Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 106, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1899 — An Exciting Fire. [ARTICLE]

An Exciting Fire.

It Results In Senous Loss tb a Worthy Citizen. Saturday night, about 9o’clock Frank Lear and Conrad Hilderbrand, who were playing pool in the room under the Hildrbrand saloon on Front street, smelled fire, and proceeding to investigate discovered a blaze in Luther Hemphill’s blacksmith and wagon shop adjoining. The fire was in a big pile of kindling and wood scraps and not large when discovered but too large to be extinguished by any means at hand. The alarm was given, and the fire bell rung and the whistle screeched. The fireman began to reach the scene with reasonable promptness but there were some unlooked for mistakes and delays in getting connections properly made, and before any streams began to play, the fire had made great headway. The shop itself was largely of wood and especially had a very large and very old and inflammable wooden roof. There was wooden material in the back portion of the shop and thus things were in shape for a big and dangerous blaze and that is just what the firemen were confronted with. The flames enveloped the whole building and carried northward by a brisk wind soon communicated to the roof of the Hilderbrand building. This building had an old roof under the other and the two together also made a great blaze, and for a time it seemed certain that not only the two burning buildings but the brick livery stable to the north would also have to go, and with the chances, in that case, against stoppiug the fire until both sides of front street, north of Washington were cleaned out and also the wooden buildings on Washington. The firemen worked manfully however, and finally got three or four good streams at work, and soon the fire was under control. Not however until the blacksmith and wood shop was practically totally destroyed, and the roof and much of the south wall of the saloon was damaged beyond repair. The saloon room itself was also very greatly damaged, partly by the heat but more by the water. Cinders and burning fragments flew into the air in clduds, almost, and constant vigilance was required to extinguish the fires they started on roofs along Fire Trap Row on the north side of Washington street. The vehicles and horses were all got out of the brick livery stable early in the fire but fortunatly the precaution proved unnecessary The loss to Mr. Hemphill is a serious one to him. He estimates that SIOOO will be needed to build and put up a new shop besides which he will be out of business for some time. He had no insurance at all. Mr. Hildebrand had SSOO insurance and his direct loss will be largely or wholly covered by insurance.

The origin of the fire is not known There had been no fire in the building all the afternoon. There was a small door from the alley right where the pile of burning stuff was, and this door was found open. Perhaps some drunken person or tramp slipped in and drop ped a cigar or burning match, or possibly the fire was ariginated from spomtaneous mombustion. The arresting of this fire before it spread any farther illustrates once more the advantage of having a good system of water woiks, and a good and well equipped fire company to use the water. This by the way is the third fire in that immediate localtiy, since the waterworks were installed.