The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-04-19
Loss FOR Z fires
PUT At 100000

articles stored in the bailding were in
sured.
A large portion of the extensive
manufacturing and warehouse district
between Market street and. the Null
berry street bridge, was endangered by
the fire in the, Montgomery warehouse
and Fire Chief Kinder regards it al
most as miracle that the fire did not
reach to Market street along Tenth
and take in the Graupner stables ad-
joining on the south,
Unusual precautions were taken to
avoid putting water on small frame
building facing Tenth street just north
of the Graupner> stable where 10000
pounds of carbide, used with water in
making acetylene< gas, was stored.
Should water have gotten in this build
ing gas would have formed and dis
asterous explosion, which would have
spread the fire for squares around,
would have followed, in the belief of
the fire chief. This building was on
fire twice but two fremen stationed
there with hand chemicals extinguish,
ers stopped the blazes.
Crap Shooters Start Blaze?
The fire started in the southeast cor
ner of the Montgomery building where
farm machinery belonging to the Inter
national Harvester Company was
stored. Crap shooters have been known
to get into this building from the creek
side for Sunday game and Fire Chief
Kinder is of the opinion that the fire
was started by invaders of this kind.
The fire had gained such headway
that it was impossible to get into the
building at any place when the firemen
arrived. Chief Kinder ordered all of
the companies that responded to the
first alarm to fight the fire from the
Tenth street side, and he then sent in
second and third alarms and placed the
companies responding in positions to
fight the flames from the Paxton creek
side. The fire ate its way north through
the building along the creek to the
main, building and then westward to
Tenth street, leaving standing but the
extreme ends of the structure.
There are scores of individual loosers
as result of this fire, and it is i'm
possible to tell the exact loss. 1T was
said at the warehouse this morning that
it will reach more than $150,000.
Chief Kinder is of the opinion that
this figure will cover everything.
Some of the farm machinery and
pumps, which were valued at more than
$4,000, have escaped serious dam
age, in the opinion of the fire chief.
These are the property of F. E. Myers
Il Brother, of Ashland, Ohio A car
load of new buggies, valued at $500,
the property of Montgomery Ward &
Co., were destroyed, and $1,000 worth
of BARRIERS chairs and BARRIERS fxtuhes
belonging to James Barr Company.
Inc, of Philadelphia, were ruined. A
A tractor owned by the Philadelphia
and Reading Railway Company and sev.
eral wagons of the Peipher Line Com.
pany, an auxiliary to Montgomery &
Co., were destroyed.
Many Lose by Fire
Printing paper owned by the Min
ter Co.; the State Department of
Printing and Binding and Frank Hart.
eel and freight of many descriptions
shipped over the Philadelphia & Read.
ing road also was destroyed This loss
will also reach several thousand dol.
lars. Tents and camping paraphernalia
owned by the State Y. NJ. C.. A.; scales,
by j. o. Winstead;. vinegar, by Ne.
lntyre & Green, Philadelphia; groceries
by Comfy Flanagan Co., Philadelphia:
coffee, by the Enterprise Coffee Com,
pany, this city; pipe organ by Athens
George, this city and tanks and pipes
owned by the Automatic Sprinkling
Company, New York, were DESTROYED
with loss of many thousands of dol
lars. Three carloads of furniture were
lost by Bowman & Co., this city.
On the second floor. of the building.
on the Tenth street side, were thirty,
three rooms for the storage of furni-
ture. Several persons stood on the out.
side helpless as the fire ragged among
their household goods. Twenty pianos
were destroyed. Mrs w. J. Hughes, whe
is moving to Atlantic City and who in
tended to take her furniture out of
storage to-day, has nothing left to
move. Her goods were Grated and on
the elevator ready to be transferred.
Among the individual losers of furni.
ture were:
Individual Losers
A. Altmire, G. H. Albright. Mrs. J.
Bartholomew, Miss A. L. Boyer, 6. w.
Burckholter, E. c. Bowman, Mrs. E. F.
Cromic, j. r. Crosby, j. HI. Collins,
). ). Daniels, w. H. Ellis, Hugo Ham.
mer. Mrs. w. J. Hughes, Mrs. E. R.
johnson, S. K. Jacobs, J. +. Krauser,
John Charles Mosser, w. X. Martz,
Mrs. j. j. Mclaughlin, Peter j. Melon,
A. f. Myers, Charles O'Neill, John l.,
Orner, j. A. Plank, Fred Palser, J. +.
Robinson, L. f. Ross, j. w. Roshon,
Miss Clara L. Simons, J. H. Stonry, Fl.
f. White and Miss Emma Wright.
When the fire threatened the frame
building of the Huber Manufacturing
Company, adjoining the Montgomery
building, Chief Kinder sent in gen.
eral alarm, calling all of the city's fire
companies to the blaze.
The general alarm attracted the Sun.
day afternoon promenaders to the fire
and thousands watched the blaze, which
was as spectacular daylight fire as
Harrisburg has witnessed for long
time. The fire was so hot at times
that the crowd moved back from the
ropes stretched by the pelice and sew
eral times they were driven back by
the smoke, which was heavy enough to
obscure the sun. Thousands were salts
fed with a view from +bo M,Ibo.u