New Ulm review., 1921-12-21
LARGE PACKING PLANT AGAIN
ENDANGERED. MOTOR
CATCHES FIRE.
SMUDGEtCAUSEDfBY SWEEPING
COMPOUND IN REAR OF VI
{ ENGELBER rs. sTs

II - ~ .
lever. Last Tuesday evening the old
city light and water plant was bad dly
Quilted by asblaze which, but for the
timely arrival and valiant work Of our
fire laddies, would no doubt have been.
a total loss, together with its valua BILE
contents Of machinery and other.
equipment
Another Blaze at Storks. s
Friday evening at about $50 o. clock,
the Fire Department responded to.
anotherfre call. This blaze was in the
large packing plant Of Stork Brothers.
well-known local produce Dealers
where the electric motor which drives
the freight elevator evidently. caught
fire and threatened to spread Ito the
surrounding wood, work. Had the
flames not been, discovered in time,sit
is believed that the large structure
would have been doomed to destruction
would have been doomed to destruc-7,
ton, but the fire laddies. soon had the;
blaze extinguished, before it could.
spread. The motor is practica ~ a
total loss, however. L
Caused by Interrupted Current.
Friday afternoon, between 5 and $50
O'clock, the electric current to certain
sections Of the city was cut off at the
municipal plant, while inemen were
making repairs and chan ges in the lead
wires at the old building, which was
damaged by fire last Tuesday night.
Employees Of Stork Brothers were just
transferring pressed poultry from the
lower to afhigher foorin their building,
by means Of the elevator, when the!
"juice' was shut off. Believing that
something was wrong with the motor,
they tried toinvestigate and repair it.
In doing 50, it. is thought they forgot
to entirely shut Off the current when
leaving the building at o'clock, and
as no one worked at the produce plant
after supper, the power started up
again when the electricity was again
turned on at about o'clock.
Againein Busy Season.
"A week orstwo before Thanksgiving,
1920, FIRE broke out in the poultry
dressing department at the Stork plant,
doing considerable damage. It is be-
lieved that sdefective electric wiring
caused the confagration5 at that time.
They were just in the midst of a heavy
poultry season and large number Of
chickens were suffocated by smoke.
The fire Friday evening again came
at a very unopportune time, but,
luckily, it did not do a great deal Of
damage, aside from putting the electric
motor out Of commission. The mem
bers of the firm experienced some ex-
.ceedingly anxious moments until the
fire laddies had succeeded in eMng-
gushing the blaze and it was ascer-
tanned that the damage was slight.
Sweeping Compound Smudge.
Spontaneous combustion is held re-
sponsible for a smudge that was dis
covered in metal container at the.
rear Of the Engelbert hardware store
on South Minnesota street by Helmuth
Reinke at about 1880; O clock Saturday
morning. The can contained used
sweeping compound, which was smoul7-s
dering bfiskly when Mr.. ReinklseFf RlseiinllklkseFf
happened along and saw the smudge.
He notified Officer John r. Herzoga
who hastened to the scene and put the. e.
fire out. Fortunately the container
was Of metal and was standing outside
the building. "A wooden conta ner in
side the structure might have caused a
disastrous fiaqration.