Entirely Consumed

Detroit, Jan. 4. - About 6 o'jlock Wednesday evenine fire broke out in the store of T. H. Hinchman & Sons, wholesale druggists, on Jefferson avenue. In two hours' time nearly $250,000 worth of property was swept away. The store of Hicchman & Sons was cowpletely destroyed with its contenta and the building adjoining it, that of Standart Brothers, wholesale dealers in hardware, at 92-96 Woodbridge streel, was badly damaged, the upper part of the store being burned and the lower part drencheu with water. The loss, as nearly as can be estiïnated, will amount to S217,U00. A few minutes after 6 o'clock Pat O'Mara, the watchman in the store of Buhl, Sons & Compauy, whose store is direotly across the street from Hinchman & Sons, had just let the last man out of the building and was preparing to close the doors when he gianced up at the store oppoeite and saw the fourth story in flames. The watchman hastily closed the door of nis store and started upon a run up the street to the firo engine house at the corner of Wayne and Larned. Twenty minutes later the store was afire from top to bottom and the odor of burniug drugs was wafted aloft upon the breeze. The fire burned with reinarkable rapidity. The flames were lifted high in the air, and as the fire made its way swif tly to the lowor floors the crowd standing in the street saw a wouderful pyrotechnic display. As the drugs flamea up the interior of the building was lighted with colored flames. There was a strong west wind blowing at the time the fire broke out and as it advanced the wind grew, carrying the sparks high in the air directly toward the Standart building. The store of Hinchman & Sons is located at 76 and 78 Jefferson ayenueand extends through to Woodbridge. The store next to them on Jefferson is Louis Blitz & Compauy. Between Hinchman & Sons and Blitz & Company there is a low building, one story in height, running back to within 30 feet of Woodbridge. There the wing of Standart Brothers' store loorns up six stories in height. The firemen attacked the fire first of all upon Woodbridge street. The fire boat had made the distance from the f oot of Fifth street to the f oot of Wayne in about three minutes. It toOk but a moment to make connections with the fire plug at the foot óf the doek and soon three powerfnl streams were turned upon the building. A ladder was raised to the fifth story of the Hincnrnan block and in the face of the flaines the firemen f ought their way to the ladder, one of the strearns pouring water upon thein to keep them from burning. At the same time a rope was lowered from the top of the building of John Naylor & Company and a line of hose was pulled up to the top of the building. It was carried across the top of the building belonging to Louis Kuttnauer & Company and poured a streain across upou the Stand?irt Brothers building. The efforts of the firemen at this time was to prevent the flames leaping the interYemng space and attacking the adjoining store. At this time the fire was like a furnace. The first thing the strearn did was to burst the skylight in the Standart building. At this time men were at work upon the upper floors of that building. They fought the fire for half an hour, but the sparks poured down into the building so steadily that they were at last torced to retire. It was theu that the fire obtained a lodgement from which the most persistent efforts of the fire department found it impossible to disïodge it. The cause of the fire is not knowu. As near as can be determined it started in the middle of the building upon the third floor. There was a quantity of excelsior stored upon that floor, and some alcohol and other inflaxuniables. There was a duinb waiter in the middle of the building, and it is supposed that the ñames descended by that meann. There was also an elevator shaft some where near the center of the building. That assisted in cornmunicating the flaines from one to the other.