Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 November 1902 — ARMOUR PLANT BURNS. [ARTICLE]

ARMOUR PLANT BURNS.

Big Packing Houses in Sioux City Are in Kuius. The big packing plant of Armour ft Co., which occupied throe and a half acres of ground at the extreme south end of the Sioux City, lowa, stock yards district, was destroyed by a fire wliifck started at 12:50 o’clock Sunday morning on the second floor of the fertilizer building. The loss, estimated by Charles \V. Lennon, manager of the company, wns total, or $900,000. The cause of the fire, Mr. Lennon said, was either spontaneous combustion or an imperfect drier. There was $721,500 insurance on the property. Six hundred men will bo thrown out of work all winter by the tiro, but Manager Lennon says a larger plant will be built. The fire was discovered by a watchman of the building, who only a few minutes before had pulled a messenger box on the floor where the flames started. Quickly the plant’s private fire department was called out. The city department was then called and every local fireman was soon at work. Once in the beef-killing house the flames spread swiftly to the rest of tlie plant, attacking first tlie oleo building. When the lard in this structure start?d to burn the tire presented a most spectacular appearance. The big beef house, where 500 dressed carcasses were hanging, caught at 2 o'clock. By this time the whole plant, except the hog house, was on fire. The roar of the flames was terrible. The country for miles around was lighted up. Suddenly there was a terrific explosion, followed quickly by another, and thin another. Twenty-four drums of 100 pounds of ammonia each exploded before the reserve supply in the ammonia cistern was reached. That explosion almost razed the entire plaut oft Its foundation. The fire continued to burn all day. Sunday afternoon there was nnother terrific explosion, which threw bricks and pieces of iron hundreds of yards, endangering thousands of spectators, but no one was seriously hurt.