Show I PERISHED IN A I FIERYFURNACE Y Five Lives Offered Up In a Spokane Holocaust BURNING OF A BIG LODGING HOUSE One Hundred And Fifty People Asleep When the Fire Started Wile Most of the People Escaped With Only Their Clothes It Is Thought a Number Perished No One Knows Who Is Still Impris oned An Explosion Heard Before Flames Appeared Stories of the Rescued Spokane Jan 24A fire in which the loss will run up to 100000 worth of property and at the very least five lives were lost took place tonight The Great Eastern block at the corner of Post street and Riverside avenue six stories In height and constructed of brick caught fire about 1145 pm and In I three hours was totally demolished ALL ASLEEP All of the upper two floors and part of the third floor were used for lodging lodg-ing purposes and at least 150 peopje were asleeu In the building when the I fire started While most of them escaped es-caped with only their clothes It Is thought a number perished What makes the horror greater is that no one knows who is still Imprisoned As the people were removed from the burn structure or escaped themselves they sought places of safety The last out of the upper floors report forms lying in the hall and women shrieking in the flames The origin of the fire Is supposed sup-posed to have been in the engine room AX EXPLOSION Mrs Stark Oliver wife of Dr Stark j Oliver who lived on the second floor I says she heard an explosion shortly before I be-fore the flames appeared The boiler I I of the engine may have exploded and caused the fire to start There is another I an-other theory and that is the chemicals i in the basement stored there for the photographic supply of John W Gra II I ham r CojcxpIoded GREAT EASTERN BLOCK The Great Eastern block was built in I 1S90 at a cost of 250000 and was owned i by Louis Levlnski of San Francisco II 1 I who carried but 30000 worth of insurance I in-surance On the ground floor of the I I structure were the establishments of the John W Graham Paper company i stationery and supplies and Skerritt Donnelly boots and shoes II Both are total losses Graham carried car-ried a stock worth 60000 70 per cent i i I I o which Is covered by Insurance The j j t I firm of Skerritt Donnelly had a stock of 525000 of which 20000 was covered I I by insurance I I In the offices above there were large I 1 I losses on law libraries and fixtures besides be-sides a still larger loss of furniture and household goods I VERY HOT FIRE The fire was a singularly hot one I and the fire department was long in getting it under control Even then the I flames rose hundreds of feet in the air I as long as two hours after it started All the hose In the department was brought into use and the store c the city were called upon < for all ther t to k I Because of the network of e tric wires surrounding the building it > vas j r ls f ln1il with the utmost difficulty that the i ladders of the department were eie I vatcd While they were going up the people were at the windows flames and smoke bursting out about them shrieking Crowds of people on the streets below shrieked in sympathy with thm FELL FROM FIFTH STORY Mrs H G Davies of Nebraska City I Neb fell or jumped from a fifthstorv window to the cement pavement below She died at the Sacred Heart hospital j I two hours later A thrilling rescue was that of Robert Rob-ert Masson his wife and their 2year old son from the fifth floor on the Post street side From a fire escape on the fourth floor seven feet to one side from I their window the firemen threw them I gf et I a rope which Masson made fast to his bed and came down hand over hand j carrying his boy Mrs Masson followed I fol-lowed As she hung suspended far I above the ground the huge crowd I I watched with breathless interest When i she was grasped by the firemen a shout of joy went up I |