The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-02-04
SPECTACULAR FIRES
DAMAGE ABOUT 100000
Ice CRUSHED Fyremen, with Icc-Cov.
cred Apparatus, on Icy Street,
Prevent Spread.
THRICE MENACED
Small Blazcs ExUnguishcd on Fourth.
Twelfth and Fourteenth Floors.
Intense Cold Sends One Fireman to
Hospital.

Damage estimated at from $4,000
to 100000. said 10 be. fully covered rs
insurance. was done ny the fire tha'
Yesterday morning destroyed sl9-2l
East Main Street and found its way
into OFFICES on the fourth, twelfth anG
fourteenth stories of the First Ma
tional Bank building. adjoining, in
which some Office equipment and sta
tonery were partially burned The
property destroyed was owned largely
by the corporation owning the First
National Bank building, In which the
bank and the c. q, o. and r.. +. p,
4 Railway Companies have equity.
What the losses Will be were not
actually determined yesterday nor
was the origin OF the blaze that gave
Richmond one of its most spectacular
fires in many years definitely set
Firenlen and fire chiefs, who had
fought the Are in relays for more than
eight hours under most adverse con-
ditions, yesterday afternoon were IN
need OF rest. and as many of them
as found 1t possible turned in"
The employees of the railway COM
panies and of other business concerns
housed in the First National Bank
building did their work yesterday af-
ternoon I'm wearing their overcoats or
other wraps Additional warmth was
given them by small oil stoves. The
heating system OF tho building, as
we'll as several of the elevators were
put out of commission by the food
ing Of the basement of the building
by water from the streams which
threw tons Of water on tho burning
and the adjoining buildings.
Heating Plant Is Flooded
Water seven feet deep yesterday
morning confronted the tanitors'
/ force Of the bank building and the
! furnace. the heart OF the heating
plant was inundated several feet Ar
rangements were made to pump the
/ water from the Jba senent and IL ia ex-
/ hected that nv time for the beginning
+ of fiIstneSs- tomorrow morning the
heating svster,~ will have been re-
stored n narn,al condition ard Of
fcas haataa IN fhe 1fsn,aI way
( An tho windows or the v,est sidn of
tho honts h,,;Iding halor, tho rour-
! tno,.h foor xvirer1,ss heat resistin5
,,.t~an,,s ,,'nra rrao,rod an,,,. af t,,n,,
w, ''' h.msr.ss - rIaros w-',4cu,s ~
-. ,iaas ,,,n,,ia hs,.o tal1ar t.,
s,,,t,,+ar. - w. a. ,,'n,,11 - on
p, - - .'t,,.,, ~ -. -
WV '"i'N -
s,t 49,. e A. a. -, .....,
-" nc :, ',' ~ ~ VOC .. - -
ma s eue p"nN ouiiuliIs WIS ul',''a ~.
80 aeFri az i1"u. . a." az WY "t .,, y
"a ieshIo sIeA' roIiS %, SMOKE "H,tu
ne a'' W Hi t. ne oiii.S ". w.
r , vi ute iou,.i hooi' ,ha. W.
Doo'h On tne t"elitli ana 'hat ot Mt
$50 $3.50 u" ~ '1el'n 100. az ,noss
I sHo ipe l.,Fdneo, Use oI 'le puliuii.s
rosH 'ana OF chein'cals extingulsh 81
lnese ou'"iehhs' ,ann use OF h"s'
1920 III ,ns puliails coo'ed tns
heHeeu waits ana "indo" CaslhsS aho
piSNshss'i numerous "'t'e NleS. McIii
Va W." Depai , ri.'che' a, ss' "a
py "inpioyeS OF 'he po,i"inH. ulu en-
lsn. WIN WIZ 'he ouiioi"s hie
ne n'ihs equipI'i III,
n WEIR ics Sr"s'.
oh .ne onIsane OF the nulloihE
"heFe ~ ana '%l Were converted IN =
es',ii'is iaiIiHre' the ifrliten SUI
lSrea III me intense coia. ihei
coming ehcrus'ed IN zee ana haho
anu races heaIiS frozen they "o,kc'
WIN iSo-shea'neo engines. laoders
nose and other equipment The stree
pe'"eeh cnrnlhgs hecafne an inmens
frozen pond ana an loot nloVeIheT
"aS - aug MI'h "anseF Oh tai's
~ 80 "1o''eiit'
Wv u, 04ucn1 ocC ui ~ ma
t1ao,, n- ~, 80 49, ~ n' go
o..o,, ,y0.,., ...t.
iron, no 49, .trca,s th't a:a,,o, 49, -.
~. hu-,,nr b,t,a.,,at, 80 tl,l,,, s.,
air and strrcl fhn naye,nc fnr sn,.o,.,t
sa,taaros as rail or s,eot tn ,o,.a
nrapts hsrama coatad with y eItnna,.,
surface that made unavojdahIr III,
crashing of sxiddinp n horse draw,
fire engine into a Puick automobil,
owned bv Alfred J. Kirsch. Thre,
wheels Of the automobile were broker
and the car otherwise badly managed
In addition to the freezing carl,
Yesterday morning OF the hands O
Captain Harris. of Truck No. /, there
was but one casualty serious enough
to require medical attention. Tha
was the case of William Duffy, mem
Der OF Engine Company No. Z. Fire
man Duffy suffered reaction from Ions
exposure in tho bitter cold and Wa
removed to the virginia Hospital dur
ing the afternoon. Last night It wa
stated he'ds doing nicely ana Will re
cover.