FIRE DESTROYS MCINTOSH BUSINESS SECTION MONDAY
Firemen Work Frantically to Save Lower End of Block
Origin of Blaze Remains Mystery

Fire of unknown origin reduced four of McIntosh business places to a smoldering ruin and gutted an empty building on Main Street Monday morning. The Hatch & Richards Meat and Grocery, Hanson Meat and Grocery, The Farmers store owned by Cecil Mankoff and the J.E. Morey pool room were reduced to ashes, and an unoccupied building belonging to Ed Boren was practically demolished by the blaze.
About ten thirty Monday morning, the editor of the News glanced out of the south window and noticed, what appeared to be a small fire in the rear of the Richard & Hatch buildings, but before the telephone could be reached, the buildings broke into flames. The fire alarm was sounded and the fire department was on the scene in a very few minutes. But whipped by a strong northwest wind, it looked as though it was a futile attempt to save any of the buildings on the west side of the street south of the Drug Store. With the aid of the booster tank, five lines of hose played a steady stream of water on the burning buildings, and not until it was very evident that there was no chance to save all the buildings, did the fire boys confine their efforts to the Boren building in order to keep the fire from spreading to the Bierlein building and buildings south. The heat between the Boren and Bierlein buildings was so intense that the men took short turns at the nozzles to keep a steady stream of water on the fire. Through this work only, the west side of Main street was saved from being reduced to ashes. Several times during the fire, the Lawien buildings were ignited by sparks, but careful watch prevented them from gaining any headway. The Columbia elevator was on fire at one time, but water from the railroad hose soon had that under control.
The fire was a heavy loss to those who burned completely out, and also to those who packed out their belongings from the buildings that did not burn. An excited crowd was careless in carrying out articles and wrecked furniture and fixtures in an attempt to save them from the blaze, and the usual petty thieves were present to carry away goods. The loss was estimated at about $35,000 with an insurance coverage of $10,000. The Richard & Hatch store was probably the largest losers in merchandise, although they carried $2,500 insurance. There was very little salvaged from the store, and they carried a large stock of groceries.
The Hanson Market carried $1,000 on their grocery stock, but they were successful in getting out a part of the goods in the front part of the store. They were unable to get into the living apartments of the store after the fire started, and so their clothes and household goods were a total loss. Mr. Hanson recently installed a new electric refrigeration and other equipment, thereby suffering a heavy loss, a loss that will be hard to replace in dollars and cents.
Cecil Mankoff carried a $4,000 insurance policy on what is said to be a $15,000 stock, and part of the merchandise and scales were saved from the fire. The loss will be large, but an inventory will be necessary to determine the exact amount.
The fixtures and stock of the J.A. Morey pool room was taken from the building before the fire gained that headway. There was probably little or no loss, outside of breakage from the pool room. The building occupied by Richard & Hatch was owned by Mrs. R. Stoick who had it insured for $1,500. That and the Boren building were the only two buildings that were insured. The pool room and the Farmer Store buildings belonged to C.L. Lawien, while the Hanson building belonged to a Mr. Raich of Selby.
Words are not sufficient to give due praise to the McIntosh Fire Department and their adequate equipment. With the city and railroad pumps all working, the supply of water was never in danger. It was only with the abundance of water that the remaining buildings on the west side of the street could have possibly been saved. It looked like an uphill fight to save any of the buildings, but the fire boys showed their wares and fought and conquered. Too much praise can not be given the boys who stood in the cold wind, wet to the skin fighting to save the little city from complete destruction. It was only a patriotic duty that they had in mind, and they were loyal. The buildings that were destroyed have always been more or less of a fire hazard which made insurance cost almost prohibitive, and it was only through hard work that the fire was confined to the buildings that were destroyed.
The Variety store, the roomers over the C.L. Lawien hardware, the Moses George Pool Room, Haight's Tonsorial parlor, Boot's Cafe and Billy George's sandwich shop were moved into Main street in anticipation of having the buildings destroyed by fire. It looked like an impossibility to confine the flames to the five buildings that were destroyed, on account of the heavy wind from the north, but before it finished complete destruction, the wind subsided to assist the fire boys in their valiant fight. It is estimated that many hundred dollars were lost in damages and goods stolen from those who moved into the street temporarily.
McIntosh is very grateful to the Lemmon fire department for their response to the call. Although the fire was well under control when they arrived, they showed a fine spirit in making the long drive with their fire equipment.
It is rumored at this time, that two buildings will be underway in a very short time to replace the buildings destroyed by fire. An ordinance prohibits building frame buildings on Main Street, so it will necessitate tile or brick structures. That will do away with fire hazards.
Taken from Corson County News April 26,1934