Main stree, Were awakened
! by the shouting of the firemen, and
rushed down stairs scantily clothed
| They could not so back and as result
lost everything they had, furniture,
clothing. and wha' little money they
| possessed, which was under the mat
tress of the bed Esther. the little
girl. was only partially dressed. and
sat in Shrubs cafe with only one shoe
and big shawl wrapped around her
for three hours The Two ladies and
the little girl are practically homeless
and pennless.
Cold flinders Firemen.
The iremen worked under ire
mendous difficulties ON account OF the
extreme cold which caused their coats
and other clothing 20 freeze as soon as
soaked They were hardly able u
move, while the water froze as soon as
it hit the pavement and formed in
huge icices from window Lodges and
cornices
Even after the blaze was conquered
incipient blazes kept springing ur
among the masses Of inflammable dry
goods hat were lying in heaps every
where. A, 6 o'clock fierce flames
sprang up again and the firenen were
forced To raise an extension ladder II
the roof Of Horne & Gelvin's hardware
, store four doors east and drag a line
Of hose along the roof. until watel
could be poured on the blaze from
q above This effectually checked tn
, flames, and from then on no grea
q trouble was experienced in keepin
= them in check The ruins were still
< smoking up to noon.
: Explosion Damages Cigar Store.
a The Lashele Cigar Company had
4 peculiar experience in its air-tigh
d room or humidor where hundreds G
: boxes of cigars were stored The en-
O. Of every box was scared with flame:
as tho someone had taken torch an
- t"A.'-
taking manner The steel ceiling
@ the Gates store down stairs caved
r. from the heat and from the effects {
> an explosion in the front of the stor
a Air inside the show window of tn
n Gates store became superheated, es
ploded and blew out the front of I'll
window
Either the jolt of this explosion or tt
"A shock caused by the floors OF tn
# Levin building falling, knocked dow
" the east fire wall of the Brown
- Conova building 10 East Main stree
h Frozen Clothes Paralyze Firemen.
,e When we got there, shortly aft
70 2, wouldn't have given much for TT
10 whole block" said Chief Kirby, 'bi
70 the boys worked well and we had sex
N eral streams playing in short tim
This and the absence of a strong wiz
&c was all that saved the other building
. When we saw what were
RI against VIC just devoted all our ene1
At gies to keeping the blaze in that OF
in building"
When the firemen stopped in shit
and went into Shrubs cafe about
~ O'Clock to get something to eat the
l. clothes were so frozen that they cou
l.. not lift their cups Of coffee TO their llI