Hemingray Glass Company - Muncie, Indiana - Employee

GREAT CONFLAGRATION

Hemingray's Bottle

Works, and Over's

Window Glass Factory

Burned to the

Ground

The Loss will Aggregate

Nearly Two Hundred

Thousand Dollars.

The Costliest Fire Ever

Muncie Experienced

Three Hundred Persons

Thrown Out of Employment.

The Fire Originated By

A Spark From a

Locomotive

Hemingray and Over's glass houses are destroyed by fire.

On account of water mains not being extended to near the factories the fire department was of little benefit.

The loss will amount to nearly $200,000 which is partly covered by insurance.

Owners of both establishments will commence at once rebuilding.

It was fortunate for the employees that the fire occurred when the closing season was near at hand, or a great hardship would have been brought on them.

The greatest conflagration ever Muncie experienced.

The window glass house of Chas. H. Over and the bottling manufacturing establishment of Hemingray's are located near each other on the southeastern part of the city, off of Macedonia avenue. The two companies cover several acres of ground and give employment to about three hundred hands.

Messrs. Hemingray came to Muncie from Covington, Kentucky, five or six years ago, while Mr. Over came a short time afterwards from Bellaire, Ohio.

Both have prospered in the glass business and have added largely to their respective plants until their establishments has grown to be the largest in the city.

It was about 10 o'clock this morning when an L. E. & W. switch engine was doing some switching of cars on the tracks that lie between the two factories. Six cars were left standing on the tracks after the crew had finished their work. The engine had not left the factories more than a minute when fire was discovered in one of the storage rooms belonging to Hemingray. Several persons saw the fire at this time, all of whom say it was caused by a spark from the locomotive, but the engineer and fireman and switching crew claim that they had been gone several minutes before the blaze was discovered, but be this as it may, there is no question but two of Muncie's best glass industries are reduced to ashes, entailing a loss of thousands of dollars.

A telephone message was sent to Chief of Fire Department Shapp to hasten with plenty of hose, which was done, and he also sent the chemical engine, but neither were of much benefit, as the buildings were enveloped in flames and the fire rapidly spreading before their arrival. As the water mains are not extended farther than the nail mill, the fire department could do but little in saving the buildings.

From the storage room the fire swept like a cyclone to the packing rooms, shop, and finally reached the factory proper, where it required but a short time to lay it all in ashes.

After playing havoc in this direction and the wind changed its course to the northeast, which fanned the fire into a rolling mass of flames, like the mighty waves of the ocean when a great tempest is raging, destroying everything in its path and laying to waste the accumulations of labor, the red demon crept on until the window glass house of Mr. Over was reached, and in an hour's time it also burned to the ground.

All that the hundreds of spectators could do was to stand off and look on while the fire did its work of destroying the property. The employees gave expression to their sorrow at their employers by standing in groups and talking to themselves.

With the exception of two or three small buildings belonging to Messrs. Hemingray, everything in the locality was burned to the ground.

The loss is a great one, not only to the owners, but to Muncie as well.

The HERALD is informed that Messrs. Hemingray have decided on not rebuilding, and will return to Covington within a few weeks.

During the progress of the fire some unknown person went into Over's office and took from the safe $2,000 in money.

The following is the insurance:

OVER.

Hamburg-Bremen...... $1,100.

British America ........     2,000.

Niagara ...........      1,500.

Sun ...........      2,750.

Manchester ..........    2,000.

Norwich Union .......    2,000.

Michigan Fire & Marine .....    1,500.

North British and Mercantile ..    2,500.

Fireman's .........    1,200.

Western ..........    1,500.

Trader's ..........    2,000.

German ..........    1,000.

State Investment ........    1,000.

St. Paul Fire & Marine ....    1,250.

Lancashire .........    2,500.

Imperial ..........    2,000.

Home ...........    2,000.

Imperial of Calcutta ......    4,000.

Evansville .........    2,000.

Caledonia .........    1,000

Springfield ..........     1,000.

Indiana Underwriters ......    2,000.

Indiana of Fort Wayne ....    1,000.

Scottish Union .......    1,500.

Reading (Pot House) .....     600.

Total ........... $43,900.

HEMINGRAY.

Indiana Underwriters ..... $1,500.

Norwich Union ........     2,000.

Manchester ........     2,750.

British America ......      1,500.

St. Paul Fire & Marine ....      2,500.

North British .......      1,250.

Springfield .........       1,000.

Michigan Fire & Marine ..       1,500.

Lancashire ........       3,000.

Imperial ..........     2,000.

Hamburg-Bremen .....      1,500.

Traders .........   2,500.

Sun ...........    2,500.

Evansville .........     2,000.

State Investment .....     1,000.

Western .........     2,000.

Total ........ $31,000.