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Continued From Page One, figure released by the local fire department. Until such time as a tabula tion of figures listed by owners and operators of the businesses can be made, Fire Chief Nor man Fesler said he did not choose to estimate the loss. Forrest Sherer, local insur ance firm executive, whose firm is insurer of many of the de stroyed properties, reportedly first estimated the loss at $12 million but later put it at “five or six million,’ and added, “I don’t think there is any ques tion that that is the top.” An Indianapolis insurance executive, said to similarly rep resent some of the businesses involved, talked in terms of $15 million to $30 to $40 million. Local police and fire officials speculated that he included all facts of the loss in his estima tion—loss to buildings, mer chandise, furnishings, discon tinuance of business, street wa ter and gas line installations, street lighting fixtures, heat damage to other properties and merchandise in the area, ex pense of fire-fighting opera tions, police and other similarly associated service expenditures. Make Check for Leaks. Rumors said a gas main had broken at the fire scene Wednesday but Police Capt. Morton said there was no of ficial report of such a develop ment. However, as a precau tionary measure, gas company crews checked out the area as other utility company work men inspected power lines, wa ter mains and street light in stallations. State Fire Marshall Ira An derson said his investigators offically probed the scene on the possibility that the fire might have been touched off by gas leak explosions, such as three recent events that have plagued the city. His official verdict was that his office “could find no evi dence that gas had anything to do with the fire.” It is known to have originated in the Campus Bowl, a bowling alley establishment in the basement of the Deming Corporation Building on the northeast cor ner of Sixth and Wabash. How ever, the actual cause remains unknown, according to fire de partment authorities. One of the first firemen on the scene said the double glass doors leading into the down stairs recreation establishment were very hot when they ar rived and the blaze had made extreme headway in the false ceiling of the large room. When air hit it, the fire suddenly ran rampant and was quickly out of control, spreading to the upper floor before sharp winds fanned it toward business build ings to the east. The alarm was turned in at 1:05 a.m. Stops at Jame-Wolf. It was first thought that the fire wall between the Jame- Wolf store and Mess Bros. de partment store had been the stalemate that halted the con flagration which initially ap peared to threaten the entire downtown business area. As it developed, the Jame- Wolf double fire wall was the stopping place of the blaze. The west wall of the building ap parently was extensively dam aged but Lester Wolf, official of the business and its com panion establishment across the street, Carl Wolf men’s store, indicated it would be ready to receive shoppers shortly. Salo Levite, president of Meis Bros., Thursday said: “Meis willl be open for business very soon, depending upon replacement of merchandise which was dam aged by the sprinkler system in Wednesday’s disaster. “Meis anticipates that mer chandise will be replaced within a short time, in plenty of time for Easter shopping,” he as sured, adding that Meis’ buying offices in New York and Califor nia “are making every effort to replace that portion of the store’s merchandise which was damaged by water.” “Only a small area of the store was involved in the disas ter and damage from the sprin kler system activation,” he ex plained, “the biggest area of the store remaining undamaged.” Root’s Store management, which late Wednesday night had indicated they might open the store about 11 a.m. Thursday, advised at midmorning that they would remain closed for the day. The store will reopen Friday. Clear Odors in Area. Crews from Aikem Company and Shemkare Company, both of Indianapolis, started clearing smoke and smoke odors from stores in the area Thursday morning. They were brought in by insurance companies. Several firemen were hospi talized for treatment of injuries, the latest report of those being taken to the two local hospi tals in Frank M.Patrick J. Ryan ambulances being: Dave Walton, 48, 1563 South Eighteenth street; Ralph Thomp son, 41, 1026 North Ninth street; William Minger, 1539 Fifth avenue, all went to St. Anthony. Taken to Union was Martin Brentlinger, 40, 2152 Plum street, along with Gerald Bea man, 38, 1034 North Eighth street. The others taken to St. Anthony were Chief Fesler; Robert Long, 47, 300 Mayfair drive; William Jones, 52, 2531 North Tenth street; Danny Budd, 33, 2401 Dillon street; Frank Clark, 43, 121 North Fourteenth street; James Thiede, 43, 824 South Seven teenth street; Martin Hart, 33, 1922 South Nineteenth street, j and Ray Rector, 46, 15 Ruse ‘drive. Long was the only one serious ly injured, he having sustained a fractured leg when caught along with two other firemen by a collapsing wall of bricks. All were treated and released ,xcept Long, Jones, Budd, Clark, Thiede, Brentlinger and ‘Beaman. Except