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Show FIRE DESTROYES ARMOUR PLANT SUFFERS ESTIMATED ESTI-MATED LOSS OF $2.C00,0OO IN CONFLAGRATION ' " ' 1 ; : Cold Weather and Low Water Pressure Hamper Battle; Men Frozen to Hosa Lines As They Work Omaha. A firi fiercely burning and which Is declared by veteran packing men to ho the most destructive destruc-tive fire In the history of America's packing industry, Wednesday destroyed des-troyed the nino-btory buildings, 17, IS and 111, in tho Armour, & Co.'a plant in South Omaha, causing an es-, timated loss of Sl-'.OOO.OOO, and throwing throw-ing more than 1000 men temporal Hy out of work. . Thursday morning twenty-one fire companies, under the direction of Fire Commissioner Hopkins, who has been on the scene since 8 o'clock Wednes- day morning, were concentrating all offoits o:i the brick fire wall protecting protect-ing building No. 20, one of the lard refineries. O. V. Wi'lis, general manager of the plant, declared that the fire started In the ninth story of building It), from a detective elevator motor, early Wednesday Wed-nesday morning. When the firemen reached the scene they experienced great difficulty iu making water con-nection. con-nection. Jiecati3e ' of the sub-soero . weather, It was said. 1xw pressure further kindred them in fighting the flumes, the streams barely reaching reach-ing the sixth story at times. Huge st icks of lard, which melted and ran over tho buildings H';e liquid, nullified nulli-fied tho efforts of the firemen. |