Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-05-22
THREE RESIDENCE
SECTIONS SWEPT BY
BIG FLAGRATIONS
South Sider West End, Stew
art Avenue and Decatur
Street Are Victims of Sudden
and Simultaneous BIazes

Three disastrous fires, breaking out
almost simultaneously in three widely
separated quarters of Atlanta at noon
Monday, destroyed an entire block of
houses on Woodward avenue, a number
of handsome homes in West End. and
threatened the destruction of a large
portion Of Atlanta north of Decatur
street and south of Jackson street show
grounds.
At $3.50 o'clock Monday afternoon the
West End IRE and Woodward avenue
fire were well under control, but the fire
starting on Decatur street was eating
It's way north toward Edgewood avenue
and was apparently beyond all control
With the entire department working
on this fire, the apparatus was INSULT
Gent to handle it. soldiers were called
In to help, and Chief Cody was prepar-
ing to telephone Marietta and other adj
tacent towns for assistance
Calls sent out to adjacent townships
received quick responses BY 8 o'clock.
Marietta was sending 1000 feet of hose.
Decatur was sending it's engine and
hose, and Kirkwood was sending it's
hose.
The nremen were connecting the At
lanta water main with the Kirkwood
main. w. Zode Smith, superintendent of
the waterworks. said he had all pumps
working, but would be able to furnish
all the water needed.
Atlant automobile dealers were co-op-
Grating with the department by furnish
ing trucks. So were a number OF com
mercial houses that employ large num-
bers Of trucks.
Six negro children were reported
burned to death in house on Fort
street -s-----
The fire started In the old warehouse
or the Skinner Transfer and Storage
company, near Decatur and Fort
streets. The long building was a mass
OF flames in a few minutes, a settlement
of nearby negro houses caught, and
within a few minutes all territory north
Of the fire as far as the Jackson street
show grounds was endangered.
While the fires all broke out within
few minutes Of each other, there has
not SO far been any indication that
they were inoendiary.
The first fire reported was at the At
lanta Warehouse company, on Stewart
avenue, where thousands of. bales of
cotton are stored. This was about
1880. The department made a quick
run and extinguished the flames, which
were confined to one of the seventeen
warehouses and which resulted only in
the loss Of a few bales Of cotton
Hardly had this fire been put out,
when an alarm was turned in from
West End.
WEST END FIRE.
The West End fire was started by
two little boys who were building
furnace" in the back yard of the resi-
dence Of Fred Walker, at Sc York street
The residence at Sc York street caught
on fire and in turn the residences of
Everett Kirkman and Gus Moreland
at % and 81 York street, respectively,
were caught and all three were prac-
tically demolished.
The flames next burst upon the ne
gro shanty of Maria Simmons in an
alley running into Gordon street. The
sparks flew over to the fine old resi-
dence of Marshall helms, burning the
roof Of that house A vacant house
directly opposite the Nelms residence
next caught, and the two-story Gordon
apartments next door. These two houses
were damaged materially, the roofs
burning. The house of r. c. King, next
door to the Gordon apartments, then
caught on fire. King himself is a mem
Der Of the West End fire department,
and while fighting the flames of the
vacant house next door to his own home
received a severe laceration of the arm
by falling glass.
The property which was damaged
was partially covered by insurance, all
except the home of Everett Kirkman,
who had just received q deed to his
home a few days ago and had not
placed a policy on If. The damage was
estimated to be in the neighborhood of
$4,000. The fine home Of Alderman
Colcord, on Gordon street caught on
fire, but 1t was put out before any
thing but a sleeping porch was burned
On Woodward avenue the fire started
at the home of w. II. Timms, 335 Wood
ward avenue, at the corner of King
street, on the south side of the avenue.
The fire spread east and west along
Woodward, across the street and up
King street toward Fair street, run
ming parallel to woodward
About a dozen houses on. Woodward
avenue. were ablaZe beyond all hope
within a few minutes. They were most
ly two and one-story buildings, occu-
pied by white tenants. Several negroes
living in the rear of these houses had
their dwellings burned.
The fire was bounded on one side by
Connally street and on the other by
Terry street 1t was controlled by the
department before houses on Fair street
caught
DI All Tn ThX HnTT0M