for Long and ‘Beaman, who sustained severe bruises and possible internal in juries as a result of falling de bris, they reportedly suffered from smoke inhalation. All were reported in “satisfactory” or “fair” condition. Bernard Sweeney, Terre Hautean and chief investigator for the state fire marshal’s of fice, paid high tribute to the manner in which local firemen and assisting units fought and finally controlled the blaze. “Equipment cannot put out fires,” he stated, “only men can do that.” Fire Chief Norman Fesler was equally complimentary of his men and the more than 15 city, armed service units, town ship and area fire departments and volunteer groups who rose to the emergency. Concerning the volunteer de partments, Fesler observed that “this truly exemplifies the type of man who devotes his time to save property and lives of oth ers.” Assisting equipment and fire fighters include department and volunteer units from West Terre Haute, Seelyville, Brazil, Shel burn, Staunton, Farmersburg, the U. S. Air Force units at Tampane Company, Inc., Indi ana Air National Guard at Hul man Field, Wanamaker in Mari on Township’s Warren County (some 80 miles away), Otter Creek, Prairieton, Clinton, Sand ford and Odon. From Washington, D. C., U. S. Senator Birch E. Bayh Jr called his home town seeking more detailed information. He report edly had received a vague re port of another explosion in the city. Establishment of temporary offices for the burned-out busi nesses continued Thursday and officials of Hillman Jewelers, Inc. and owners of other valu able avenue fronting property indicated definite intentions to rebuild. Value of the property reportedly is placed at from $5,000 to $7,000 a frontage foot. John G. Biel, secretary of the Deming Corporation, owners of the largest segment of the de stroyed structures, declined to speculate on his firm's rebuild ing plans Wednesday evening. However, George Felstein, president of Hillman’s, report edly announced definite action to replace his firm’s home, which was already in the proc ess of adding a 25-foot frontage to the east of it. The remodel ing plans reportedly will now be replaced by new building plans. Businesses burned-out are the Campus Bowl, Willis Gas Ap pliance, both located on North Sixth street, Vanity Shoe Store, Jack ’n Jill Children’s and Ma ternity Fashions store, the Readmore bookstore and Nobil Shoe Store, all located in the Deming Block building. Destroyed offices in the build ing included the dental offices of Dr. Roy W. Bennett, Leo Deming Photography studios, Kendall H. Hayhurst accounting office, Causey and Aldridge law offices and Harold Schloss tai loring establishment. East of the Deming Block, business leveled were those of Hillman’s, Smith-Alsop Paint and Varnish Co.’s downtown branch and the soon-to-be-of ficially opened Redwood Ross (Michaels Mann) in new re modeled quarters. Smith-Alsop is opening tem porary quarters at 666 Wabash avenue in the Fairbanks Build ing. Moving was to start Thurs day, according to Wayne Miles, company president, but the store will not be opened until next week. He estimated the company’s loss roughly at be tween $40,000 and $45,000, in cluding stock and fixtures. Jerry Russell, owner of the Roadmore, was in Toronto, Can ada, and will return Thursday. The loss here, it was also es timated roughly, would be be tween $25,000 and $30,000 at least. Willis Gas Appliance Com pany, which occupied part of the Sixth street side of the Deming building, opened tem porary offices Thursday on the second floor of the Chanticleer Building. Robert Boyer, vice president, was unable to esti mate the loss to the appliance business, but noted that the gas plant is at 1700 Maple avenue and business there is “as usual.” He was able to save the company records at the store but many of the records of the Wabash Valley Fair Associa tion, of which he is secretary, were destroyed in the blaze. Irreparable intangible losses were suffered by both Victor Aldridge Jr., attorney, and Ken dal Hayhurst, accountant, who had offices in the Deming Build ing. Files on cases and ac counts that cannot be replaced were lost by these men. Hayhurst said it would be years before he could recon struct some files and some could not be reconstructed. He is trying to reopen his office in the area. His colleagues have been most helpful in offering him both manpower and space, he said, some calling long distance to offer help. Of this he was most appreciative. Roscoe Wehrley, manager of Hotel Deming, stated Thursday that all but about two resident guests had returned to their rooms. Some 250 persons were evacuated from the building early Wednesday when the fire went out of control. Webbrley corrected earlier in formation that some hotel windows had been broken out by the heat of the fire across the alley. None were broken out although a few were cracked and two doors were smashed in by firemen, forced to gain quick access through the locked bar riers as they sought to secure better vantage points to fight the blaze.
Newspaper Details
Terre Haute Tribune
Terre Haute, Indiana, US
Thu, Mar 21, 1963
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 15 Jul 2026
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