Reno, Nevada, USA
1889 - A BIG BLAZE. Reno Gets Another Scorching by Fire. Property to the Value of $20,000 Goes Up in Smoke - Insured for About Half.

This morning about 1 o'clock a fire broke out in or near the tea store of Rother Bros., near the corner of Second and Sierra streets, and in the rear of the Gazette office.

Dick Nash was the first to turn in a general alarm, and the fire department was soon on the ground. But before water was gotten on the fire the Nevada Tea Store and the Blue Wing Saloon were in flames, and the heat was intense. Being only the lightest kind of wooden shanties it was not long before the inflammable material was one flaming mass, and the building owned Manning & O'Connor and occupied by N. P. Jaques as a hardware and plumbing establishment, on the west side, and the Baptist Church on the east side were in flames, while to the north the fire was lapping up the little wooden outbuildings, wood piles, fences and rubbish. It was not many minutes after the corner building was well under destruction before the two houses of John Smith on Sierra street were on fire. On the extreme eastern side people were fighting flames on Chase & Churich's woodsheds and outhouses, those of F. Levy & Bro., A. H. Manning's tin and workshop, the Gazette office, Matt Parrott's building and John Sunderland's shoe shop and building, but, the heat being so intense, they were soon driven out and compelled to save what property they could by fighting from the interior of the fire-proo [sic] buildings.

In the meantime the fire boys were doing their utmost to save Tome Hymers' livery and feed stable from the flames. For a time it looked as if the job was a useless task, but the workmen never gave up, and the building to-day talks for itself as a scorched remainder of the fire.

It required considerable effort, also, to protect the Journal office and the buildings on the east side of Second street, among which were the houses owned by Judge Webster and Miss E. McKee, which were only saved by the most stubborn efforts of an energetic bucket brigade.

The firemen and volunteers, all this time, were doing nobly in preventing the fire from spreading in the nest of wooden buildings north of the conflagration, and the work performed shows for itself.

Had there been anything of a breeze nothing could have saved the whole business part of the town, for it would have certainly gone up in smoke.

The fire resulted in the total destruction of N. P. Jaques' hardware store, Mr. Leete's saloon, the Rother Bros. tea store, the Baptist Church, John Smith's two houses, A. H. Manning's tin shop and hardware storehouse, John Sunderland's shoe shop, and quite a number of smaller buildings. In addition to the above Bragg & Porter of the Reno Gazette lost a quantity of printing material which was stored in a wooden structure on the back end of their office. G. W. Mapes' loss on building is about $150, and John Sunderland's clothing store was damaged a little by water.

L. Stevenson, agent for the Cyclone windmills, loses about $1,000; no insurance.

F. Levy & Bro's. stock of dry goods was considerably smoked, but the Gazette got no estimate of the damage, which is not material.

The total loss is estimated at about $20,000; about half covered by insurance.

Just how or where the fire originated is yet a mystery. It is thought, however, that it was the work on an incendiary. The insurance companies will, no doubt, make an investigation, and if there be any blame, fix it where it belongs.

Reno Evening Gazette
Reno, Nevada
July 6, 1889

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