| Summary: | The fire gutted the upper stories of the building and the entire stock of the store was ruined. A similar image was published in the Birmingham News on April 13, 1939, with the following caption: "Firemen Battle $300,000 Blaze - This graphic picture, taken from atop the Watts Building, shows Birmingham firemen as they fought the Odum, Bowers & White Department Store fire last night in the downtown business district. Three water streams are being played into the front of the building and another group of firemen sends water into the blaze from the roof of an adjoining building. Thousands of persons line the north side of Third Avenue, North, between Nineteenth and Twentieth Streets, police endeavoring to keep them away from danger. Firemen, handicapped by smoke and parked cars, did not bring the blaze under control until an hour and a half of stubborn fighting, but prevented spread of the blaze to other buildings in the block." (The image is extremely damaged due to deterioration of the original negative.)
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