Roanoke Rapids herald., 1923-12-21
100000 FIRE
IN CHARLOTTE
SMiTH-WADSWoRT STORE, H. c
LONG. EFIaD ANNEX AND
BELk'S GARAGE BURNS
STARTS IN HARDWARE STORI
Fire Under Control After Hard Work
BY Firemen, Aided BY Trucks and
Men From Gastonia.

Charlotte.-Fire which was discov.
cred a few minutes before s. O'Clock
Sunday night in the rear of the
on East Trade street, swept through
the harware building, the building oc-
cupied by the H. c. Long company,
the La Mode, Eifirds annex, on East
Trade street. and through Belk Broth
ers' garage, Warren Barber shop, and
George A. Newman's Tire shop on
College street, admaging property and
stocks to the amount of s50O,000 to
100000, it was estimated, before be-
ing put under control at about IL
o'clock.
The flames were first seen when
they burst through the elevator shaft
near the center of the Smith-Wads-
worth building, breaking through the
roof and Illuminating the sky. 1t is
believed, however by fire department
officials, that the fire originated in
the rear of the Smith Wadsworth
building, and worked its way to the
elevator shaft before being discovered.
Immediately after the discovery of
the fire a general alarm was turned
in and at S:25 p. M. all street lights
and street car power lines were shut
of, completely paralyzing trolley
transportation throughout the city
until 11:40.
Mayor j. O. Walker, fearing the
spread of the flames to adjoining
buildings, and realizing that the city
meanwhile was without fire protec
tion in other sections, placed tele-
phone requests with the fire depart
ments of Concord, Statesville, Mon
roe, Gastonia and Mooresville. Gas
tonia Monroe and Mooresvile fire
apparatus responded promptly. The
truck from Monroe made the trip
of 25 miles to Charlotte in 40 min
utes, with seven men under the
charge of Chief G. B. Caldwell. Gas
tomas truck came with eight men in
40 minutes, and the Mooresville truck
arrived in 30 minutes with Is men.
rived in 35 minutes.
Estimaes of Loss.
The loss sustained by the Smith
Wadsworth Hardware company will
amount to S25OOO0 but is fully cover
ed by insurance,
The four-story structure occupied by
the wholesale departm of the hard
ware company on North College street
is owned by Belk Brothers. damage
to which will be between $4,000 and
| s75,000
Sosnik and Sosnik Winston-Salem
firm, were proprietors of the H. c.
Long and La Mode store, 33 East
Trade street. They purchased the
H. C. Long business about six months
ago Value of their stock is estimat-
ed at $4,000.
The three-story structure was own
ed by Mrs w. I. Henderson, whose
loss was estimated by S. T. Hender-
son, her son. at s25,O00. the loss be-
ing fully covered by insurance.
Damage of about 100000 was caus-
ed by the total destruction of the
Belk garage and warehouse above.
Columbia Offers Aid.
The aid of the Columbia, S. c., fire
department was offered to Charlotte
by Mayor W. A. Coleman in the emer-
gency The offer of help from Colum-
bia was conveyed by the Associated
Press to Mayor Walker of Charlotte.
Thousands of persons, attracted by
| the fire, thronged the streets within
two blocks of Independence square in
the steadily falling rain. Police had
great difficulty in keeping the crowds
back from the fire zone, especially on
the College street side of the block.