| Show I FIRE F RE IN HISTORY Y OF SALT LAKE LAK i I Oregon Short Line Lino Building and Several Fine j 1 Stores Wiped Completely Out of Exist Existence ence Loss Estimated at From to A Terrific Explosion That Tore lore loreAn An Immense Hole nole in the thet t Building and Put the Flames Beyond Human Ullman Control Origin of the Fire rire a Mystery Charge That Powder Was Carried in Basement of Mine AHne and Smelter Supply Company Also eral Firemen Hurt Some Narrow Escapes Mi I rIMS H Hf 1 Tin TIll J I nt Chief Edward Ellward Mc Me I f In head hell cut and lOGT I c g cut captain J W cutIn cut cutIn cutIn In right fight hand and fingers lacer er T TU U lOtto Otto Thumb of or right r I g h t hand and fingers of ot left leU hand bad badly ly IV cut col Vinos Amos cut in I Il l 3 several places T r C E cut and t bruised by b a fall tall Walter Wager Clawson scorched hands Robert Hobert Pearce Arms and anil legs I cut HH I II H H What will easily prove to bo be the tho most disastrous fire that ever eer visited Salt Snit Lake City occurred this morning It started In the tho basement of the tho Ore Oregon Oregon Oregon gon Short Line building directly under till the store stor above occupied by the Spencer Clawson wholesale Dry Goods Gooda company Its exact origin Is a 1 mys my mystery mystery tery ter that may never nover be solved As a result of ot the fire all nil of oC tho the om cm offices ces cea of the Oregon Short Line are wiped out of ot existence ns as are ulso also the big b Ig store of the Mine tit Un In a aply and Smelter Sup Supply ply lly company Spencer store the Salt Snit Lake Lako o Soda Water company and the Chicago O Milwaukee and St fat StPaul Paul ul while Awhile the tho north northeast northeast east corner of tho High school build hulid buildIng buildIng Ing tag and a n number of or offices on the tilde olde of the tho Dooly block are more lnore or less damaged as ns Is also a boarding house at dt South West Nest Temple street run by Mrs T Q O M Smith I IThe The Time exact loss Is difficult to deter determine determine I mine minI but the tho most conservative es CIS estimate c places it at from to MO IO The Insurance so far as could he bo ascertained Is about U though further Inquiry may cause caus these fit fig figurea urea ures to be ba revised d somewhat Never Neer did dill a fire department render more valiant service than did Salt flail lakes today tod Yi and seldom acId om did dill a 11 de do department have hae more les to meet meetor or dangers to confront It U was teas prompt promptly ly on the scene and an would woul have hud had the fire under uner control In n a comparatively short time had It not been for Cor fora a 1 terrific explosion which tore an nn Im hn Immense menso mense hole In the building making mailIng a large opening through which the draft carried the fire to the tho upper stories Into the of at the Short Line cony com company pany any where It soon got beyond all hu human man control That half a dozen doen fire 1111 firemen firemen men IlIen Including Chief DevinI Devine were werl salbI sal nol no bI blown n to o atoms at Is 1 a little short art of oC a miracle They had hall Just left lett the r Qt i beneath which the explosion oc 0 when It rent asunder that portion of at the buildup the big explosion thero there vas tens a series eerIe of ot smaller ones Some Somo of those thole present are of ot the opinion that there was only one but Spencer Claw Joan on who was on the ground at trie tl e time and some of the firemen declare that there hero were several distinct con cons concussions Of Ot course counce It Is 18 going to be a proposition to prove what these explosions were caused by The firemen make the specific charge that powder vas teas stored In the basement of the tho Mine Mire Smelter anti and Supply company compan and that they the were ere lushing In to remove move the t he when there thero was Will a I violent shak shaking shakIng ing In up that hurled them through though the Iho doors doom and windows on to the It Is further charged that giant caps and other explosives were nisI also In Inthe Inthe it the basement of ot the building So Su tar far tarns AH tUt Powder J Is III the smelter cuip cul I pany Jany deny den that talcy tacy car Jr nod a 1 pound 01 o It Il In stock In answer enaw n or orto r to 53 this th the fu if men say lIa they care C noth Mth nothing lag ing In for tor the tho It and declare d they donot do OO donot not count as us they know beyond nil all question of ot doubt that the building contained i powder and that the poder explosion put the building In such SUCIL On con condition as to 10 make It beyond all hu human human human man effort to save rave It The building was 16 feet reet by b feet reet rind of or two story stor pressed preened d brick and It was erected In 1597 by John JohnK JohnE K E 1 Dooly Dool for a London capitalist named expressly cx t x ruly Pea sl for to er the Oregon Oren 0 Short Line Line Company which took the the tah de upper Moor floor The first tint Moor floor was occupied by the stores storell whose names or are given Rhen above The Smelter and ond Sup fly rl ly company had tho the largest apartment in 1 the building and nearly the whole of the basement which extended ns na f tr far r north us as the north line of or the th Spen