The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-01-28 00:00:00

TERRIBLE FATAL FIRE IN
LONDON.

At an early hour on last Friday morning a fire
of a terrible character, resulting in the loss of several
lives, occurred at a small provision shop at the corner
of Hutchinson-street and Ellison-street, turning out
of Gravel-lane, Houndsditch. So far as particulars
were at first ascertained three persons were burnt to
death, while a foul th, a girl, who was rescued only
when severely injured, is said to have since died.
The names of the dead are: Judith Salzedo (an aged
woman). Sophia Salzedo, about 40; and Alordechad
Salzedo, a little boy; and Fanny Salzedo. The victims
are Jews, and have eked out a livelihood by carrying
on a small general business, supplying the wants of
the essentially poor people residing in the immediate
locality, most of whom are foreigners. The sleeping
apartments—two rooms above the shop—were only
separated by a narrow staircase beside the counter.
There was also a small room at the left—at the back
—of the shop. Here, it is supposed, the fire originated.
At about three o'clock in the morning terrible screams
were heard proceeding from the upstair windows, the
agonised cries of the inmates being distinctly heard
by the signalmen on duty at Aldgate Station, the
scene of the conflagration lying back from the rail-
way at a distance of only about 200 yards. Two at
least of the inmates of the house were then seen at
the window, calling frantically for help. Police-
constable Webber, No. 24, who was after wards
followed by Police-constable Miller, immediately
arrived at the spot, and, in the meantime, information
of the outbreak was conveyed to the Fire Station.
When the escape arrived only one person could be
rescued, the three victims already named having
been suffocated by the dense volumes of smoke. A
boy, who was a cripple, after remaining at the open
window for some time, jumped to the pavement, and
in his fall he alighted upon Police-constable Webber,
who received slight injuries in consequence. Though
the thoroughfares adjacent to the scene are narrow,
and almost secluded from the main roadway, crowds
of persons have since congregated, anxious to glean
tidings of the disaster. The house itself is not
entirely destroyed. The back room near the shop is
burnt out, but a portion of the shop is still intact, and
some of the provisions, exhibited for sale when the
shop closed, were seen lying on the counter. At the
side was a fireman's ladder; it was by this an
ascent was made by the firemen into the upper
room—only to discover, however, the dead bodies of
the three unfortunate victims.
Upon inquiry at the London Hospital later, it
was stated that the girl who was admitted there is
not, as was at first stated, dead; she is however, very
ill, and not likely to recover.

