| Show Muskeeon hitch Swept by Fire MUSKEGON May 16 Twenty squares of business buildings and dwellings were swept away tonight by the most disastrous fire Muskegon has ever seen The fire fre started at 230 in time Launkowell hotel barns just off Pine street and aided by a strong wind swept with lightningliko lghtninglko rapidity ten blOcks up Pine street one of the chief business streets of the city Then by a sudden shift of wind the fames werA j nm Terrace avenue one of the U finest resi dence streets in the cIty where they swept unchecked until the southern portion of the city was reached where the buildings were not so close togeoher There the fire fre men aided by engines and men from Grand Rapids succeeded in getting the flames under control although at a late hour some of the buildings were still burning fiercely tie Twentytwo blocks are devastated Pine street business houses for ten blocks are onirely wiped out Among the more valuable blocks were the Pine street house Philaborun block Eckermans drug store Matthew Wilsons Wisons residence Sedgwicks wholesale store Mc Michaels shoe store and the Launkowell hotel No less than 350 residences includ ing some of the finest in the city are in ashes The 100000 court house was gutted but the public documents were I saved The prisoners in the county jail which occupied the basement of the court house were liberated Several court horses were burned and a little child sleep ing in the Launkowell hotel barns where the fire started is missing A conservative estimate places the total loss at over half a million Hundreds of families who were rendered homeless are being cared for by people in that portion of the city which escaped es-caped the visitation The scenes in the streets tonight are terrible The immense wind made it impossible to get the flames in check and as the greater part the buildings were wooden every thing was favorable to them An appeal for help to outside cites wn nromntv roe ponded to and the firemen fought heroically heroic-ally but almost uselessly until the more sparsely built up region was reached since when they have been constantly gaining on the fire and prevented it from further spreading The territory now devastated is eleven blocks long and from one to two blocks wide |
