Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 November 1892 — MILWAUKEE IN FLAMES. [ARTICLE]

MILWAUKEE IN FLAMES.

Second Largest Fire in the West Sweeps That City. TERRITORY TWO THIRDS OF A MILE IN WIDTH BY THREE QUARTERS LONG BURNED OVER. AuUtaaee Sen* Fran Chicago—Fire Bofi AWto Ih* Work of Rain—A Xam bar of Casualties—Los* Estimated at from ST - 000.000 to 09.000,000 The Rest Sky Above the Stricken City Wee Observed from the Tower of the Auditorium at Chicago- 85 Miles Atvaj— An Appalling Disaster, Special from Milwaukee, Wis., Oct. 28, •aye: The lower portion of the east side of Milwaukee went up in a whirlwind of flame to-night. The burned portion comprises the wholesale district and the Northwestern railway yards and gas works. This portion of the city was thick* iy inhabited by Italians, Poles, Germans and Irish, most of whom are poor and have lost everything. The loss will be between 87,000,000 and 19,000,000. The fire started shortly before 0 o'clock in the wholesale liquor house of A, Blade A the east side of Water st., between Detroit and Buffalo sts. The wind at times was blowing fully sixty miles an hour. As the fire broke through the roof the hurricane caught up the brands, and, whirling them across the block, flung them full on the seveu story building of Bubb &Klppon Buffalo st. Before the engines could arrive the Kipp building was a mass of flames. This was the beginning of the ond. The sparks wore caught up by the gale and whirled hither and thither, while the firemen, fighting bravely in the molten shower, found their efforts powerless to stay the progress of the flames. A general alarm was turned infringing the entire fighting force of the city into action, but it was unable to stay the steady march of the flames which now were rioting blocks away. From this on ■ t was asteady, • conquering march. The big streams of water looked Ilkesquirtguns playing against the roaring sea of flame. From Bubb & Kipps the fire bod eaten backward to £. Water st., but there it was held by hard fighting, the fire companies enveloped in smoke and flames, undistlngulshable except as the wind hurled the curtain apart at times fora secondBalked here, the flames threw themselves with renewed vigoi on the territory to the eastward and leeward. There no englnfcs stayed their progress and they rioted down across Broadway, stopped for a moment in the block between that street and Milwaukee st., then jumped over that and continued their uaimped career toward the lake, a half m|le awav, carrying destruction, ruin and despair to poor fami. lies who were in the path. These people hurriedly left their home, carrying with them what they could, and, where this was impossible) by the spread of the hurricane of fire, fled swiftly, not stopping to took behind, only glad to escape w.th their lives. Mixed in with the small wooden buildings which were the dwelling places of these unfortunates, were huge wholesale houses. The fife king made no invidious distinction. The big trade warehouses went with the bumble borne. The ouly difference was that they stayed longer wTtb the former. The territory burned eut is in the shape of a slightly obtuse triangle. Roughly estimated it is a space twcrtfeifds at a mile wide and three quarters of a mile long. The scenes of Chicago’s big fire were repeated. Hundreds of poor householders carried In their arms, in carts or wagons, whatever they had been able toeeizeand save before they were obliged to fly from their burning homes. They did not feel safe until they had put the Milwaukee river between them and the destroying

enemy. At tbe gas house the flame? were up alongside tbe retort on tbe east side of tbe worn, wblcb is stored full or gas. Tbe two big retorts north of tbe works were also Inviting food for the flames. There was not even one feeble stream to contest tbe progress of tbe Are. The malt bouse Of Hanson A Co. was on fire and tbe round-house of tbe Northwestern road was ablaze in a dozen places. Every street looking south was a molten hell. Assistance bad been asked for from surrounding cities and Chicago Tbe efforts of that portion of the department to tbe western end of tbe fire had been directed toward holding it from any retrograde march, and in this the men were successful. Tbe flames showed coisiderablo eccentricity In their ravages. They would jump across buildings for s block leaving them untouched to return later and wipe them out In spite of the efforts of the firemen, who fought gallantly against tbe heavy odds. Pflugart <fc Co/s confectionary story was burusd at U o’clock and the Ore 1 spread to Gernecke A Co.’s candy manufactory at tbo corner of E. Water and Chicago sts. On Broadwav, south of Chicago, having met with no assistance, tbe Are pressed more rapidly, and the gas SOtCfaUgere soon burning, as were the an sen malt houses.

