Flames broke out in the
basement of the Los Angeles Pacific building at 314 W. Fourth St.,
adjoining the Broadway Department Store, at 2 o’clock this afternoon
and threatened serious loss. . . .
The fire is believed to have
had its origin in the rear of the basement, under the Sunset Bakery,
at 320 W. 4th St. . . .
Fourth Street from Broadway
to Hill was speedily roped off to keep the crowds back, and Broadway . . .
became a mass of humanity within a few minutes.
. . . great volumes
of smoke could be seen rolling up over the Broadway Department Store,
creating the impression that it was that great store which was
burning. . . .
So quickly did the flames
spread in the
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lower portions of
the Los Angeles Pacific Building that the clerks and stenographers of
the railway company in the offices on the second floor could not reach
safety by the stairway or elevator.
Fifteen girls and women were
taken from the windows of the second floor with ladders.
At 2:30 the fire had become
so dangerous that it was thought best to empty the Broadway Department
Store, which adjoins the burning building on the east. . . .
There was great confusion in
the . . . store, the girls being rushed out of offices in
the rear of the building, which was threatened by the fire and full of
smoke.
The men clerks were of great
assistance, carrying out a good portion of the books
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and a great amount
of inflammable material. The money in the safe was rushed out. . . .
The Broadway clerks took the
fire apparatus of that establishment and used it valiantly to help
save the adjoining building.
The building was erected
about eight years ago. It is owned by Clark & Sherman. General
Sherman said that about $100,000 was invested in the building and,
while he is not able to state the exact amount of insurance, his
opinion is that his policies cover half the value.
The clouds of smoke that
rolled from the building did not begin to compare in size with the
cloud of spectators which sought to reach the scene of the fire. . . .
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