The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-11-03
4 Feeder Finds His House 10 On
Fire and Blaze Cuts Him on
From Telephone In His
Homo.
BASEMENT IS Quilted
..,,.ment Confines ConfIagration TO
frame Portion Of the House and
for Most Part to the
Basement.

No. old Huiskamp house at At
,,.h second street, owned BY A. A.
nOadar was damaged by fire which
ssoSa out in the basement yesterday
uaarnoon. The house WAS used as
anh house during the water power con-
s S,uuct;on. and was called the Riverview
s,,,h II has since been converted
into an apartment house. ana CITY
a.,orney and Mrs. G. II. Dickey and
,ha Reeder family are living there.
Tho fire was discovered by Mr..
posder. who, when he attempted 10
gat to telephone, found himself cut
oY nv flames and smoke coming up
the stairway and through the wall.
IL WAS forced to run 10 the neigh
hnr,s in order to get to telephone
md had to try three places before he
conld find anyone at nome. When
tha department arrived, the basement
was In flames, and the entire frame
section of the big house was threat
ened.
big plate glass window which is on
Line Second street side OF the nrs'
floor was blown out by an explosion
before the department arrived. Cur
tain hangings at window on the riyet
side Of the house caught fire from
fhe heat. This damage all occurred
in room which was untouched by
the flames.
The fire is believed to have orig
mated in the furnace room, although
there is a possibility that sparks
from a fire of some paper and trash
may have set It, but this Is not very
likely. There had been some trouble
with furnace gas causing slight ex-
blossoms and blowing the furnace
door open, Mr.. Reeder said. The fur
mace fre had been built UP shortly
before the blaze was discovered.
Awakened From Map.
Mr.. Reeder had returned from q
walk to the lock, with his two chill
dren, and his wife had taken the chill
dren. then and had gone out. He re
NAMED at home to take nap, anc
had dropped off to sleep. He wal
awakened by the smell OF smoke, ant
Investigated. He smelied pine burn
K ing, and started to go down to tn
basement, thinking perhaps the fur
mace door had come open.
The flames and smoke were thel
pouring up the basement stairs. Th'
flames were burning through tn
stairway partitions on the first hooi
and Mr.. Reeder was cut OF from tn
telephone. He ran out of the hons
and over to the neighbors to send Il
the alarm. Before he had gotte
back the gas from the smoke an
flames exploded in the big Twin
room sending the plate glass windo'
in hundred piece, TO the pore
floor.
The firemen laid two Tines OF hos
and fought the fire In the basemen
They had to cut through one side
the house to get at the flre back J
one corner. The floors are doubl
with layer of sawdust in between
and 1t was hard to get AT these. tn
fire was confined mostly to the bas
ment, and to the porch and stairwa
to the first floor. r
The apartments on the second fot
were not touched by the fire. 1t wa
here that Mr.. and Mrs. Dfckey nav
their rooms. The most damage dor
on the second and third floors WE
through smoke. There was no Ill
above the first floor.
The f1remen worked over w
hours subduing the flames and ma
ing sure that there was no possib