Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 September 1908 — NOCTURNAL BLAZE THAT WAS EARLY CONQUERED [ARTICLE]

NOCTURNAL BLAZE THAT WAS EARLY CONQUERED

Little Gem Bakery Takes Fire Early Sunday Morning and is Subdued By Fire Company.

The early discovery of a fire in the back room of the Little Gem bakery, of which A. E. Bolder is proprietor, and the prompt and effilent action of the fire department prevented a disasterous fire early Sunday iporning. The !4ttle Gem is located In a frame business room on Van Rensselaer street, belonging to F. Wsßedford. It adjoins the building occupied by Scott Bros, harness • shop, and to the south of it, are several oher frame building. It was almost two o’clock when Nightwatch Thomas, In qtUking his rounds, smelled smoke, and an investigation soon Bhowed that there was a big fire raging in the mixlhg.,and < baking room of the bakery. The fire engine house is qnly a few doors away apdMr v Thomas wakened Chester 2ea, the Are team driver, and gave the alarm of sre,, and then assisted in coupling the hose to the newest hydrant. The members of the fire company and others responded Quickly to the, alarm and the task pf putting out the fire soon under way and by well directed efforts the fire was put under control in a remarkably short space of time. Everything was as dry as a chip,

and the ravaging flames had guttered the rear room and were lapping out of the rear windows and in place* through the roof, and fn the absence of an active fighting organization and a good equipment many buildings would have been destroyed and it is hard to estimate th extent of the possible damage. The origin of the fire is not known for a certainty, but it is believed to have been started from a candy oven that occupied a place in the rear of tjbe kitchen. All of the kitchen fixtures, the flour cabinets and tables, a fresh batch of dough (tod all flour and stock in that room were ruined. The smoke passed into the' front room and probably injured the entire sto&, and entailed a lews of about. S6OO or S7OO, and Tir. Bolser Bedford building was probably s2sft <si S3OO, which was also covered by insurance. . ». ~1 . For a time it looked like Scott Bros’, harness shop was also on fire, and great volumes of black smoke enveloped the room, and it is probably that their stock was slightly damaged as a result. The fire department again juj&£' fled its organization and the expense of its maintenance.