The Chicago Water Tower by Hogan John F.;Schulman Marc;

Author:Hogan, John F.;Schulman, Marc;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2019-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

People grabbed whatever possessions they could before fleeing in panic. From Chicago Public Library.

Lake Michigan offered refuge to many escaping the fire. From Chicago Public Library.

Minutes after spotting the stable fire, Judge Tree noticed that a wooden cottage four blocks north of the stable was ablaze. He recalled, “As far as I could discover, there were no buildings intervening between these two points which had not yet taken fire, but it was one of the characteristic features of the conflagration that isolated buildings would catch fire several blocks in advance of the main body of the flames, from the flying sparks and cinders.” This phenomenon repeated again and again, although apparently not everyone understood what was happening until too late. For the time being, the crew operating the Water Works believed that the flames would not reach them. Standing between the oncoming fire and their domain loomed the sprawling Diversey and Lill Brewery and Malt House, a square block of substantial brick buildings immediately south and, like its neighbor, extending from Pine Street all the way to the lake. The complex included the Lill residence.

In the early morning of October 9, no buildings were on fire for several blocks south of the brewery, but the plant was not immune to the advance guard of brands and sparks that had touched off so many other structures. This time, the attack from above struck in a spot considered least likely to endanger the entire operation. Only 80 feet into the lake—775 feet east of Pine—stood a small paint and carpenter shop specifically isolated from the rest of the brewery. A large force of brewery workers converged on the shop after it was hit by falling brands. Still believing that their own workplace was safe, men from the Water Works provided reinforcements. It was no use; the paint shop was consumed by fierce fire. Then, instead of spreading to other brewery buildings at that time, the fire turned on the Water Works.

Assistant Engineer Frank Trautman, Timekeeper S.W. Fuller, Station Hand D.W. Fuller and others stood ready. An incessant shower of sparks had been pelting the vicinity. A company of firefighters ran a line of hose from a hydrant while station personnel armed with buckets of water took up positions on the roof. They quickly extinguished several small blazes at the north end, but soon afterward, D.W. Fuller, who was standing just north of the main building, spotted a brand about twelve feet long whirling toward the Water Tower. The missile passed the tower but struck the northeast corner of the engine house, setting the roof on fire. Fuller looked at his watch; it was 3:20 a.m. Until then, the works had been humming, pumping at a rate of thirty million gallons a day. Despite some breaks in the pipes, the reservoirs remained full, and it looked as if Trautman and his team could keep the water flowing as long as they could hold the flames at bay.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.