The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1918-08-07
DANGER FROM
FIRES IS GREATEST
At PRESENT TIME
FIRES DESTROY RIECKMANN
HOME AND THREATEN HENRY
WERNER FARM BUILDINGS.

The danger from fires is at its
greatest at the present time through
the fact that grasses have become
dead and so powder-dry that match
or spark falling in them may start a
serious conflagration and one which
might destroy a great deal of proper
ty. For this reason be very careful
where you carry lights, where you
throw lighted cigar or cigarette stubs
or where you may throw a match af-
ter you have used one.
Fire destroyed the fine farm home
of Mr.. and Mrs. Herman Rieckmann
on the Greenville road, the first house
north of the Al Shaw residence and
owned and occupied until recently by
Mr.. and Mrs. Carey Nichols, at about
nine o'clock Tuesday morning and al
though a brave fight was put up
against the fire, it soon had such start
that it was realized that the building
could not be saved and the attention
of the volunteer fire fighters was di-
rected to the saving of the contents of
the house and the rest of the farm
buildings which stood nearby.
Mr.. Rieckmann and his son were
the first to discover the fire and no.
ticed it as they were coming up out
of the field with load of grain and
hurried and notified the rest of the
family in the house. Many people
nearby were quickly on the scene and
lot of help was rendered to the fam
| ily in fighting the flames and carry
ing out the contents of the house and
in this way practically everything in
the building was saved. All the fur
niture, clothing and other stuff was
saved with the exception of - small
quantity of the clothing and school
books of one of the daughters who is
a teacher.
The wind was in favor of the people
| fighting the fire in regards to the
saving Of the balance of the farm
buildings as it carried the heat and
flames toward the east and away from
them. Had the wind been blowing
toward the west it would undoubtedly
have been impossible to have saved
any one of the buildings as they stand
comparatively close together and the
dry weather has made them so sus-
sceptible to firing that spark might
have started them to burning too.
Mr.. Rieckmakn and his family have
only recently moved to this vicinity,
coming here from near Fremont, and
the blow is hard one for them. How
ever they are of the right sort and
will Immediately rebuild and make
themselves a new home on the old site
just as quickly as they can. How
ever, they can not pass this occasion
by but to thank the good people
through these columns for the help
extended them at the time of the fire
and their sense of appreciation is so
deep for this service that they will
never forgt the assistance and acts
of kindness extended
The loss of the Rieckmann home
will total close to $4,000 with an in
surance of 5000.
Another fire which threatened to do
considerable damage started on the
Henry Werner farm. just west Of
their home and farm buildings and
spread over a large part of the farm
and had it not been so vaEantly fought
and finally controlled might have even
tually reached the buildings and in
that case they would also have been
destroyed, as every building at the
present time is so thoroughly dried
out that it takes little or nothing to
start it afire.