Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-12-22
DEPARTMENT STORE
IS BURNED OUT BY
A $4,000 FIRE
By Heroic Efforts of Atlanta
Fire Department Adjoining
Property and Business Block
Is Saved

Is Saved
Fire Wednesday morning destroyed
the contents of J. 2. Allen & Co.'S store
at 51-53 Whitehall street The STOCK,
consisting of women's and misses
ready-to-wear. was valued at Sl5O,OOO
and was covered by Insurance.
The building. five stories in height
and running from Whitehall to Broad
street, was left an empty shell. 1t is
owned by H. H. Dean, prominent
Gainesville, Ga, attorney, who bought
it several months ago. The building
was valued, as nearly as can be learned,
at 100000, and also was covered by in
surance.
The fire was discovered about Z
o'clock by a night Waterman in Kress'
store, which joins Aliens store on the
north, and simultaneously discovered by
an employee of Cones whitehall street
drug store, on the opposite side of the
street from Aliens.
At this early hour there were no en-
ployes in Aliens store and hence no
lives were endangered BY remarkable
work the fire department held the blaze
within the four walls Of Aliens store
and saved the Whitehall street shopping
district.
Aliens store fronts twenty-eight feet
on Whitehall street and runs through to
Broad street. Midway between the
store widens fifteen feet to the north
and five feet to the south. making the
Broad street frontage forty-eight feet
in width. -
The fire started near the elevator
shaft on the fifth floor and had burned
down to the second floor when the fire
s,fNv .sre.. r-sr-, 4 Il.
~ CODY'S FIGHT.
Chief Cody fought the flames on four
sides to prevent them from spreading.
He placed a. battery of hosemen on
Broad street. a battery on Whitehall
street, and sent men to the tops of adj
joining stores on both sides.
on-Paxon-Stokes company, which
joins Aliens on the south, was saved by
its thick concrete fire wall. The store
was practically in no danger.
AS soon as Whitehall street had been
cleared, the Davison-Paxon-Stoke COM
pany opened for business and proceeded
to serve it's customers as If nothing had
happened.
1t was on the north side of Aliens
store that the fireflghters confronted
their principal danger. Aliens five
story wall overtops the two-story jewell
ry store of Eugene V. Haynes company
on Whitehall adjoining Aliens; and over
tops the two-story store of Kress, ad-
joining Aliens on Broad street
AS the flames Quilted the Allen store.
sweeping everything before them, there
was danger of the flames spreading north
to adjoining stores and danger of the
north wall of Aliens store falling. Sew
eral windows in the north wall of the
Allen store, above the roofs of adjoining
stores. had steel shutters. These kept
back the flames and heat, aided by con-
slant streams of water played through
the windows by firemen on adjoining
roofs. ,s-
At the rear end of the Allen store,
where the building is As feet wide, the
north wall cracked near the top and
looked to be on the verge of toppling
on the roof of the Kress store, which
would have been wrecked and probably
set on fire if the wall had fallen. But
by pouring tons Of water into the Allen
store Chief Cody kept down the heat
so well that the wall stood up.
Many people got the impression tina;
the water pressure was low at the start
Of the fir. Asked about this. Chief
Cody said the pressure was as good as
usual. He explained that the streams
were weak until the steam and automo-
bile pumps got to going.
w. Zode Smith, general manager OF
the waterworks, said his gauge showed
that the pressure jumped up to GO
pounds a few minutes after the alarm
and stayed there until the fire was
out, both in the 20-inch main on Broad
street and in the 2O-inch main on White.
hall street.
Five firemen had a narrow escape in
side the Allen store when a stairway
fell. They scrambled from the fifth tt
the fourth floor as best they could anC
left the building on a fire escape
Toward the close of the fire, which
lasted from about Z o'clock until abou
$3.50 O'Clock, Chief Cody and four OF
five men ventured into the Broad street
end of Aliens store with line of hose
About that time the north wall began
| to tremble and they hurriedly backed
out.
| Five or six firemen had narrow escape:
/ from falling plate glass on the White
/ hall street front of Aliens store. 1t wa
/ at an early stage of the fire and the.
were up on extension ladders and fire es
eapes. putting lines of hose through tn
windows of upper floors. Suddenly th'
/ big plate glass windows on the fifti
/ floor gave way and fell in huge pieces
4 The firemen, warned by shouts from the
street below Rugged close to the wal
and the glass barely missed them. On
/ big piece struck the helmet of fireman
/ on ladder, knocking off the helmet ant
\ leaving him unhurt. ~
Thousands of people packed TIL
streets surrounding the fire and stree
car traffic was considerably democrat
/ lied, owing to the fact that all lines
I lead through Whitehall, Broad and For
! syth streets. Linemen cut the trolle.
wires on Whitehall and Broad streets :,
prevent electrocution of firemen AM
/ spectators.
RAIN AIDS FIREMEN.
| J. p. Allen & Co IS salesladies are salt
to have lost nearly all their Christina
presents. which they were keeping in tn
store until the arrival of Christina
| day.
Nothing inside the four walls of Al
lens store escaped. Both contents ant
| interior construction of the building
were burned 70 ashes and cinders
| Sparks as large as a mans fist swirlet
up from the seething furnace of flames
land were blown in all directions as fal
as two blocks. --.--.
At Just the right moment a heav!
shower of rain poured down and extin
guished these sparks, or otherwise thu
flames might have spread broadcast II
spite Of the splendid work of Chief Cody
and his men.
| BY 10 o'clock Whitehall street wal
cleared and shopping went forward with