People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 September 1893 — BIG BLOCKS BURNED. [ARTICLE]

BIG BLOCKS BURNED.

, Hw Started by a Cigarette Stab Cause* • Los* of Nearly #1,000,000 at St. Joseph, Mo. St. Joseph, Mo.. Sept 20.—Three blocks of the finest business bouses of St Joseph are in ruins and nearly sl,000,000 worth of property has been destroyed. A cigarette stub cast into the storeroom on the fifth floor of the Townsend & Wyatt building by a careless clerk is supposed to have originated the conflagration. The center block and the immense department house of Townsend & Wyatt are in ruins, likewise the Commercial block containing the Commercial bank, the safe deposit vaults, the Central savings bank and numerous offices, likewise the immense building occupied by the Regnier & Shoup Crockery company. The Corby block is badly damaged, as are also the Stone building and the Muhlens building, while the new building of C. B. France, the Ballinger building and the Zimmerman building are badly scorched. All these are adjacent to the Townsend & Wyatt building, Sixth and Edmond streets, where the fire started and burned the best and most modern business structures in the city. Each marked a step in the advancement of the city. About 10 o’clock a. m. C. A. Purdy, who was passing along Edmond street, noticed a thin curl of smoke coming from the top floor of the eight-story department house of Townsend & Wyatt. By the time he could turn in an alarm flames burst from the entire top floor. When the department arrived it was found that the water pressure was bad and the firemen fought at a disadvantage. The entire building was soon in flames and Chief Kane saw there was no chance to save it. A strong wind from the north carried the flames across the street, and thence to the buildings named above. The firemen labored hard, but could make no headway against the flames.

The fire was burning fiercely from four sides and the destruction of the best business interests of the city was imminent. At this time dynamite was resorted to and a number of buildings blown up. With the help of the Topeka and Kansas City fire departments the fire was gotten under control. The principal losers are: _ Lott. Inturanee. Townsend & Wyatt Dry Goods company 1250,003 1200,000 Central block 85,000 75,000 Hoagland block 75,000 40,000 Regnter & Shoup Crockery company 90,000 70,000 Commercial bark 80,000 Fully Carbry block 40,000 25,000 Ransome Garrett & Brewster. 17,000 Thirty smaller Ins lltutions... 175,000 Several accidents occurred during the progress of the fire. When one of the buildings was blown up a boy, Johnny Haskins, was struck by a flying brick and badly hurt. Allen Laird and Oliver Knapp, two firemen, were thrown from a ladder into a burning building and both badly hurt, Knapp probably fatally. Chief Kane, of the fire department, was badly burned and a young man, George Hunter, fell three stories into a cellar. He was little injured, two ribs alone being broken. Several persons were hurt by falling walls, but not a fatal accident occurred during the fire. In the seven-story building occupied by Townsend, Wyatt & Emery more than 100 persons were at work when the flames were discovered. They spread with such rapidity that the escape of many was cut off and they were forced to wait for help from the firemen. At 2:30 o’clock the fire was entirely under control. Hard work on the part of the departments confined the fire to the block bounded by Felix and Edmond and Sixth and Seventh streets, and to the north half of the block between Edmond and St. Charles, Sixth and Seventh.