The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-02-09
Eek BUILDING
VICTIM OF FIRE
Building at Corner of How
land Ave. and Pearl st.
is Destroyed.
LOSE LIES SAVINGS
Tenants of Building Rush Out
in Night Clothing Leaving
Valuabfes to Be Burned.

Fire abated one alleged nuisance in
Kenosha just before midnight last
night when the Fred Eek building at
the corner of Rowland avenue and
Pearl street, which has been under fire
of the building department and the fire
department of the city for many years,
was all but totally destroyed by fire
which started in the pool-room in the
northwest corner of the building.
The loss on the building and con-
tents is estimated at nearly fifteen
thousand dollars and the loss is par
TALLY covered by insurance. When the
flames spread through the old building
more than a score of people were rout-
ed out of their homes and they fled
half clothed to the snow covered street
and many of them were sobbing and
crying over the loss of their meagre
possessions. No one was injured in
the collapse and burning of the build
ing, but it was declared that a bull
dog had been burned to death in one
of the rooms and that one of the ten
ants of the building had lost the saw
ings of his lifetime The money
said to be $500 in currency-had been
hidden in mattress in one of the
rooms of the building and the heart
broken man was searching the ruins to-
day in hopes of finding some trace of it.
Fire Spreads Rapidly.
The fire is declared to have started
in the pool-room operated by Jimmy
Cicchini at the corner Of Pearl and
Rowland avenue. The room was so
badly Quilted by the fire that the fire
men and police officers who sought to
make a vigorous investigation this
morning could find nothing. It was
thought possible that the fire started
from cigarette or cigar butt which
had been thrown on the floor in the
pool-room. The fire was discovered in
this room and the departm ent promptly
called. The response was almost in
slant but when the firemen reached
the building the flames had gone
through it like sieve and it was evil
dent that there was no chance to save
the building from destruction.
In short time after the firemen
arrived the roof began to give way
and the main interest of the men who
fought the flames was to make GER
tain that the people who had made
their homes in the building were out
of harms way. Firemen were turned
into heroes in a minute as they vol
unteered to go into the rooms in the
burning building to make certain that
none of the inmates of the house had
been caught in the beds and burned to
death. A roll call showed that all
of the people had escaped.
Brands Start Other Fires.
Brands flying from the burning
building set fire to the roofs of several
surrounding buildings and several of
the people who live on Pearl street
Just east of the old Eek rookery, had
to fight to save their homes. One
house in the neighborhood was on
fire four times during the continuance
of the fire and others were on fire
several times.
Early today Chief Schwartz and his
men went to the scene of the fire and
began the work of tearing down the
crumbling walls of the building. 1t
was feared that the falls might col
lapse and cause serious accident. At
the same time the fremen and the
police officers continued their investi-
CATION into the cause of the fire. Chief
Logan said that his best Judgment was