Capt. Davis of the revenue cutter Johnson tendered his erew to Chief Foley for use in fighting the fire. They were gratefully accepted and relieved the firemen In places where they had become exhausted by their bard fight. This reserve force came Just in time and the Johnson’s men fought gallantly and effectively. The Fourth regiment, under command of Col. King, was called out to assist In guard duty, and the crowds In the vicinity of the burned district numbered thousands and the police force was in uced as assistance, A platoon of the Fourth which was assembled at the armory was sent to house of Correction, near which institution a firs was reported raging, while there #ere no poiice for guard dirty, *ll tire msn being busy at ..bn other flro. Companies E and F were used for gnard duty along Detroit st. where there were piles of (rouse bold goods which had been hastily removed from the burning houses. Com was on gnard duty around the western yards where thieves had taken advantage of the fire to attempt tbe looting at box cars. Evon In tho heat of the battle with the fire It Is spparent that tits heaviest sufferers will be the poor people who hsve been driven out of their homes. Oa every bend are heard accounts of narrow escapes where families just got out with their five without anything but >tbe elotbes they stood In. In th# maturity of cases no Insurance was .carried. Tho fire district Is as barren ses the American desert,except for here ami there a chimney stock which has resisted tho embrace of the flames and stands pointing a blackened finger at the rnin helow It From' Detroit street and Broadway m the’lake the sun will rise on a barr u p ain. £ It was a»out 0:39 o'clock when the first building on tbe corner of the Milwaukee gas oouipnuy s plant began to burn. Tbe gasweut out iu many parts of the city, and it was feared the works were dimmed, but after II o clock the groat oil tanks were, si Hi Intact. The Bethel Home, near the gas works, cauxiu Hr* soon altar. With this Ham* mol’s llverv stable, on Broadway, containing tomdreds wotjnlheputh or •IhhohM. The Laura Catliu kinder* Ka''*en 1 uft iiinbdd despite the dynamite.

low. th* level, leaving nothing eombootlbio above the surface. Thus the flames almost encircled the works without com* mu nice tin? to them. The malt house burned on the east, the-Riedberg vinegar factors ami othor buildings on- the west, while there Wert counties* structures itt flames on the north, yet nothin* on the property was destroyed but a coal pito. i'be lire spent Itself on Ute-estreine eastern side, when ft destroyed the Hanses olovaior. At midnight It was thought to have dono Its worst, but the flames are still raging amougtbe acres of burning and smoking rains. Hansen’s malt house, in a few rods of the border 0/ Lake Michigan, _ with an adjoining elevator, made^a 11:80 LelderfofTaTback oftbeiMpela the block between buffalo and Erie streets, was on lire. Tlte fire department was working at the Franck* candy factory Gold & Franks is surrounded by fire, but at midnight is considered safe, although its saving is scarcely .'ess than a miracle. It is rumored that some lives were lost In the Itubb & Kipp factory, as many of the employee were at Work when the flames suddenly descended on the big building- Up to 11:30 p> m. two dead firemen had been brought to the morgue. The most brilliant feature of the great fire was the burning of the towering elevator and malt bouse of the Hansen malt company. The elevator, after smoking at the upper windows, suddenly burst into flames, and from the lower windows to the top of the high ventilating bouse it was all ablaze. As a heavy blast of wind struck it the flames swept across the street, and in an Instant the malt house proper, with Its tall tower, broke out in spots of flickering fire. The elevator was so strongly bnilt that it maintained its form long after the hottest period was f>ast and from the lower floors the burnng grain poured into the streets like the down pour of Niagara. Then from the windows of the large houses and from the eaves came jets of bright, green flames, gas from the heated malt. It was not long before the entire building was ablaze and the roar was tremendous. A large ventilating wheel In the face of the upper story was burning and whirling away like a huge St. Catharine’s wh'el. The heat was intense within a block of the malt bouse and when the smaller malt house was thoroughly aflame It was a close call for the retort house of the gas company; only the most vigorous work of th* saloon men with a hydrant hose and buckets of water saved the wooden saloon that adjoins the retort house. The bouso was completely surrounded by fire. Theaur rounding houses wero mostly small wood* en structures, though they made a hot. brilliant fire. The tanks of the gas houses which had been lowered were subjected to another season of Intense beat when the Reid berg vinegar factory wont np. This factory, covering nearly half a bit ek, was regarded as safe. When ibestables opposite were burning the flames swept across the street, but did not even crack the glass In the windows. Twico,three times the tire seemed to catch hold of the west part of tbe building, and once there was fair start but no damage waa done. Three frame bouses between the facio -y and the engine house caught, and In a few minutes were ablaze. That settled the fate, not only of the great factory, but also of the engine honse, which burned furiously from the ground to the top of the observation tower. Fifteen long trains of freight earsstood on the Northwestern tracks. When a billow of lire leaped cross Van Buren street and touched the south end of a freight house a million dollars’ worth of property was doomed. The south onffbT the freight house was filled with oil. Soon the smell of burning petroleum filled the air and a volley of explosions shooi the earth, and au luslant later a shower of burning cinders floated off toward tbe lake, covering a thousand freight cars full of merchandise. The wave of flames swept onward, consuming everything in its path. Just as the fire had reached the northwestern freight honse a man broke throarh the crowd and rushed to a doubled deck car. The cif Was s*led with geese. The gees* were released ami driven down the track to the north. They screamed and attempted to fly away, bnt their long confinement had made them unequal to tbe emergency. Before a distance of a block had been traversed tbe geese had scattered and a mob was punning them among the freight cars. Hundreds of men with a live goose under each arm stood and watched the scene and no one questioned their right to carry the fowls. Leading fnsnrance men sav that abont one-half the loss Is covered by Insurance. At 3 o’clock Saturday morning the flames were got under control. The Chicago fire department was called upon for aid, and reached Milwaukee about 11 o’clock. Tbe flames could be distinctly observed from the tower of the Audltloriurn Building at Chicago.