The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1933-03-02
FOUR DEPARTMENTS
WIN FIRE BATTLE
AT MILROY SUNDAY
Village in Danger; Aftermath
and Schwandt Store is
Badly Damaged
STARTED IN APARTMENT
Two in Building Awakened by
Smoke, Noise; Redwood
Firemen Called


After five hour fight, four fire
conquered a fire which
broke out in the Milroy block at Mil
roy early Sunday morning and threat
ened the entire village. Departments
from Milroy, Marshall, Redwood Falls
and Tracy joined in the battle.
Apartments above the Aftermath
and Schwandt department store were
badly damaged by the flames while
the store below suffered loss from
water damage, flames and smoke.
Two other business places sustained
smaller losses.
Water, more than foot deep, SUBJ
merged the floor of the Archie Alter
matt apartment and soaked the fur
niture. The ceiling and walls were
burned and part of the floor caved in.
The flames were discovered by Her.
man Schwandt who lives above the
department store, when he awaken
ed and smelled smoke. He ran out
into the hall and saw smoke coming
through the ceiling boards. Miss Inga
Solseth, another occupant of the up
stairs apartments, heard Mr.. Sch
wandt in the hall and, noticing the
flames and smoke, ran across the
street to turn in the alarm.
Milroy firemen worked on the
flames alone from the southwest cor
ner of the second story through
window but seeing that they would
soon spread to a point where the adj
joining buildings would be endanger-
ed, the Marshall and Redwood trucks
were summoned. Before either had
arrived, the Tracy department was
also called.
When the Redwood truck reached
the scene, the Marshall firemen had
run line from the pump house,
across the street, through an alley in
the rear of the building and were
fighting the flames through the win
dow. Milroy fire fighters had Sec
ond line up the stairs between the de-
partment store and the Stretch cafe
and were fighting the flames from the
open hallway.
Spectators thought the flames had
been fully quelled when the Redwood
fire department arrived. The hand
extirguishers and chemicals were
taken upstairs and applied on the
smouldering wood.
Seven Redwood Falls fremen were
standing in room on the second
floor when a part of the floor caved
in and wood and furniture crashed to
the store below. No one was injured
in the crash but flames again started
shooting through the ceiling, leaping
Is feet into the air.
The dance hall over the Stretch
cafe was damaged with smoke and
water as was the cafe and the john
son and Schloetzer grocery store. The
w. A. WEIGH meat shop, adjoining the
second grocery store, suffered little
damage.
Mrs. Aftermath was in the Spring
field hospital at the time of the fire
and her husband was called there Sat-
urday. Mrs. Schwandt had accom-
panied him to the hospital so only
two persons were in the building
when the fire broke out. Mr.. Schwandt
occupies the southeast apartment and
Miss Solseth lives in the southwest
quarter.
No estimate of the loss has been
made but the goods are insured. An
baby grand piano, oriental
rugs, chinaware and beautiful furni-
ture were burned.
Origin of the fire is undetermined
but it is believed that it started from
defective wiring in the attic or from
sparks from the chimney. The fire
Began in the attic and worked down.
ward, making it difficult for fremen
to determine the seriousness of the
blaze when they first arrived.