The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-03-16
INVESTIGATION TO
BE MADE OF CAUSE
OF CONFEDERATION
Block of Thickly Tenanted Office
Building Destroyed Entail
ing Loss of $5,00O,000.
FLAMES LEAPED FROM
ALL PARTS AT ONCE
Spread With IncreditabIe Rapid
ity Until Block Was
Quickly Consumed.

CHICAGO, March 15.--Tnvestigation
OF the cause of the fire which de-
stroyed a block OF thiclxly tenanted
office buildings causing q loss Of more
than s5.00o,000 resulted in the death Of
one man and rendered 10000 others
idle. was begun tonight by state, city
and insurance officials.
The manner in which the flames
flared out In several places at the
same moment, the almost incredible
rapidity with which they spread until
nothing but smouldering ruins was
left Of the block bounded by South
Canal. West Van Buren, and South
Clinton streets and West Jackson
boulevard. caused Shirley T. High, fire
attorney, to announce that every
thing pointed to incendiarism,
The first alarm was turned in at
1920 a. M. this followed by other
alarms ct and 4 minute intervals
until nearly every piece of Chicago
fire fighting apparatus was at the
scene. But even with So engine COM
panies playing more than a hundred
lines of hose on tho flames, 1t was not
until four hours after the first alarm
that the fire was brought under con-
troll.
Just across the street from the
charred landscape OF tottering walls
and swisted, smoking steel on which
fivemen expected to be working for
the next three days. lowered the mas
sive skeleton Of the fire proof" Bur-
1ington building today. The walls stiil
stood intact but It's is stories OF win
dows stared like sightless eyes over
the scene of desolation, for the con-
tents had been destroyed by heat so
intense that glass from tho windows
had melted, and according to the fire
men ran like water" The structure
housed the headquarters of the Chi
caao, Burlington and Quincy railroad
and all of the records of the operating,
engineering, legal and executive de-
partments were destroyed
Officials of the board of underwrit-
ers declared that tho fire, the most
disastrous since the great fire Of 1871,
revealed many problems which would
have to be met by firemen before they
could hope to cope successfully with
fires In great modern slSyscrapers. The
effect OF the fire on the Burlington
slsyscraper is free from fire danger
and that the modern fire department
is practically helpless against blaze
that gets a full headway In the upper
floors of tall building.
Insurance men, underwriters and
firemen declared that methods would
have TO be devised to enable fire
fighters TO get more water to the top
of high buildings. In an effort to fix
responsibility for today's fire, for
mer police department employe was
questioned after w. II. Schiff. vice.
president Of Schaffer and Company
whose plant was destroyed, said that
the man had written him threatening
letters. The flames were first observed
in the vicinity OF the Schaffer plant
After being questioned the man was
released and Mr. Schiff was ques-
toned.
FIRST estimates put the property loss
as high as $4,000 900, but after inspect
ing the rufus, Thomas o'Conner, fire
marshal, and Edward Buckley. assis-
tant fire marshal. expressed the belief
that the loss would not exceed S5,ooV-
COO.
Business men, however, pointed to
the fact that the flames had driven out
$50 firms, and declared that the tire
experts estimate OF the loss was too
low. They said II would total between
$40, 100000 and s15,ooo,o0o.
a woman who was seated in an au-
tomobile in front Of the Burlington
building Just before the first started
across tho street. told the police TO-
night or having seen several men run
ming from the shadow OF the buildings
few minutes before the first alarm
was turned IN.