Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 96, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 April 1911 — NIGHT FIRE DESTROYS BIG GRAIN ELEVATOR [ARTICLE]

NIGHT FIRE DESTROYS BIG GRAIN ELEVATOR

Babcock & Hopkins Plant, Built Ten Years Ago, Victim of Flames-Cost Above $50,000. ■— ■ t INSURANCE $25,000.00-BETWEEN 45,000 AND 55,000 BUSHELS OF GRAIN DESTROYED. Largest Employing Institution. Rensselaer Ever Had, Also the Most Destructive Fire. ■ ■ J

A 6REAT BUSINESS CALAMITY Owners Will Rebuild, Bat Many Heads of Families Are Left Without Employment. ___________ *v The greatest fire calamity Rensselaer has ever suffered occurred Friday night when Babcock & Hopkins' elevator was destroyed by fire. The elevator was one of the largest and best equipped in this section of the state and few elevators in Indiana did a larger business. The fire was discovered at about 10:2J Friday night by Bert Abbott, an employee of the elevator, who was working in the garage at the rear of the elevator office. Mr Abbott had been helping Mr. Babcock in putting a new tire on his automobile and after Mr. Babcock had driven away he worked on another car belonging to Jud Adams. Clifford Dayton, the night watchman at the elevator, had come to the garage only a few minutes before the fire was discovered. Mr. Abbott had occasion to leave the garage and when he stepped out he heard an explosion and saw the fire leaping from the B west upper windows of the elevator. He ran for the office, calling to Dayton. . He had no keys for the office but broke in the door and gave the alarm to the central office. .The fire whistle blew at about 10:30 o’clock and all who report having looked toward the elevator after hearing the whistle say that the building was enveloped in flames which issued from all the upper windows. Several saw the fire before the alarm sounded and a number made efforts to get a call into the telephone central office. The fire company made a quick run to the scene of the fire, but it was plain to be seen that nothing could save the great structure from destruction. Attention was therefore turned to adjoining buildings soon after the company had its hqse spread. The fire could not have occurred at a time when the conditions for preventing a spread were more favorable. The almost daily or nightly rains had soaked all inflammable structures and the air was but lightly agitated by the winds. What little wind there was came almost directly from the north. The building stood 112 feet in height and the flames send the burning embers high into the air and they floated quietly in the air, but largely descended to the earth or to some roof within a block or so from the burning building. The roofs were soon steaming south of the elevator on Vine street and the residences of Jesse and Roland Gates, Ben Benson and William Martin were threatened for some time, as were the barns in the rear of she Rowen, Grant and Thomson properties on Elm street, and a vacant house at the corner of Vine and Main streets. The residence of James Thomson and the residence of T. W. Grant were alsg endangered and the roofs of each caught fire several times. Streams of water were employed effectually in various places according to the needs of the time and two hose squads kept water flowing over the gMtin office and the garage in the rear of it. It seemed next to impossible that these two buildings I could be saved, as they were only a

short distance from the long ear corn bin that extended south from the elevator, but the persistance of the brave fire laddies, who underwent considerable torture, rescued each, although the roofs were covered for some time with burning chunks of wood. Most things of great value were removed from the office as it was expected for a time that it could not be saved. When the whistle sounded the alarm Mr. Babcock was down town. He had left the elevator only about 20 minutes before the fire. Mr. Hopkins had retired for the night at his home on Front street. Both caught the signal “57” and each made haste to ascertain where the fire was located, that being the nearest plug number to the elevator. Mr. Babcock had his automobile up town with him and Cooney Kellner accompanied him to the scene of the fire, which was then so much under way that it was plain that entire destruction was to jensue. , Mr. Hopkins also hastened to the scene, as did D. E. Grow, the bookkeeper; Emerald Aldrich, the foreman, and practically all the other employees. The proprietors turned their attention to the rescue of the books and valuable papers from the office, and the employees toward rendering assistance to the firemen. Mr. Hopkins was gazing at the fire from a point near the office when seen by The Republican reporter. He wa3 not much agitated but took the matter calmly with the philisophic realization that it does no gqo‘d to cry over spilled milk. “I have been listening for the fire whistle to blow 57 for ten years,” he said, “and finally I have heard it.”

From the west side of Main street Mrs. Babcock and Mrs. Hbpkins, the wives of the proprietors, watched the flames in their consuming assault upon the building. Both indulged in tears and were almost overcome with the shock of the disaster. The elevator walls were constructed from 2x6 inch plank, laid one on the other and spiked together, making a wall six inches in thickness and this was covered with corrugated iron. The interior of the elevator was com-* posed of many cribs, builded similarly. But the timbers gave way rapidly before the fire and a draft from beneath sent a volume of flames through the building as though it was a great flue. The upper pa'rt of the building, some 45 feet, fell within a half hour after the fire was first discovered, but the main building seemed t» defy the flames for a time and some thought that it would be hours before it would fall, but within a little more than another half hour the flames had eaten through the plank and the falling timbers added fury to the Are from beneath. The floors to the bins had given way and the grain, corn, wheat and oats, were dumped to the driveway floor and the basement, but it made a pile probably 20 feet above the level of the ground and at just 12:15 o’clock or an hour and threequarters after the fire was discovered the big building fell, swerving slightly to the south and west, but falling mostly into debris within the bounds of its walls. Before it felL many sheets of the iron with which the outside walls were covered had been caught above the ascending heat waves and often floated two or three hundred feet away. The large standpipe, which was supported by wires attached to the main

