Two story business buildings on N. Market St. in the first block north of the Public Square were gutted by a $225,000 fire Monday. The buildings housed the American Brokerage, the Sally Shop and six upstairs apartments. Firemen from Marion, West Frankfort, Herrin, Johnston City, Carbondale, Carterville and Murphysboro battled the blaze that was discovered about 4:50 pm.
Firemen fought the blaze for an hour before bringing in under control. Water was poured on the ruins late into the night. An aerial ladder from the West Frankfort fire department was used to aid firemen in extinguishing the flames. Contents of the Sally Shoppe, valued at $75,000 were burned and then crushed when the upper floor of the building collapsed.
The Ashman building which houses the Sally Shoppe and the apartments was said to have $60,000 damage. Approximately $80,000 loss was estimated from the blaze at the American Brokerage. The second floor of the Brokerage building was vacant. Smoke and water damage resulted in nearby Pete’s Snack Bar, the Bargain Center and the Shee Kee Laundry.
A Johnston City fireman, Marion H. Lawrence, 48, was treated at Marion Memorial Hospital for a leg injury he received from broken glass. No serious injuries resulted from the fire. The cause of the fire was undetermined but it was said to have originated in the apartments above the Sally Shoppe. George Kerr, a barber who is employed across the street from the scene of the fire, said he noticed blue flames bursting out of an electrical fuse box near a window in the second floor hall of the Ashman building. He said the fire seemed to catch rapidly. Kerr ran to the fire station that was located a block west of the Ashman building, and reported the fire. Kerr said he returned to the Ashman building and attempted to go up a stairway to the apartments but that heat and smoke forced him back to the street.
Charles Blockley, manager of the American Brokerage store said he ran out to the sidewalk when he saw the fire truck stop in front of the Sally Shoppe. Blockley ran back into his store after seeing the upstairs blaze and ordered two women employees to leave by the rear entrance. Blockley carried American Brokerage record books out of the store and volunteers carried out the cash register. All of the merchandise in the American Brokerage building was damaged by fire or smoke or crushed by the falling debris, Blockley said.
Emanuel Fuhrer, St. Louis, owner of the American Brokerage building said the loss to the building and contents amounted to $80,000. Mack Ashman, Murphysboro, owner of the building where the Sally Shoppe and apartments were located, said the damage to the building amounted to $60,000. Mrs. Sally Johnson, owner of the Sally Shoppe, said the contents of her store were valued at $75,000. Four persons lived in three apartments on the second floor of the Ashman building.Miss Hazel Roberts, an occupant of one of the three-room apartments believed an explosion occurred on the second floor when flames reached a gas heater in a bath room.
Occupants of the other two apartments were Miss Nellie Smothers, her brother, Roy Smothers and Mrs. Delma Gambill. Miss Smothers’ brother was sleeping in the apartment but was aroused by his sister in time to escape. Miss Smothers, who was working at the telephone exchange rushed to the apartment to warn her brother. She rescued an umbrella and a picture of her deceased mother. Their other possessions were lost in the flames. Other residents of the building were away at the time of the fire.
A two-room apartment near the front of the building, two or three room apartments and two single sleeping rooms were vacant Monday. Linoleum floor coverings and wall mirrors in Pete’s Snack Bar located south of the Sally Shoppe were damaged by water. The building is owned by W.T. Hudspeth, Marion and the café is operated by Pete Poulous. Buildings on the east side of Market Street were not damaged. Rear windows in the Bank of Marion were cracked by the blaze and a large plate glass window was broken in the front of the American Brokerage warehouse, located on the west side of the American Brokerage store.
The Bargain Center, on Public Square, was closed Monday due to smoke damage. Smoke damage was reported at the Shee Kee Laundry, 110 N. Jackson Ave. west of the burned buildings. Telephone service to the northeast and southeast sections of Marion and from Marion to Harrisburg, Metropolis, Goreville, Vienna, and Stonefort would have been stopped if a north wall of the American Brokerage building had fallen on a nearby cable. Date McNeill, a telephone lineman, said Tuesday.
Telephone service to several places of business on the north side of the square was temporarily halted but special cables were connected to allow service Tuesday. Brick and debris piled on a west wall of the American Brokerage building were pulled down by firemen Tuesday. Although the buildings were still smoking Tuesday, a cleanup of the area had begun. The 100 block of north Market was barricaded Tuesday. Ropes had been stretched around the scene of the fire to keep persons away from the buildings.
Forty-one Boy Scouts helped the firemen and police Monday evening in directing traffic in the fire zone. A mobilization plan was used whereby Explorer Scouts were notified of local emergencies. Explorer Scouts from Post 25 led by Rex Presson; Sea Scouts of Ship 2 led by Herb Ashley; and Boy Scouts of Troop 65, led by Bob Lackey and Troop 140, led by Harold Blank, assisted in re-routing traffic around the fire zone. The scouts also helped move cars from the fire area and assisted firemen in rolling and loading hoses after the blaze.
Arrival of West Frankfort firemen and their aerial ladder made the turning point in the battle with the flames. Until help arrived, Marion’s two pumpers were supplying hose lines on the west side of the building
(Extracted from local newspapers and compiled by Harry Boyd, posted at http://www.marionfire.us )