A 3 A.M. Saloon Fire Puts a Whole Block in Peril
Smoke seeping from the basement of A. L. Ries's Eagle saloon roused the Dunlap Hotel and threatened an entire frame row on Washington Avenue — and renewed Newport's long push for a real fire company.
Sunday morning at about 3 o'clock lodgers at the Dunlap Hotel were aroused by smoke, and upon investigating it was found that it came from the Eagle saloon building owned by A. L. Ries. An alarm was given and in a reasonably short time volunteers were at hand with the fire apparatus endeavoring to locate the fire.
The fire had evidently been smouldering for some time, as a very dense smoke issued from the building. No flames could be seen, and it was soon determined that the fire was in the basement. The front of the building was chopped into to get water into the basement, and two streams of water poured in, one from the front and one from the rear of the building. For over an hour water was kept flowing into the basement, but not until the smoke was subdued sufficiently to permit an entrance into the cellar and the opening of a door of an apartment in which beer was stored were there any flames located.
Situated in the middle of a frame row, the fire was the cause of a great deal of anxiety on the part of adjoining property owners. The stocks of Gus Anderson and Chas. Schneider were removed to the City Hall and others made preparation to vacate in a hurry should the flames get beyond control.
Fortunately the fire was confined to the Ries building and no other damage except that from smoke and water was incurred above the floor and basement. Mr. Ries was open for business again Monday morning but as his loss has not been adjusted repairs have not been started. He carried insurance to the amount of $500 on the building and the same on the stock, which fully covers his loss. Mr. Anderson and Mr. Schneider both had slight losses from smoke and handling goods, which have been satisfactorily adjusted by the insurance companies.
The volunteers did effective work in fighting the fire but as after each fire there is a recurring demand for the organization of a fire company so in this instance it is again talked of and a meeting is to be held at the City Hall Friday evening for the organization of a company. All citizens of the town are requested to attend this meeting.
“Situated in the middle of a frame row, the fire was the cause of a great deal of anxiety on the part of adjoining property owners.”
Newport in 1909 got by on volunteer bucket brigades and luck; a single basement fire in a wooden block could have leveled the row and taken the whole town center with it. The recurring cry for an organized fire company is the same argument small towns still make over how much public money to spend on prevention before the disaster rather than after.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.