The New York herald., 1872-12-12
The Attic Floor Of the Fifth Avenue Hotel,
Showing the Servants Rooms.

perceptiDly. and would not be discovered, after
having been supposed to have been extinguished,
until they would burst out afresh. fire is very
treacherous in such instances. Therefore the cause
Of this one is not yet positively explained although
In all probability It win be before we get through"
How 40 you account for the delay in getting the
names under contr0lr'
given so soon as 1t should have been. When they
were notified the fremen were there in very
contend with great disadvantages. The
building was so complicated in its par
S wa On a5e aa aao tSSt
ike Chinese puzzle There the smoke was e ex.
tremely dense, having no upward escape. floating
crept slowly down stairs to the lower apartments
and corridors.
UNcTvILIzED ARCHITECTURE.
"What do you think or the construction OF the
Fifth Avenue Hotel as regards the facilities af-
forded Tor escape from danger OF this kind 9''
very worst character Those upper chambers that
went into, that are blackened with the hot fiame
broken and charred debris and the floor covered
by water and muddy ashes, are narrow, low, close
out on the roof and these covered with iron net.
ting, so that through them there was no escape My
visit however was to see II every proper effort m
subduing the fire or In saving life, and feel salts
fed that such is the fact"
Chief Engineer of the Fire Department. who re-
ceived him in very courteous manner
Interview with Chief Engineer Perley.
"At what time did you get the alarm of fire at
the Fifth Avenue Hotel, Chief ?"
81 will show you in q moment" He arose from
his chair and brought into the room a tabular
diary which hung against the wall of the vestibule
This shows the exact time that the first knowl-
edge OF any fire reaches tho headquarters. and the
time that the second alarm Is given II there Is any,
and when the engine arrives at the scene In
this instance the location OF the fire was first tele-
graphed to him at eighteen minutes past eleven
O'Clock. Immediately the hremen from several
stations started for the hotel and arrived there in
not greater time than five minutes. six minutes
later they sounded -
THE SECOND ALARM,
which reached the headquarters Of the department
at twenty mine minutes past eleven O'Clock.
"This," said the Chief, twill show that the fire.
men we're as prompt as was possible in getting to
the spot. There was unaccountable delay at the
hotel in giving the alarm. They should have gone
out Immediately and telegraphed to u.s. Instead Of
that it seems that they waited. Another fact which
added to the delay was that they did not 60
to the signal box, OF which they had the key, and
which is Immediately opposite the door on Madison
square, but went to the one In front OF the Glen
ham HOTEL near the corner Of Twenty-second
street. When we arrived the flames were under
full headway.
THE EMPLOYEES OF THE HOUSE
were doing all in their power to battle with them
but they were inexperienced, and there was
great deal of water thrown here and there and
wasted without reaching the point where It was
needed. In this way there was great deal more
damage done than by the fire ITSELF They were
playing the stream in all directions The men SER
n
step into the midst OF the danger where alone
efectual service could be done with the hose. They
would advance into the smoke IN their excitement,
allowing the water to deluge everything, and then,
becoming alarmed. would irresolutely retire. Thus
rapid and was not stayed in the least by any ef
forts that were made before we arrived.
1.-The delay By our mot the
gong right up to the fire because OF
THE DENSE SMOKE
and that the men did not know the building at all
Its tOrtuous ways were totally strange to them
and unlike those of any other structure in the city,
and they obliged to feel their
hose hose that was attached to the engine engine in the the
basement with men from No. 10 Company, and it
OF the binding smoke. Another great difficulty
was the roof which was thick and gravelled. TO
Speedily we them had s
chance at the flames, and the smoke was given
vent 50 that they cond be approached in the in
cogla you not haze reached the fire through
rOOfW
THE FATAL IRoN-GUARDED WINDOWS.
mot easily, because they were covered by
(Which shut on, l suppose, all chance for the
escape OF those poor girls from their horrible
ayes; but don't think they would have escaped
even had the windows not been guarded. The
starcases on the west side, to which they would at
once have hastened, were gone"
''But there was another staircase around on the
other side, and connected with the rooms by the
long narrow passageway on the outer edge Of the
most OF them must have been sound asleep
when they were suffocated"
"Yet did you not hear their piercing shrieks
when you first arrved9"
eyes; they were heard by the men Of Company
Was the s s man Weo Se
bodies. He called my attention to one who was
lying at the head Of the stairs, on the western
side OF the house. They were the stairs which lead
up from the ladies' entrance and were then burn
ing. We then went on and found eight other dead
There were three or four persons sleeping in each
room One room had four beds in It."
sMorHERED IN THRIR SLEEP.
'You think that they were killed asleep, and vet
there was one woman who left her bed and went
to the head OF the stairs. Might not the doors
have been locked in some Of the rooms In some
Of those adjacent to the ones burned, at three
O'Clock that morning, the doors were locked and
"Wel, the girls may have been locked in, but the
doors, when the c0rpses were discovered, were all
burned down. It seems strange that they could
"How long did their screams continue to be
heardS They could not have been asleep and at
the same time have made so much noise."
After about ten minutes they ceased. When we
| found them they were all burned to q crisp and
were utterly unrecognizable. The flesh was peeled
OF, the bones barred by the head, and the heads
| looked
LIKE THE BLACK SKULLS OF MUMMIEs.
| Almost all Of them were in bed, some with the
blankets thrown wildly over their heads, or else
| they lay on the noor In positions that
| would indicate that In the struggle Of death
| they had rolled off, One Of them was found on her
hands and knees half way under the bed, as IT. fnd-
| ing 0tner escape hopeless, she were trying to
| shield herself for time from the dreadful smoke
! and the fierce, scorching flames. No one escaped
| from any Of the chambers where the tragedies oc-
Cured, SO that there Is no to tell the story.U
sWere there any clues found as to the names OF
| the victimsr'
"In some OF the rooms there were books that
were not destroyed that doubtless contain names.
| There Is no doubt that all Of them will be OBJ
| tained."
.what ls your opinion Of the construction OF the
| Fifth Avenue H0teiY'