building:, fell to the i&orth across the railroad tracks and it was some time before the tracks were cleared. South bound passenger train No. 3, due here at 11:05, was delayed for about an hour, fear being entertained that the building might pitch northward across the track. The south wall burned away first, however, and the building thus inclined a'way from the tracks. Four cars, two .of which were laden with grain, were burned. These might have been saved, but in the excite-, ment no one seemed to think of pushing them away. Eight men can push a loaded grain car and there would have been no trouble to have run all the cars to places of safety. One car was finally pushed away, but just as the men were getting ready to move the others, the standpipe fell and the situation became too dangerous. The cars that burned were all foreign cars, being one each from the Great Western, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, Santa Fe and the T. &B. V. One car had just been loaded out and two had just arrived with oats for clipping and bleaching. Two other cars had arrived that day and had been unloaded, adding about 7,000 bushels of grain to that destroyed. As nearly as can be figured at this time there was between 46,000’ and 55,000 bushels of grain in the elevator, consisting of oats, wheat and corn. On this insurance in the sum of $17,500 was carried. That will not be sufficient to cover the loss. A number of farmers had grain stored in the elevator, which was at the risk of the storer, but it is the expectation of Messrs. Babcock & Hopkins to make this all good to their customers. It is probable that the amount of grain on hand had a value of between $20,000 and $25,000 and until April 11th the company had carried another policy of $2,500. The elevator and machinery which was in it cost upwards of $50,000. It was built ten years ago, the construction having begun May 6, 1901. W. C. Babcock, who was county auditor, and A. R. Hopkins, who was assistant cashier in the A. \McCoy & Co. bank, bought the old elevator that had occupied that site for twenty years and tore it down to put up this fine new elevator, which was modernly equipped in every particular and in which was installed one of the first corn drying plants ever installed in a country town. Four years ago the building was enlarged and considerable expense being added. When built hemlock lumber as used cost only $7.50 per thousand. The same lumber now would cost $22.50. Labor is also higher and the building coifid probably not be duplicated and equipped for less than $75,000. The dimensions of the elevator were 30 feet in width, 60 feet in length and 112 feet in height. The ear corn crib was 22 feet wide, 65 feet long and 3/o feet high. The elevator was equipped modernly with clippers, shelters, bleachers taid driers. The proprietors state that they will rebuild. They have had no time to give much thought to the proposition. They will investigate the cost of construction in both steel and concrete and probably employ one or the other method in rebuilding. The new elevator will probably stand on the site of the old one. The insurance was carried in nine companies, all elevator insurance concerns, some of them mutual com-

panies. The companies were notified op the burning of the plant shortly before noon today, Saturday. The Babcock & Hopkins’ elevator company was the largest employer of labor in Jasper county. During the, busy season both day and night forces were employed and there were usually twenty-two men on the pay roll. At this time there were only twelve employees, ten of whom are heads of families. The names of the employees follow: D. E. Grow, weightmaster and bookkeeper; E. A. Aldrich, foreman; Bert Abbott, trackmaster; D. E. Hollister, engineer; Julius Taylor, mechanic; Jack Webb, fireman; Clifford Dayton, nightwatchman; George Seible, Earl Ellis and Ailie Fletcher, laborers, and Miss Madge Beam, stenographer. It is probable that all of these will be out of jobs. Mr. Babcock says of them: “They are a faithful and diligent working lot of men and I hope they will be able to find employment until we get the elevator lebuilt and then we want them nil back again,” Until three weeks ago a night force was also working. The local grain season is largely ended and grain had already begun to come in for bleaching, clipping and drying, at which the plant would be occupied much during the coming months. The work of the fire company needs commendation. There was never a chance to save the plant nor the big crib at the south side <in which about 6,000 bushels of ear corn was stored, but they did what seemed to be almost impossible when they saved the office and the garage and their efforts seemed to be directed in the right plade quite generally. Less vigilance might have caused a conflagation extending all over the city. The fire boys remained up all night and they deserve great credit for the individual and combined effort. It was a fortunate fire in that it was no worse. The origin of the fire will never be definitely known. Possibly it occurred from spontaneous combustion, possibly from electric light wires and possibly from sulphur used in the oats bleaching process. The explosion which Bert Abbott reports having heard at the outset is difficult to explain and may have been simply the falling of (.something in "the elevator which had probably been burning for some time. The explosion was also heard by C. H.. Geary, who was working as night operator. It caused him to run from the depot and look toward the elevator, which he saw to be on fire. It was followed a little later by another slight explosion, apparently in the basement, although those who heard it agree that it may have been the falling of something from the upper part of the elevator. Mr. Abbott cut his right hand quite severely in forcing an entrance to the office to get to telephone. Night watchman Dayton made an inspection of the elevator after the close at 6 o’clock and another at 8:30: He again went into the elevator at 9:30 and seeing nothing wrong went to the engine room and-*remained there until shortly before the fire was discovered, when, as above related, he went to the garage only a few feet away.