err fr Clawson store stON It Is In this that th t the explosion ll Is III to have hll occurred From l rom early moving morning until late this afternoon nt the police and fire tire deport depart twits meats m have hat been bero on un duty At nt the scene of f t the tho conflagration each doing Its best t 1 to put out n the fire and keep heap I ep back the lito these latter were very err great The ne riot was AS visited by thousands of ot P J ople t Iroda Ir day who iho ho were anxious to case upon the ilio ruins and nM to see poe t the firemen J at al their work They were kept kent back ba k the Ute street treet being completely oI II I J 1 i f t j jr t it itZ r J if Z j t t i ibs bs q rPy of 1 r rIx J JIl 1 Ix r i l lt JT T Il t aY 1 t 1 kI t lw lwy y I n i i J aw ej 4 a J IW i k 4 31 x j f N Ni f s si i Si f t V I w W r i ti 4 f As f eft Photographed especially for tho the News Nos by Johnson FRONT OF TUB TIME DESTROYED SHORT LINE BUILDING frH III t t t t t 1 I rI shut off ocr by a roped enclosure of large largo size SHOUT LINES JINES LOSS LOSE ENORMOUS All Its Records aril Flue Pino O Wiped Out of Existence No loss could be more complete than that of the Oregon Short Line Hall flail road company which had hall all nil of its of In the Hit v its evs or C a 1 few tew years yearn ers ago ngo for tor It I t by Mr John E 1 Dooly Dool representing an nn Eng English En EnlI lish lI h capitalist named The building contained the direct directors ors era room of ot the company the tha of at Vice Ice President and nn General Man Mali Manager ager age Bancroft and his clerical force Corce the of General Passenger Agent Hurley Burle and Chief Clerk Dan Spencer Acting Manager Schumacher and amt clerks the of at General Su Superintendent U E l S 8 Calvin Assistant General Freight J Agent gent peeves Car Cur Accountant and force torce Chief Clerk Brewer and ami men freight claim am livestock departments dispatch dispatchers ers office auditors purchasing agent Treasurer Jenkinson Superintendent of at Machinery and M Power Dunn draftsmen anti and clerks Resident Engineer Ashton Chief Clerk Critzer and others The rhu were ere nil finely finel equipped with the very cry best furniture and every everything ever everything thing thine that went to make up n a mod modern modern modern ern and ate railroad headquarters It cost the Short Line company n a great many ninny thousands of ot dollars a afew 1 afew few years curll ago to furnish the second floor of ot this thin building which It occupied occupied occupied pied In III all Its entirety When General Manager Bancroft was seen se non on the ground today recent recently ly from the tho hospital and a sick bed bell he tic said In answer to a question What have we wo lust Why Wh everything that wo we had We have not as much as ns the scratch of ot a R pen left lett Everything Is gone drone everything And then he disappeared In the great crush of at humanity that surrounded tho the roped urn Into which t no noone one except 1 t tand firemen police and newspaper men were permitted to tu enter When naked asked as to what the com corn pany Ian total loss low would be Mr Mfr Ir Bancroft Ban Han croft simply replied It U Is too early curly yet yetto yetto yetto to say 1111 I J do 10 not nol know You know as much as IS I lIto do As I 1 have told you OU we WI have lost everything It would wood be bc for any an one out outside outside side of at the Short Line Une company to esti esh estimate estimate mate what It U has hns lost In this fire lire It had many very cl valuable valli able records stored In the tho different parts arts of the burned burnell building upon which wh which rh no money mone value lIlue could be placed They were records of the company compan from Its beginning reu ortis orris which represented d the compans entire history and holdings There Is la no ice Insurance In or money equivalent that can replace these the e They are Ire gone nd gone gono forever What difference their loss lode will viii make to the company compan Is known knowlI best to Its officers omeera who ho naturally do not care to discuss s that phase of the ques question tion lion To Illustrate how great the lion tion was Willi It need only be said Mill that rem rein remnants nants mints of or the th hurried burned leaves heaves of ot Short Line Lino records were found as an a far ar east today an nil the Holy Cross Hospital i a h amile mile and a n half halt distant extending up Into the and Twentieth wards across the Capitol Hill and Ind down the bench almost to the Warm Springs ally f Th The fact Is H the air w was Wal liter ally nil filled with whim these fragments of ot burned paper Practically lr nil all their weight wl ht hd had ben been burned out and they floated through the tho air ns nil n tightly lightly as feathers feather The sidewAlks sidewalk in the business district wore were Ire In sonic come places entirely covered with them and many a IL peden Ulan In raising ral his hand to ward nit alt alta otta a n flying fragment ment would do no so only to rub It across hl hI his face taco and cause him to look like hike a R chimney sweep area much to the of ot that portion of the crowd which hall hail been tn n fortunate enough to escape es a n like hike experience Sl n P of ort FIre stud How Ho Hotho tin tho I lon