Hemingray Glass Company - Muncie, Indiana

HEAVY LOSSES IN

GLASS FACTORY FIRE

Federation Window Glass Company

Lost Many Thousands of Dollars

Worth of Window Glass

A DISASTROUS BLAZE LAST NIGHT

All Insurance Was Carried on Stock, the Buildings Being

Uninsured - The American Window Glass Company

Had No Protection Against Fire - Hemingray

Plant Was in Danger.

LOSSES IN LAST NIGHT'S FIRE

The American Window Glass company's factory, No. 11, commonly known as the "Over" factory, including No. 1 warehouse, burned to the ground last night, involving the following estimated losses:

Between 15,000 and 20,000 boxes of window glass belonging to the

Federation Window Glass company worth an average of $2.50 to the box, minus the value of the glass as salvage, about ... $40,000.

Factory buildings, two tanks, small amount of ware, belonging to the American company ... $25,000.

Household goods and $260 in cash, belonging to C. P. Turner, the night watchman ... $500.

Total .... $65,500.

COMPANIES INTERESTED ON STOCK.

The Woodsmall & Benbow agency, Edward Bishop, Charles Brown, and others were local agents for the insurance companies carrying the insurance on the Federation company's stock. The following are the companies interested and the value of each policy.

American of Philadelphia ... $1,500

Milwaukee Mechanics ... $1,500

National Union ... $1,000

Phoenix of London ... $3,500

Ohio Farmers ... $1,000

Fire Association of Philadelphia ... $2,000

Fireman and Mechanics ... $1,000

Germania ... $1,000

German of Freeport ... $1,000

Hartford Fire ... $2,500

Connecticut Fire ... $2,500

Hamburg-Bremen ... $1,500

Farmers of New York ... $1,500

North British and Mercantile ... $2,500

St. Paul ... $500

Total .... $25,500

About 8:50 o'clock last night fire was discovered in the No. 11 plant of the American Window Glass company, which has been long deserted save for watchmen, and in an incredibly short time the entire building seemed to be in flames. The fire apparently started in the rear of the factory where C. P. Turner, a night watchman resides, by the blowing of a window curtain against a gas jet. The city firemen who were quickly on the scene, aided by the fire department connected with the Hemingray glass factory, devoted much of their attention to the Hemingray plant near by which was threatened by the flames from the window glass factory. The Hemingray factory was uninjured.

Warehouse No. 1 and the entire factory were completely destroyed, while warehouse No. 2, which contained about $40,000 worth of glass belonging to The Federation Window Glass company, was only slightly damaged.

On the $40,000 worth or more of window glass destroyed, the Federation Window Glass company, which had both warehouses at this factory leased from the American company, carried an insurance amounting to $25,000. The Federation company, it is understood, rates its loss somewhat higher than $40,000.

President J. H. Johnston, of the Federation, when interviewed this morning by long distance telephone, placed the company's loss at between $75,000 and $100,000, but at that time he supposed both warehouses and all their contents had burned whereas only one of the warehouses was destroyed.

The American had a small amount of stock in the warehouse that burned but no estimate on this could be secured, owing to the absence of American company officials. This loss will not be large, however.

The value of the American company's buildings, its two tanks, the small amount of stock, and other destroyed property is estimated to be about $25,000.

Riley Edwards and Peter Walker say that they saw a curtain, in the rooms occupied by Turner with his family, blow into a gas jet and catch fire, the flames spreading throughout the building.

As the factory had not been in operation for several years, it was left at night to the care of two watchmen, Mr. Turner and Edward Weisse.

The Hemingray glass factory is just across a railroad track from the window glass factory and it was feared that the former would catch fire. The workmen from the Hemingray plant worked valiantly, using the water-works system in that factory. A fortunate change in the wind while the fire was at its height, drove the flames away from the Hemingray building.

The fire started about 8:30 o'clock and raged dangerously until about 11 o'clock. Thousands of people attracted by the light, watched the progress of the fire.

While Mrs. Turner, who was ill and who was alone in the Turner apartment, except for a young daughter, was attempting to escape from the flames, she dropped a pocketbook containing $200. A search afterwards failed to find the money. Turner lost all his household goods as well as the money.

While the firemen were fighting the big blaze, an alarm was turned in from the home of John Wallace on South Elm street where, as investigation revealed, a straw bedtick was on fire. This fire was quickly put out.

There is little chance of the factory's ever being rebuilt as it had not been operated for a long time and the American had no intention of operating it soon, if ever. The Federation had a lease on the buildings for storage purposes.

SOME STOCK THAT WAS SAVED.

The Federation company also saved about 2,500 boxes of glass, of various sizes, located in the west blower room. Some of the ware, amounting to a few hundred boxes, was damaged by the fire and will not be marketable.

In the two east storage rooms, controlled by the American Window Glass company there was not a semblance of fire as the structures were a half block from the scene of the main conflagration. In these buildings were stored several thousand boxes of glass.

FIRE STILL SMOLDERS.

This afternoon a fire was burning in the debris to the east of the blower room, situated on the west end of the plant and fire apparatus has been sent to the scene. Everything is water soaked and it is believed that there cannot be any spread of the flames.

Practically the whole plant is a mess of ruins excepting the two storage houses on the east and a portion of the blower room on the west.