Old Town – Weiser City

THE FIRE AT WEISER

Mr. J.H. Rinehart of Summerville, Oregon, who was in Boise yesterday, was among the sojourners in Weiser at the time of the fire Thursday evening. He relates that he had just retired to his room in the hotel, had taken off his overcoat and hung it up, and had taken off one boot, preparing to disrobe, when someone came to the door of his room and advised him to get out of the house as it was on fire. Mr. Rinehart promptly acted on this advice, drew on his boot, and, having no baggage, left his room and went into the hall. He then remembered that there was a lady guest occupying one of the rooms on the same floor, who might not be aware of the danger she was in. He went to the door of the lady’s room and met her coming out with her grips in her hands. Relieving her of these, he told her to follow him and then turned to descend by the main stairway, the lady following and holding him by his coat skirts.

The smoke was already dense in the passage, and when they reached the head of the stairway, the heat was so intense that further progress in that direction was impossible. Very fortunately, Mr. Rinehart knew of another stairway leading to the rear of the building and turned his steps towards it, the lady still following. In this way, they made their escape from the burning building. Escorting his companion to a place of safety, Mr. Rinehart advanced to the front of the hotel, thinking he might recover his overcoat, which he had forgotten in the hurry of leaving, but although the time had been short, he found the building enveloped in flames and all its contents given up to destruction.

In the meantime, the proprietor of the hotel was rushing wildly around in search of missing guests. Greatly to his relief, he came upon the missing lady, who was standing guard over her belongings in the spot where she had been left by her rescuer. From the hotel, the fire spread with great rapidity to the adjoining buildings and was soon entirely beyond control. The fire was caused by the falling of a large lamp containing more than a gallon of oil, which hung in the reception room of the hotel. Several persons were present at the moment of the accident. They rushed for blankets to smother the flames, but on returning to the room, found it all ablaze, and further efforts to extinguish the flames had to be abandoned.

The portion of the town burned was two blocks on opposite sides of Commercial Street, which constituted the principal business quarter. Among the buildings lost was that owned and occupied by the Idaho Commercial Company’s Bank. With regard to the loss of this building, Mr. Alfred Koff of the Boise City National Bank, who is now at Weiser, telegraphed yesterday to Mr. W.S. Bruce as follows: “Our loss is about $12,000; fully insured. Nothing lost in the bank—will be opened for business in ten days at the depot. The people here are not discouraged and will commence building at once.”

Mr. Rinehart says that the local military company was promptly on the ground and that the members vied with each other in rendering assistance in checking the fire and saving property.

Among the sufferers by the fire, many lost everything, and their case appeals strongly to the generosity of the public for the relief which is immediately needed.

From Idaho Statesman – Boise. Idaho – June 3 1890