The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-02-19
FIRE DESTROYS
ENTIRE GARAGE
West Side Garage Goes Up
in Flames Friday With
Big Loss.
MANY CARS DAMAGED
Woman Proves Heroine in Res
cue of Two Children; Loss
Estimated at S25, 900.


was the innocent little cause of one
of the most disastrous fires Kenosha
has experienced in recent months.
The West Side garage at 1908 Eliza
beth street, is now mass Of RUNS
with twenty-five automobiles and
truck completely destroyed, and six
other automobiles IN need of repair
as a result of the fire. All of these
machines were in the garage at the
time of the fire which broke out
shortly after o'clock on Friday
afternoon.
Charles Besler, who lives at 922
Elm street, Racine, driver for Bratt
and Lang, of Racine, from which the
West Side garage gets it's gasoline,
had just finished unloading 800 gal
Ions of gasoline into the floor tank
and had placed the nozzle on the tank.
What happened in the next ten sec
onds is not clearly known, but it is
believed that gasoline dripped from
the hose to the floor and this in turn
was attracted by the heat from the
stove and as the gasoline spread on
the floor, it caught fire. The flames
rapidly ate up all of the gasoline
lying on the floor and spreads TO a
cot near the stove. In another mo-
ment the entire surroundings were
aflame and smoke and flames belched
in every direction. Within fifteen
seconds more the tank on the Packard
truck went up in flame with ire
mendous explosion rocking the neigh
borhood and smashing windows all
about. 1t was only a matter of an
other few seconds when the rest of
the garage was enveloped in flames.
Spectacular Rescues.
In the meantime several of the me-
chanics who were working on cars in
the garage at the time scampered for
safety. Three of them: Worth Sears,
X. D. famed and James Sears, were
able to get four cars out into the
street through the smoke and flames
in the garage entrance. Francis Col
Inns, who was working on his own car
at the time of the accident, was able
to get his car out before it was dam
aged to any extent.
Within two minutes after the fire
started, all of the equipment from
the Salem avenue fire station was on
the scene and a moment later a call
was sent to the central station for
all available apparatus. Robert Berens,
$50 Charles street, an employe of Ger
lach's drug store, at the corner of
Newell and Elizabeth street, sent in
the alarm when he observed therSmoke
and flame through window of the
prescription room which adjoins the
garage building. L. M. Bienemann,
553 Newell street, whose drygoods
store is nearby, also phoned the fire
department, notifying the central sta
ton of the seriousness of the blaze.
The Gerlach drug store suffered
considerable damage in loss to drugs
and chemicals as a result of the ex-
plosion. A large number Of bottles
on shelves in the prescription room
were broken and their contents spilled
on the counters. A shipment Of $500
worth Of medicines which had arrived
about an hour before the fire, was
completely destroyed. The damage to
the drug store proper is estimated at
$4,000, according to Joseph Gerlach,
proprietor.
Fire Chief Investigates.
Immediately after the flames had
been placed under control, Fire Chief
John Schwartz began an investigation
of the cause of the fire. His con-
illusions showed that it was purely
accidental. Besler, driver of the tank
truck, declared that he had just COM
pleted loading one tank with gasoline
and was about to load another when
the outburst came. He said that he
had just time enough to jump clear
of the flames, and in the act he was
slightly burned about the face and
mech and his hair was singed. On his
way out, Besler declares he called at
the top of his voice to all the persons
in the garage to run for their lives.
The Packard truck was completely
wrecked.
According to the Fire Chiefs esti-
mate damages to the automobiles in
the garage will probably amount to
about $16,500 Damages to the garage
proper is estimated at $4,000, making
with the $4,000 damage to the drug
store, a total loss of approximately
$24 800 There was in addition loss
through smoke in other stores in the
block but this is not considered seri-
Gus. The drugs and chemicals were
partly insured, the garage building
was insured, and it is believed that
most of the automobiles that were
destroyed were also insured.
Fire Brings Out Heroine.
The fire was not without its lighter
features. It provided Miss Florence
D..1-- sc%a
Mrs. Julia Skipper, next door to the
garage on the second floor, with an
opportunity to distinguish herself.
Miss BrksdIe is employed at the
Marshall Field Lace factory at Zion,
but for the past two days had been
confined to her bed through illness.
At the time of the fire the two chill
dren of her sister, Lillian 3. and
Dorothy 4, were asleep in an adjoining
room. The smell of smoke awoke the
young woman who sensed the immi-
nent danger. She heard the cries in
the garage below and grabbing the
two children, made her way to the
street just in time to escape the
force of the explosion.
5, w. D. Goodwin who owns d barber
shop next to the garage was in his
shop at the time of the explosion.
A door leading to the garage con-
meets the barber shop with the garage
and this was blown down by the force
of the explosion. The flames reached
Goodwin before he was able TO get
out of danger and as a result his hair
and mustache was singed.
Couldn't awaken Sleeper.
49,. 81 -