BURNING OF THE COLD STORAGE PALACE AT THE CHICAGO EXHIBITION.
An imposing structure was that of the Cold Storage Palace, erected by the Hercules Company, at Chicago, and the news of its destruction by fire is yet so fresh in the minds of the public that we have decided to give here an illustration of the scene as taken in a sketch by an eye-witness. The tower rose to a height of 225ft.. and was designed for the manufacture and storage of ice for use in the Exhibition. About 1.30 p.m., July 10, the alarm was given that the building was on fire. It appears that flames had been discovered issuing from the extreme upper part of the tower, caused, as it now appears, from defective protection of the iron chimney which passed up through the tower. The firemen were quickly on hand, and a company of them, twenty strong, at once ascended the tower to the balcony just above the columns, as shown in our engraving, and here they were engaged with ropes in drawing up the hose pipes, to extinguish the flames above them, when, all of a sudden, to the horror of the spectators, the flames fiercely burst out from the lower part of the tower, far below where the firemen were at work. The retreat of the hosemen was thus instantly cut off. Some of them tried to slide down the rope, which burned before they could do so ; the others jumped and were mangled by the fall of 100ft. to the main roof below. In all, some twenty firemen lost their lives. It seemed scarcely two minutes after the flames broke out below before the whole lower was a mass of flames, and then fell down upon the roof of the main building, which burned and roared as if it were a mass of shavings. The engineer in charge of the boilers had the courage and forethought to draw the fires and liberate the steam before fleeing. By this delay he barely escaped with his life , but he probably saved the lives of many people, and prevented the destruction of much more property.
An interesting reference piece, supplied without mat or mount.
