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Show o Early Morning Fire Malouf & Bros. Store Damaged Firemen Do Good Work Fire in the Malouf Store, Odd Fellow's building, early yesterday morning, caused considerable damage to the stock of general dry goods, especially in the shoe department. The blaze was discovered about 1:30 b. m. by Dan Vincent, who was returning from his "shift" at the ice plant, and he at once raised an alarm. The Art company responded within three minutes min-utes of the alarm, and found the interior of the store so full of smoke as to make it neoessary for them to crawl in upon their hands and kneee. The main source of the fire appears to have been in the north-weet corner of the room, where the stock of shoes was kept. This stock was destroyed or praotically so, by both fire and water. After a stubborn fight, and working under conditions both of discomfort dis-comfort and danger, the firemen succeeded suc-ceeded in getting control of the flames before they reached the upper floorjof the building and soon extinguished the blaze. It is stated that the Malouf brothers were out of town all night and only Mri. George Malouf was in charge of the store. The latter says she closed the store soon after nine, and went home. She thinks that a cigar stump must ha e been thrown by Borne one, under the counter, and smoldered until a flame was finally started - Mrs. Malouf claims there was a stock of shoes worth $3,000 but was unable to guess the remainder of the value of the stock, or the amount of insurance carried. Had not the firemen responded respon-ded quickly and worked so energetically, energetic-ally, there would have been a much bigger fire to record. Of the firemen in town, all but one were on the ground promptly. While ail the stock lis more or less damaged by water and ! smoke as well as by fire, tho main loss seems to be iu the shoe department. |