Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1898 — An Unimportant Fire. [ARTICLE]

An Unimportant Fire.

There was a small fire about 10:30 this forenoon, which, though it did not amount to much as a fire, it demonstrated again the efficiency of our waterworks system for fire fighting. The fire was in an old barn on the river bank, in the rear of Luther Hemphill’s residence, and belonging to him. % It was started by Mr. Hemphill’s four-year-old boy, who was playing in the barn, and being very dry the whole building was very soon in a blaze. Some buggies and other articles in the barn were saved by George Hopkins, who was working a few yards away. Hose cart No. 1 reached the place in a very short time, and in a very few minutes had the fire extinguished, although the whole building was charred deeply by the flames. Probably SSO will cover the damage.