The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-12-19


Ferrors of the New York Tenement
House system-Death by whole.
snie-Nine Persons suTocated by
| Fire.
The dispatch published yesterday stated
mat tenement-house, No. 500 Second
avenue, New York, was burned down at
an early hour on Monday morning. II
vas crowded with poor people, all OF
whom had narrow escape with their
lives, and nine of whom persisted in the
names. 1t is not known how many more
bodies are yet in the ruins. Three chill.
dren were among those who persisted, and
| thelr mother is not expected to recover
from the injuries she sustained. A baker,
who occupied the lower floor, has been
arrested on suspicion Of arson. The
| Express says:
The terrible fate of nine persons in the
Second Avenue tenement. house has caused
general feeling Of horror and sympathy
throughout the city. The fire caused but
loss of $500 to the building itself, but
| the fact that so slight q disaster in itself
should involve the death of 80 many I'M
! tortunates is the more to be deplored.
The flames were not discovered until some
| time after o'clock 4. H., and the parties
occupying the lower floors had ample time
to make their escape. The rear rooms on
the fourth floor of the building were &C.
cupied by Lawrence Cunningham with his
wife and four children. At one time their
death appeared inevitable, and it was only
through the eXertions Of the firemen and
citizens that they were got out in safety.
The extreme GOODNESS Of the weather
rendered it very difficult for the fremen
to work the apparatus. The members of
the family living in the rear were saved
through the exertions Of two policemen,
who, with rope, hauled five persons to
an adjoining building.
TIE DEAD.
The following is a complete list of the
dead, and the remains are now at the
Morgue: Mrs. Margaret O'Meara, aged
fifty, suffocated Bridget O'Meara, aged
nineteen, daughter Of above, suffocated !;
Ellen O'Meara, aged seventeen, sister of
above, suffocated, and badly burned about
the feet and legs; Mary O'Meara, aged
fifteen, sister Of above, suffocated. Bridget
and Mary were found locked in each
others arms, and the mother and other
sister lying beside them. Ellen Murphy,
aged seventeen Mary Murphy, aged fiji
teen and Thomas Murphy, aged thirteen,
all suffocated.
THE INJURED.
Patrick Murphy, aged ,forty-fve, ribs
crushed by jumping out of window, and
partially sufocated; Rosanna Murphy,
aged forty, suffocated-both in critical
condition; John O'Meara, body asphyxi-
ated, husband Of Mrs. O'Meara and father
Of the O'Meara girls deceased, in a critical
condition. Mrs. Julia Kelly, aged thirty
eight, wife of Thomas Kelly, badly injured
about the spine by jumping from third
story window.
Mary Ann Cory, aged thirteen, daughter
of Mrs. Kelly by a former husband, in
hailed a great deal Of smoke, and is at the
hospital, and improving rapidly. Ellen
Duffy, young girl, who boarded with the
Murphy family, was badly burned about
the face and hands by sliding down q
clothes line from the fourth to the second
floor. On reaching the second floor she
became exhausted and dropped to the
sidewalk. She received severe internal
injuries.
THE BUILDING.
The frightful loss Of life was occasioned
by the dense smoke which filled the mar
row halls and stairways of the building, and
thus prevented the escape Of the inmates.
The building is of brick, four stories in
height, and is built on most Wretched
plan. The halls are winding and narrow,
and there were no means Of escape pro-
vided for the inmates. The ladder leading
to the scuttle was of so dilapidated a cha
racter that it broke into pieces as soon as
Mr.. Cunningham, one of the tenants,
stepped on it. Mr.. Cunningham and his
family were hauled up through the scut-
tie by the police with clothes lines taken
from the roof. Had the building been fur
nished with g. proper fre-escape, as re-
quired by law, or with any means of access
to the roof, it is more than probable that
all would have made their escape.
Several of the women were hauled up
| to the roof by cords in the hands Of po-
licemen, who lowered the lines to the front,
and then hauled quite number out OF
danger. In this way many lives were
saved. Several women and children
Jumped out Of the rear windows on the
second and third floors, and falling on a
great heap of snow in the yard, escaped
uniniured. Of the O'Meara family the
father and youngest son alone are alive
The father is in critical condition. The
son escaped unipjured. OF the Murphy
family, which consisted of husband, wife,
and three children, the latter are all dead
and the father and mother are not expect
| ed to live.