Out of the Past - January 13, 1921
100 YEARS AGO
COMSTOCK HAS BIG FIRE LOSS HARDWARE STORE BURNS
Comstock lost one of its principal business houses early Sunday morning when the hardware, furniture, and undertaking establishment, owned by J. O. Heaps, was completely destroyed by fire. There was nothing saved outside of a few kegs of nails and small merchandise. Almost the entire stock and building were wiped out within a short time. The fire was discovered between three and four o’clock by some parties returning from a dance and it had evidently started in the northwest part of the basement.
Although the alarm was given right away and responded to as quickly as possible, it was soon evident that the building and its contents were doomed. The fire was a bad one to get at, and the department was laboring under all kinds of difficulties by reason of freezing weather and insufficient fire fighting paraphernalia. Several heavy explosions from oil, paint and ammunition, scattered the people and made them look to the safety of surrounding buildings.
The heat was so intense that plate glass windows in stores on the other side of the street and opposite the burning building, were cracked and shattered. Several buildings had a narrow escape, among them being Woodman’s hall, the window sashes to the latter being burned out. The store on the west side came near going and it was only through strenuous efforts of the fire fighters that the structure was saved. If there had been any wind to speak of the whole town would probably have gone.
The fire loss is estimated at $26,000. Mr. Heaps had fourteen thousand dollars worth of stock at the time of the fire, while the building, owned by his father, Charles Heaps, of Broken Bow, was valued at twelve thousand dollars. There was eleven thousand dollars insurance on the stock and seven thousand on the building. A few days previous to the fire J.O. Heaps had sold the stock to Gordon and Beal of Merna and during all of Saturday they were busy invoicing the goods. It is not known for sure how the fire started, but there is some talk of incendiarism.