The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-01-29
CITY CENTER
 ISLUMED
 FIERY TORCH
Imperial Cafe, HofeI Struck by Spectacular Fire
 Last Night

Jull6du ScCOllU JWO -dldIul lire III little more than a week shot spec tacularly up the grease choked flue of the Imperial Cafe and on up an- other 100 feet into the sky above Triangla Place here last night at l0:l0 o'clock.
 Damage today was found to be at a minimum compared to the serious threat made by the flames to en- gulf a large section of the down. town business district a threat checked by the prompt alarm and fast-paced action by the Juneau Volunteer Fire Department.
 As the towering column of flame roared into the night sky, tenants streamed hurriedly from the two upper floors of the Stocker Building, in which the Imperial Cafe and Hotel are located; groping through snioke-filled railways. The ground floor restaurant and billiard parlor were quickly emptied before the threat of fire whipping across the tl1ickly paint-coated ceiling.
 TGke Precaution
 As a precaution, adjoining estab- lishments, including the Triangle Inn, Arctic Bar and rooming house, were evacuated Four hose lines were promptly brought to bear upon the flames-one observer putting the time at three minutes from arrival of the fire truck until water was collaring the column of fire. Lines were run up the stairs of the I'm perial Hotel to battle flames inside while others were passed across the roofs of adjacent buildings and up the rear of the Imperial to bear on the blaze from the top.
 The fire originated in the hood over the restaurant range and im- mediately whipped up the twisting metal flue, then flashed across the ceiling of the ground floor establish ment, startling the many patrons of the place during that peak business hour, and leaving a wide swath of blackened and blistered paint; the chief damage suffered in the lower quarters of the building.
 Flames Carried
 The scarlet-hot metal range flue, running up the exterior of the metal sheathed structure carried the flames onto the roof where one of the major battles against the fire was fought. The principal damage oc- cured on the second story, the lower of two residential floors, where the intense heat surged through the window of hotel room alongside the flue stack. Ignited curtains carried the flames to the floor of the room where they ate their way through the flooring to at tack the structural timbers of floor and walls and put up their most determined resistance.
 Three Rooms Damaged
 Although several Imperial resi- dents sought shelter elsewhere last night, because of smoke and seeping water, it was found today that only three rooms of the Imperial Hotel were untenantable. One top-story room suffered considerable water damage The small second-floor room where the fire gained head way inside the building will require extensive repairs, as will the exit corridor directly below. An ad- joining second-floor room is smoke and water damaged
 Window frames were charred and panes broken in a storeroom in the adjoining building above the Iri- angle Inn, but damage there is ex- pected to total only around $l00, as metal exterior surface protected the building itself from the heat from the blazing flue. Damage to the Stockcr building is estimated at about $2,500. All damage is eov- cred by insurance.
 The Imperial Cafe is operated by George Baroumes, the billiard parlor by Pasquan and Brignole. J. J. Stocker is owner of the building The Imperial Hotel, managed by Mrs. Jack Kearney, contains five apart ments and 21 rooms.