Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-04-03
S45,000 BLAZE AT
 r. 6. SMART CD. l
 BURNS r AUTOS
Owner in Hospital When {; Lighted Match Causes
 Fire
LOSSES ARE SAID TO
 BE WELL-COV BRED
Many Cars are Rolled to Safety by oss Divided Be tween Them: Stock and
 Building

While Felix Smart, head of thel F. c. Smart 9uto company lay under the influence of an anesthetic in anI operation for appendicitis in a Lit-I tie Rock hospital yesterday afternoon. ! a fire was sweeping thru the build, Il ing at 215 West Barraque occupiedI by his company, which resulted inl an estimated loss of $30,000 for theI Smart company, while q loss esti>a mated at $15,000 was done to thel building owned by B. B. Weii. Ali off Mr. Smart's losses are covered by1 insurance it was stated last night MT. Veil could not estimate his loss, but it would only partially covered. ] The loss incurred by the Smart company was in new cars and Ford' car parts. Seventeen cars were burns ed, including belonging to Smart's patrons. The fire originated on the, first floor, where some cars hauled in for repairs were stored. The di-l rect cause o. the blaze was said by Beaurie Kaufman, q member of the Smart company, to have been thel lighting of a match by Sam Altschul, who with a negro employe of the automobile company, was searching on the floor for spare part taken from the formers car.
 The flame spread rapidly through the first floor and !eaped to the sec. ond floor where they soon began to destroy thousands of dollars worth of Ford parts, and new Ford cars. The fire department had difficulty in gettlng to the flames because of the smoke which poured from win- dows and other apertures in thes building in such thick clouds that at times Barraque street for several blocks was entirely beclouded.
 The fire department reached the place about 4:30, and it was not un- til an hour later that the flames were extinguisbed. Buildings adjacent to- the Smart building were in danger at all times, and the energies of the firemen were directed at times to aV prevention of the spread of the fire to other buildings
 Building Old One.
 About twenty cars which were stored on the ground floor of the building, were rolled out to safety by accommodating spectators and em- ployes of the automobile company, and while the office furniture and fixtures were removed, they were in no danger because of a fire wall be- tween the garage proper and the off, flee.
 Besides the loss sustained on the new cars upstairs, there were about seven cars in the garage for repairs in the immediate vicinity of the ori- gin of the fire which were totally de- stroyed. According to estimates made last night, the loss represented was divided as follows: stock, includ- ing equipment, $15,000; cars, owned by the Smart company and others, $14,OO0; while some estimated the loss to the building at $15,OOO.
 Mr. Veil, who owns the building said last night he had not investi- gated, and could not estimate his loss.
 The building was erected in 1879 by R. M Knox. A building next tc this building, occupied by Charles Keller, was in danger of catching from the flames, but this was pre- vented by the alertness of the fire- men. In appreciation of their work, MT. Keller presented them with a check for $25 last night.
 Because of the heavy smoke which rolled out from the building, the fire took on the appearance of being of greater proportions than it really was, and thousands of spectators stood conveniently near until the flames had been extinguished.