Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-02-08
FLAMES OF UNKNOWN
ORIGIN LEAVE VAST
LOSS IN WAKE
SAVE REST OF BLOCK
VALIANT FIGHT BY THE DEPART
MENT PREVENTS THE FLAMES
ING BUiLDINGS-STOR is GUT
TED-SToCk TOTAL LOSS.

Obtaining a start from some un-
known origin, and achieving such
headway that the fire department
was practically poWerless to sue
cessfully combat it. fire .ast night
caused 100000 in loss To the C3apper
x Werner La Sale street store. The
by insurance, Is a1ntin "a entirely to
the stock. fixtures and building Of
the company. While adjoining stores
were filled with smoke, the loss 20
them will be nominal.
Believed to have gotten its start
from the boiler, which is located in
the northwest corner of the base
ment, the fire had gained monumen-
tai proportions when ii was discov.
cred at S;Se O'Clock. Great banks OF
smoke which poured out of the
building made 1t impossible for mem
bers of the fire.fghting force to en-
ter the store to locate the heart" of
the blaze All thru the night and far
into this morning leads of hose were
played on the interior in a success
ful fight to prevent the fire spread
ing to the business blocks to the
south and the Gayety Theater build
ing to the north. In this the fremen
were exceedingly successful and
that the whole block was not de-
stroyed is nothing short of mi
racle Only the valiant fight of the
department and volunteer workers
confined the flames to the Clapper &
Werner store and kept them from
spreading.
Six pipes were laid to carry water
into the seething caldron, with
pucky firemen manning them at all
stages of their heroic fight against
seemingly insurmOuntable odds
Because of the great quantity Of
water poured into the building the
basement was flooded to a depth OF
three feet, in which firemen waded
hip deep to carry on their offensive
against the flames. Drenched from
their skin out the firemen never quit
their posts to obtain relief, their
clothes freezing to them hard as
toards
Shortly after the department ar
rived on the scene it was rapidly
perceived that there was no hui
quer the blaze, and that the store,
with all its valuable contents, was
doomed The smoke which vomitted
forth in suffocating clouds made =
impossible for the men 20 nntrr
the store until daylight today. As
soon as an entrance was gained the
word was sent out that the fire was
under control.
Some Insurance Carried.
Mr.. Clapper, senior member OF
the firm, in an Interview with
Free Trader journal representative
late in the night stated that he car
ried what he believed to be ample
insurance to protect him against loss.
In the stress of excitement that lett
his memory numbed he was unable
t. state gust how muh his inSural e
was. He was almost certain, how
ever, he is protected against loss.
His insurance and other valuable
papers are locked in the safe, which
crashed into the basement when the
first floor caved in. The safe. lying
in a great pool of water, cannot he
reached until the drains are opened
and the basement cleared of the
flood.
Loss on the building, which will
aggregate $4,000, is protected. The
store structure belongs to the De-
light Moore estate, and is under the
management of II. l.. Hossack, orig
inal owner of the building.
Breaks Out Afresh.
At II o'clock this morning. Just
when it appeared the blaze was COM
pletely mastered, flames broke out
anew in the second story and attic,
two points which the firemen were
unable to reach at any stage of the
fight. Within few moments the en-