The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1917-06-16
TAIRTY.FOUR AUTOMOBILE hHE
BURNED AS RESULT Ot -
GASOLINE EXPlOSlON.
City Hall and Court House threatened
Jail Door Atire-lIncoIn anu
REQ Plants Wiped Out.

: Conservative estimates Of the loss
in yesterdays fire. which deslroSeu
the Lincoln garage and REQ SAFES
Agency plant AT thaplirc and t.olt
streets. indicate that fully Sop."V"
worth Of property went up III names
. Only small part ut inc los" IL Eu.
cred by insurance carried by ~"
individuals who had their aulomoDlies
insured
! OF this figure. $4,000 or moro Is
! represented in the destruction o.
thir,y-four automobiles. The building
which houses The Two garages was
totally destroyed. with a loss OF
, $ln.0nN tn" rest of the loss lnciuueS
gasoline, oils. tires. accessories an"
/ supplies together with several nun
dred dollars that will BE- required 10
replace paint and broken Wlnd0"S III
the city hall county Jail and WhcelihE
Electric company offices. the lattrr
, Offices arc housed in an annex 10 ING
. McCullagh building. which proViuc9
quarters for the Lincoln garage ana
REQ agency.
, The fire started al " o'clock ycSter-
: day afternoon when 4 small explosion
occurred while Gene Schrc'Vrr was
using gasoline TO clean the mechanism
of an automobile in the Reo garage
! housed in the north section OF Inc
building fronting on EON street. ne
car took lire and com unIcaled
quickly 10 n room connecting the two
sections Of the building in which a
huge quantity of. oil was stored. III,
forts TO check the flames with small
! eylinguishcrs proved helpless and Bon
% in the city hall was pulled. call
! ing out every piece OF fire hghllng
apparatus in the city. But before the
departments could get on the scene
! the entire garage was ScethlnG mass
! of flames. Thirty-live cars stored on
! the first floor OF the Lincoln garage
were removed 10 safety and three cars
were saved from tho REQ garage.
| Before any mora machines could De
taken out, the heat. smoke and names
| compelled employees OF the garages
and car owners to abandon 10 me
; flames eleven cars Stored in The
! second floor OF the Lincoln garage and
| twcntythrce in the REQ garagr.
Entire Department is Called.
For several minutes great volumes
: OF waller poured into the soothing fur
I mace by every engine and chemical
! apparatus failed to check The flames.
1t looked like the Wheeling Electric
! Offices, fronting on Sixteenth street,
,, we're doomed and great deal of the
contents were carried out Of the way
| Of the fire
City Hall Threatened.
Tongues of hre shot out across tho
alley next 10 The city building. II
was so hot in the police station that
! the officers there had 10 leave their
desks and Lieutenant William BUGGY
! Joined the fremen and held nozzle
for an hour directing water upon the
flames while the other officers worked
10 drive back the crowds that pushed
against the fire lines and hampcred
he work of The tiremrn. Windows in
the Second Branch council chamber
were cracked by the intense heat.
; The paint on the city hall corniceS and
towers was burned off and il looked
as though the building would take fire.
Judge II. c. Hervey and Judge K. NJ.
! Addleman. whose offices are in the
+ third floor of The city.cOunry building.
fearing that the structure would be
; burned, prepared TO remove their rec
ordS and papers ont OF The way. In
! all Of the city and county offices next