The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-07-28

flning the damage in the first fire to
the rear Of the first and second
floors of the Rosner storage house
when Lieut.. Earl Miner in COM
mand of Truck Company 5, 126 w.
Fifteenth ST., reported to Assistant
Chief Fulmer that his company.
the last to leave, was back at the
station and the fire was out.
This was shortly after 4 a. m. The
first fire was discovered at ll:15 by
William Miller, 2433 Kenwood Ave,
merchant policeman.
Just seven minutes after Miner
had reported the fire out John
Frazee and Berl De Haven, employees
of the Rosner Company, called the
fire department again. They had
discovered a mattress ablaze on the
first floor.
The building had two brick, steel
and wood stories and a basement.
Steel Beams Are Twisted
BY the time the f1remen got back
to the RoSner building the entire
rear half of the building was in
flames, the blaze leaping high into
the air.
Then began another dogged bat
tie, which did not end until late
this morning.
After the roof and second floor
had burned away or fallen to the
concretee first floor, carrying with
them forty valuable pianos and
several hundred loads Of furniture,
the fremen had to continue to pour
thousands of gallons of water into
the debris from all sides.
Flames repeatedly broke out from
the smoldering overstuffed furniture
and mattresses after firemen
thought they had eXtinguished ev-
cry spark.
Twelve-inch steel beams which
supported the roof and the second
floor were twisted by the heat and
pressure of falling debris as if they
had been tin,
Cause Of Fire Is Puzzle
Assistant Chief F'ulmer said the
cause of the first fire was particu-
larly puzzling to f1remen, because
the storage house was unusually
we'll conducted.
He said the furniture was neatly
packed and arranged so that ample
aisles were left, and M. G. RoSner,
the proprietor, was strict in OBJ
servance of fire rules.
Rosner declared he permitted no
smoking in the place, not even in
the Office.
He said that he refused to permit
customers to smoke in his sales
room adjoining another storage
house he operates at 1913 N. Senate
Ave-, and whenever he wanted to
smoke himself he went out on the
sidewalk.
Firemen rushing to the first fire
found the place so securely locked
they had to batter in the heavy
doors.
The faulty electric wiring theory
was discounted because the fire
started on the first floor, thirty feet
away from the elevator, at point
where there were no wires, Fulmer
said.
Losses Being Checked
1t is possible, Fulmer said. that
some furniture owner had left
matches in a dresser or matches
might have fallen between cushions
of overstuffed furniture and in some
manner have been ignited.
Rosner carried insurance upon
neither the stored furniture nor
the building. The Rosner building
and the two damaged dings are
owned by the Senate BJiA ng Com
pany.
Isaac Marks, of the Henry Marks
Sons Company, 517-19 S. Delaware
ST., an official of the building COM
pany, said the building loss is
covered by insurance. He would
not estimate the damage.
Meanwhile, Rosner was aiding
persons who had stored goods de-
stroyed, to check their losses so they
could collect on their insurance
policies.
1t probably will be several days
before the exact extent of the loss
is known because many Of the
persons who suffered loss live out
of the city.