Occurred i Chief Devine with dirt begrimed i face on which there was JI a n liberal sprinkling of Mood blood which watch w had come from some somo slight light wounds wound caused by fly fi Ing debris was seen upon u the ground early this thle th ill dilu lion tion to the tho men who were fighting tho the fire In Its last lait stages italic Hag The chief was loth to make mak a specific statement but I I close questioning soon disclosed the tho tact fact that he did not believe tho the story that powder had 1111 not been beell stored In Inthe Inthe Inthe the basement of ot the destroyed build building lug ing It Is safe sate to say any that no nu man can convince him that he did not taste lice feu and anI smell the evidences of this explosive explosive sive alve Ho lie had been told that the explosion explosion sion sIan was caused by add acid but he lie Is eel certain tain tali there was wae powder lewder stored there thero as liS aswell liSwell well The fM chief narrated tho thrilling story of at the fire as follows follow The rue alarm was turned in from train box 32 at It 3 and I 1 WitH vice promptly telephoned to from tram the station at nt home In a n Yen very few fow minutes I was wasat at nt the scene of the thc lire fire and found round the department already there hard at lit work I with two lines of or hose a 1 chemical In tn majority of oC mortals would have hove done Capt Workman yelled to his men They picked themselves up tip II grabbed the hose hORO nail amid a 0 shower of ot debris debolt glass and bricks they stood to their heir pout pont and did dIll not leave It Il until thoy they were ware ordered ord rell out by Chief Devine In relating the affair to a n News ro To porter Capt Workman said It wasn wasa was a n great piece of ot luck that tho t we were standing where wo we 0 word wera for tor If JC we wo had been u II few rew yards yard further south some pome of ot us would have got It sure ns as It was wai Wl we went flying like f so 00 many pieces piece of ot pac r What caused the explosion Quer ler her tho lice reporter Do you think that It was as add acid ns as Is claimed The Tho three men looked at nt each ellch other and smiled and nn then one one of ot them said It might have been add acid but I have not got gat the smell Hindi of or It out nut of ot my nose nasI yet vet and to me one It smelted like Ilk powder Then Theo the men wiped away the th grime from their faces facet and once more plunged Into tho the fray tray c f a r a r l 1 d IH the tho front of ot the building and a 11 water waterline waterline line at the rear The seat leat of at the tho fire fru seemed to be bo In tho the basement at nt the rear of the main entrance Just back of Spencer store In the tho meantime mean meantime meantime time the flames were eating their way Into the south Hauth side Hille of the he store occupied occupied pied by b the Mine Smeller Smelter and Supply company Wo We had also laid a line lino at atthe atthe atthe the rear but lied hAd not turned the water Into It II when with several lied had ha gone one around to the front preparatory to locating the line Itne there I opened open ell the thedoor thedoor thedoor door and directed the men where to go and what to do when a n ex cx explosion occurred under the exact spot In the rear which we o 0 hall had Just left Had our going to the front been post loSt postponed honed another moment several leeral of us ua would have been blown Into eternity It was a 1 mighty narrow escape for tor usall us usall all nil probably as all narrow as nil we e will ever have h e again and live to tell the tale ale While this explosion as ns I 1 said Raid was far to the rear It Was IU so violent as to completely disrupt the rear part of the tho building and to literally blow the fire firemen firemen men out nut of ot the front 01 of the building which they had Just entered enter These men with myself were vero Assist Assistant AssI Assistant ant Chief McCarthy Mcarth Captain Love Firemen and Amos Moreton All were hurt more moN or less leu though I suppose McCarthy RV J a n little the worst of at It He was taken away arid add I have hac not seen him since Ince I f do 10 not know how badly he was Injured In Clio Iho Under r lh ix but with lIh their lose HOM 11 One of ot the most daring feats reat and ex Cx examples amples of ot devotion to duty dut on the part of ot Individual member members of ot the Salt Sall Lake Inke fire department d was as one of ot the feat features features ures of or the big bill fire Just prior to the explosion Capt W G 0 Workman accompanied by b J 1 W V Wilson md nd i Harry Coleman took a n line of iron hose In Into into I Ito to the basement of the Mine lIne Smelter I Supply premises and worked I their way wll through the smoke to com can commence mence playing Maying on the blaze that wa was Wall fating eating Its Ito way through the thc floor foor The Tho next Instant the explosion u came camo and the men were ere hurled with frightful force otee against the wall waft Instead of rush rurh lag Ing for tor the op open n air aud acid safety M ILl the tho rr F I a IT 11 II ri II I I I I f Tim TIIE Iterate 1 Started to It Occurred One of the thrilling features of the tho fire was the heroism exhibited by As Assistant Assistant Chief Edward l McCarthy Cap Cop Captain |
