| OCR Text |
Show BLAZE HITS ! S. L FIRMS; LOSS HIGH Three Stores and Hotel Swept by Flames; Cause Sought The pages of Salt Lake City' fire history were turned back 14 years late Friday as fire department de-partment investigators sought to determine cause of a spectac- ular blaze that late Thursday raced through three downtown stores and a hotel. Thru firman wtra Injured fighting fight-ing tha stubborn blase, which gutted tha main floor and basement of the Pembroke company, 24 East Broadway, Broad-way, where one of the men was almost crushed when a 35-foot eec-tion eec-tion of basement ceiling crashed e with a roar. Fire Chief Walter S. Knight and Am ulan t Chief William J. Hancock, Han-cock, who probed tha blaxa and directed di-rected tire-fighting activities of more than 100 men Thursday night, announced they had definitely determined de-termined the blase started in a lavatory of the W, B. Rushmer optical shop, at 22 East Broadway, shortly before p. m. Stairs Cava Aceees The lavatory was partitioned off from the Pembroke store basement, which surrounded the lavatory on four sides, and to which a stairway gave access from the optical shop, said fire officials. Meanwhile, estimates of tha damage dam-age caueed bv the blaxa soared from 330.000 to nearly (100,000 as the Paris company closed because of "fumes and smoke from the fire." E. F. Dreyfous, president of the company, said the doors had been . closed at 11:40 a. m. Friday "because "be-cause the fumes and smoke still remaining re-maining from the fire were so great that they Inconvenienced customers cus-tomers and employes. "People were suffering with headaches, head-aches, caused by the smoks, and seversl have been overcome by mrosearVtnr-sald.1 Inquiry to Be Made Mr. Dreyfous said Insurance company com-pany adjusters would make an Investigation In-vestigation in the store Friday af-e af-e ternoon to determine the smoke (ConUnned on pax Tmiva) (Column Ono BLAZE SWEEPS S. L JUILDING j tceatmea Trmm Peas Oae) damage ta merchandise. Ha said ha j had "no Idea what thalr report i .would aliow." and did not amy whan aha department stora would reopen. J " Chief Knight and Aaaiatant Chiaf jTancock, armed with report on a firm In tha aame location on May Jt lt that caused damage of ! M4.tu.71, and for which tha cause ' Jaa remained officially unknown, j (robed tha ruins Friday In an af-I af-I Jort ta determine tha exact cause I a Thursday's widespread blase, f Tha fire In 123 was Investigated Tor several weeks, and It seemed likely Friday that the blasa Thursday Thurs-day would llkewtae need extenalva Investigation "and tha causa never a determined.' 2 Wiring Inspected . Inspections bad been made re-; re-; ewntly of wiring In buildings con-. con-. earned la tha blasa and satlsfac- lory re porta mads, according to 1 Chief Knight, who said it la hoped fan Inkling of tha causa of Thurs-t Thurs-t pay's blasa may ba discovered In a Brobe of tha ona 14 years ago, and ! ft aeema highly poeatbla that damage dam-age last night will exceed the ether." Thirty-five residents of tha Daly i total, 10 East Broadway, fled from I fhelr rooms aa dense smoke poured I rn. Many left without preparing for j nm cnui ei ine nisnc ajr. Mra. Benedlcta B. Maybee, manager man-ager ef the hotel, said moat of tha fuaats bad hist returned from work when the fire alarm waa turned in SM 101 p. m. Between IS and 20 ther guests of tha hotel had not turned when the fir waa discovered. dis-covered. Waa LHtts CMfuaioa " There waa vary little confusion." Mrs. Maybee aald. "Everybody bayed erdera and kept a level head. - "I don't believe, however, that there will ba anything but amoke eaaa In tba two upatalra floors Tha entrance and ballwaya are pretty badly burned, though." she said Hundrede of spectators lined tha treats aa more than 100 flremea veapended to the flrat general alarm In five months. -A broken gas pipe In the hotel fcr time threatened an explosion, (rhlch was averted by abutting off the gas. Ths fire spread rapidly to the optical op-tical ahop and to Zagha's Specialty Linen ahop, 11 Eaat Broadway. , - Other alarms were turned In at 1:1 p. m. and at (:SS p. m. and off- eaift fire crews ware railed out ; Under direction of Chief Knight, ; Assistant Chisf Hancock and Bat- ' tallon Chlefa Lloyd B. Egaa and X K. Piereey, 10 engine eompantea and the rescue truck were brought ' ipto action. - The blase waa not under control . br mora than aa hour. Oaa maska and freak air equip-, equip-, thent were brought Into play as flre-' flre-' saea sought to reach the basement, Where the fire waa most Intense. ; - rtsuwd Uaetor Wreckage C Dying ember la the stationery 4 more were being doused with water t about I p. m. when Fireman A. T. . Harwood. St Of 1228 East Bevsn- taentb South street was pinned un-', un-', sW wreckage aa a ss-foot section ef the basement ceiling and main floor of the store crashed without warning. Harwood, hacking away at tha Wreckage, was almost crushed by ; the flooring, but held part of it en bis back until fellow firefighter reached him. At the police emer-; emer-; fancy hospital he waa found to have , suffered strained back muscles and abrasions on hands and legs. Fur-: Fur-: Mier examination waa being made to determine full extant of tha back feature. ,' Twa Others Injured i "Ala Injured were Fireman O. C. t Bavin, 24. of TSS Sixth East street. Who suffered minor outs when struck by falling glass and later ' was revived by tha raacue squad whsn overcome by smoke and Mainea. and Firemen Paul Hamilton, Hamil-ton, 30, of S30 Browning avenue, 1 atruck by falling debris, wbe auf-; auf-; fared minor cuts on the bead. ' a-Adriaa B. Pembroke, 10U Doug- tea street president and manager ef tha atatlonery store, estimated S kiss to merchandise In bis satab- Ushment at tSO.OOO. Mr. Ruahmer said his loss would be about $4000. f No estimate was made on the other f places. ! Insurance adjusters said It might b eeveral daya before a definite damage figure could be released. |
