Time Machine: Mega-fire

On May 22, 1964, heavy, black smoke could be seen all over Cedar Rapids, coming from the mega fire that was consuming a one-story warehouse at 1201 Ninth St. SW.

The fire that destroyed the Cedar Rapids Transfer & Storage Co. warehouse ranked “as one of the worst in Cedar Rapids history,” The Gazette reported.

Damage was estimated at more than $3 million -- about $30 million in today’s dollars.

The fire drew thousands of onlookers, who watched as burning debris drifted across the city, landing as far east as the Carnegie library downtown. Police quickly put up barricades a block away from the fire to restrict the curious from getting too close.

The fire department’s new double-boom aerial snorkel was used for the first time alongside old pumpers that were taken out of retirement. A gasoline transport rig was pulled in to keep the old pumper trucks running,

At the height of the blaze, 100 firemen and nine trucks were fighting the fire, with some trucks operating more than one hose. The fire was so intense, firefighters also had to spray down surrounding buildings to keep then from catching fire.

The eight people who had been inside the warehouse escaped uninjured.

Cause of fire

Fire Chief Jesse Hunter thought the fire had started as early as 8 a.m. when sparks from a nearby incinerator blew beneath the warehouse into a crawl space. The fire smoldered for hours before bursting into flame.

The fire was reported at 1:45 p.m. and was under control an hour later though a small fire crew stayed behind to watch for flareups.

The warehouse held hundreds of new tires -- accounting for the billowing columns of black smoke -- canned meats, motors, oil, roofing materials, home heating equipment, paper stock, appliances, seeds, forklifts, a semi-trailer, rubber belting, tractor attachments, cars and beer.

The building, which also housed Tip-Top Distributing and an office for the CRANDIC Railroad, was considered a fire hazard. At the time of the fire, the warehouse had no fire extinguishers on site.

Firemen were called to the smoldering site several times in the days after the fire. Even two weeks later, on a windy June 9, the fire rekindled.

William Cass, president of Cedar Rapids Transfer & Storage, pledged to have “a new warehouse in operation as soon as humanly possible.”

Cass rented most of the 14,000-square-foot North Western freight depot, at 326 First Ave. NE, to use until the new warehouse was built where the old one had burned. The new facility, opened in 1965, still stands.

Lawsuits

The lawsuits began in September, when Cargill of Minnesota and Link-Belt Speeder Co. of Cedar Rapids sued Tip-Top Distributing Co. and Cedar Rapids Transfer for a quarter-million dollars combined to cover the property lost in the fire.

Pepperidge Farm sued for about $100,000. Modern Appliance Co. filed papers seeking $67,000.

That was just the beginning. Twelve insurance companies filed suit next.

In December, Cedar Rapids Transfer & Storage sued Tip-Top Distributing Co. for negligence, saying Tip-Top employees had been burning debris next to the building the morning of the fire, had failed to extinguish the fire and didn’t have equipment to put out the fire once it started.

A settlement between all parties was reached in October 1966, but the terms were not released.

Cass, the warehouse owner, sold Cedar Rapids Transfer & Storage in 1986 and moved to Florida.

1905 fire

It wasn’t the first time a warehouse connected with Cedar Rapids Transfer & Storage had burned in Cedar Rapids.

In July 1905, a four-story building at A Avenue and Fourth Street NE caught fire. It was owned by the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railway and leased by Cedar Rapids Transfer.

Spectators found a prime viewing area on the A Avenue Viaduct to watch the fire until intense heat drove them away.

The fire apparently started on the warehouse’s main floor. A cause was never determined.

The transfer company immediately drew plans for a new, five-story concrete and brick building and made arrangements with the Rock Island railroad to build it on the same site.

In 1950, when more space was needed, and the transfer company bought the 270-by-150-foot wood-frame commercial property at 1201 Ninth St. SW. The building was known as Cedar Rapids Transfer & Storage Warehouse B. Home Equipment Distributing Co. was one of its first tenants.

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