On Tuesday Mr. S. F. Langham held an inquest at
the City Mortuary, Golden-lane, Barbican, on the
bodies of the four victims of the fire at 15, Hutchinson-
street, Houndsditch. The names of the deceased are
Rosetta Boginsky, alias Phillip, Judith Salzedo, Sophia
Salzedo, and Mordecai Salzedo. Police-constable
VVebber, who met with injuries while endeavouring
to arouse and rescue some of the inmates, was preset
to give evidence, but is still unable to walk without
crutches. The deceased are foreign Jews. The jury
were mainly composed of members of the Hebrew
persuasion.
Jacob Salzedo, who described himself as a "killer"
(slaughterer of animals under the Jewish ritual),
identified three of the deceased as his mother, Judith
Salzedo, aged 75; his sister, S)phia Salzedo, aged
39; and his nephew, Mordecai Salzedo, who was
three years old, and was deaf and dumb. They
lodged at No. 15, Hutchinson-street, Houndsditch, and
were tenants of Mrs. Phillips. They occupied two
front rooms on the first floor, Mrs. Phillips and her
children occupying the ground floor and two rooms at
the top of the house.
In answer to further questions, the witness said his
mother's furniture was insured for £lOO, but he could
not say whether Mrs. Boginsky's was. His mother
was bedridden, and therefore could not assist herself
to escape. There was not much oil, he believed, on
the premises, as a very limited trade was done at the
shop.
Police-constable Charles Webber, No. 934, of the
City Police, said that he was passing 15, Hutchinson-
street, when he noticed a light through two small
holes in the shutters of the parlour window. The fire
was in the parlour at the back of the shop. He at
once sprang his rattle and aroused the inmates. Im-
mediately after he gave the alarm be heard someone
in the house screaming out, " Police ! Police !" and
he believed" Murder !" He was not certain as to
hearing "Murder."
What part of the house P—The upper part, but on
which floor I could not say. I continued knocking at
the door, when it gave way. I went inside the shop,
but it was so black with smoke that I could not see
anything in front of me. I crouched down to see if
I could see the entrance to the staircase, but the
smoke was so dense that 1 retreated into the street,
nosing the door after me. I then sent a man for the
fire brigade; but as he was a foreigner, and did not
seem to understand, I was about to go myself, when
I saw a person at the first-floor window in the act of
dropping out. I endeavoured to catch the person,
but was knocked down by the violence of the con-
tact. lam disabled in consequence; and have been
in the City Police Hospital since.
Police-constable Samuel Carter deposed to going
for the fire-escape, which arrived as quickly as pos-
sible. Two persons, however, had jumped from the
second-floor window, and witness saw someone come
to the first-floor window, but there was such a dense
smoke that the figure disappeared. He could not
even say whether it was a man or a woman. There
was then not a great deal of flame. The fire-escape
rescued two persons from the second floor, but when
they got to the ground they were apparently lifeless,
and were taken into a neighbour's house.
Police-constable George Linge gave evidence as to
the rescue of some of the inmates by getting a sheet
held under the windows.
Leonard Davis, a fireman, stated that he was sta-
tioned with the brigade at Bishopsgate. He received
the call at seventeen minutes past three on Friday
morning. The house was apparently well alight
when he arrived. He extinguished the fire in the
back room and at the staircase. The back parlour
and the stair leading from the ground to the first
floor were in flames.

The Coroner: Can you form any opinion as to the
origin of the fire, where it occurred ?—I believe the
fire was in the back parlour, under the staircase.
There was very little damage done in the shop.
James Pierce, engineer to the Metropolitan Fire
Brigade, in charge of the Whitechapel Station, stated
that he and a comrade made their way to the second
floor and found two persons in the front room, both
being insensible and apparently lifeless. Those were
two of the rescued persons now discharged from the
hospital. Two other firemen entered and passed out
a child, which was lifeless. Witness then saw the
three other deceased. Mrs. Salzedo was lying on a
bed; Sophia Salzedo, her daughter, was on the floor,
as if she had tried to get to the window; and Mrs.
Boginsky was lying dead, with her clothes on, on a
chair-bedstead. From a later inspection witness
thought that she went downstairs to try and assist
the paralysed woman, Mrs. Salzedo, and, after return-
ing to her room, was suffocated.
The Coroner: Have you examined the premises,
and can you say how the fire originated ?—There .is
no doubt the fire originated at the foot of the stairs.
The lad who was taken to the hospital informed me
that some coke was kept under the stairs, and it is
my impression that some hot ashes were inadvertently
thrown there instead of placing them outside.
Raphael Stahl, living at Mile End, stated that th,-
deceased, Mrs. Boginsky, was his sister. She was 55
years of age, and the widow of a traveller. Witness
often visited her. He had never seen her put any hot
cinders in the cupboard behind the staircase.
Mr. Henry James Sequiera, surgeon, said that all
the deceased were very much scorched, but had the
appearance of having died from asphyxia. They were
suffocated before the fire reached the bodies.

The Coroner, in his summing up, remarked that
every effort had been made by the Fire Brigade, and
other persons, to rescue the unfortunate deceased.
There. was nothing to suggest that the fire was the
work of an incendiary, and he (the coroner) should
therefore suggest to the jury an open verdict as to
that—that the deceased died from suffocation, but
how the fire was caused there was no evidence to
show.

The jury returned a verdict to that effect.
The funerals of the deceased took place on Tuesday
afternoon. Mrs. Boginsky was buried in the Jewish
cemetery at West Ham, while the other three bodies
were interred in the Mile-end burial ground.