The New York herald., 1872-12-27
INVESTIGATIONS BY THE FIRE MARSHAL.

James Brown Delng sworn, SAID - i've AT w
Catharine street; am printer; worked for Dun,
Barlow Co., 81, SO and So Centre street, third
story; was In the press rooms at the time Of the
clean the presses; there were Six presses, and we
used about gallon OF benzine in cleaning
Them the gas was lighted st the PACK @ Of the
out OF my sight; the first saw of the fire was q
fash on the lloor, and the flames spread very rap
foor and think eight in the press room; some Of
!. the men ran out jpmediatey, and several or US
tried TO smother the fire with our coats and other
the sheets printed during the day the sheets lay
little over six feet from the floor; the IRE was
fSnR = oss Ssg aS s sGS %o mSSses aas
after the fire started before the sheets
were in q blaze all over the room; when we found
down stairs; 1 got part Of the way down. and
hearing no stir up stairs, and seeing no one COM I'M
To the b
Anderson Archer, and gave the alarm; they
heard, and we started to come down; ! think
flames were rolling across the stairway as we came
down, and we had to run through them; most
ten or twelve girls came down there; they worked
on the second floor above us; Anderson
4 Archer occupied all the noors above US; the rags
press which the boys were cleaning; they were
wet with benzine, as the boys were using them In
cleaning the press; the benzlne was kept in can
and poured upon the rags as we wanted to use
them; don't think 1t was more than four minutes
after the fire started before we were obliged to
leave the room there was an elevator In the GEN.
tre OF the building, about twenty feet from where
the fire started, and adjoining the stairway; this
tom to the top Of the building; went down to the
front door ana assisted ts G Of the girls out who
alarm had been given, and by the time
THE FIREMEN GOT THERE
the second and fourth floors were on fire, and
several girls were at the windows OF the fifth loor
screaming; the nremen put up ladder; there
were hardly enough Of men there to get it up; it
was found too short, and was taken down to be
floor caught, ana they were unable to rescue
anybody; ! then went around to Leonard
down down by 0 the 0A dre @ escape; sl;S sesskaSa asked
iftheey were all down. and one Of the girls MARY
Donovan) told me she was the last one down, and
me for Gods sake to try and save them; don't
think it was more than minute after the last girl
20! ne te the walls se M
OF the building; observed there were platforms
under the windows; also noticed that there was
noor, or their floor with the noor below us; don't
know the condition Of the ladders connecting the
other aSHEs, Sss,t,a6sy q ;5aS ~ ;Es7a.M
Dun, Barlow Co. as compositor / was at work
at the time the fire commenced, putting away type;
my attention was attracted by slight reflection
near the front OF the building on OF the presses
ran forward and saw a boy lying on his stomach
had scarcely time to get up and run away from the
fire; ran back and got board from
hf 5oat m Te w es
with this tried to smother the fire. but it was too
far advanced; it blazed up nearly to the ceiling,
stairway; several others also were trying to eX-
tinguish the fire; finding we could not check 1t, |
ran i9r my cotnlng was unaoie 10 nna them, ana
about the centre OF the building, and is enclosed
with door on the north and south sides; the south
door was fastened up, and | was obliged 10 go
around through the composing-room TO the north
door to get out; as went out OF this door the
flames i, were coming through broken window In
give the alarm; got up about three steps, when /
saw the fire and smoke Increasing so rapidly that
stairs several times, and then ran down; 1t was so
hot as 1 passed one door going down that was
Obliged to put my hat to my face to
came down directly behind me, and was crying for
her daughter; looked at the clock on the clipper
building as soon as got down stairs; 1t was then
eight minutes OF i've, or eight minutes after five,
am not certain which: had been down stairs
more than five minutes when the firemen came !;
the first saw was truck company; at that time
there were three girls at the extreme north win
dow OF the upper n0or crying for help; the fire.
didn't seem to have men enough; don't
think there were five fremen with the
ladder; some citizens helped them, and when
they got the ladder up 1t was too short; when
got down it seemed to me that the whole building,
from our moor up, was on fire; the smoke was
pouring from every window; don't think these
girls remained at the window over half minute
think the walls fell in about fifteen minutes after
the hremen arrived.
live at 269 South Ninth street, Williamsburg;
am IN the employ OF Dunn, Barlow 4 Co. am a
c0mpOsitor; was at my case distributing type at
the time the fire occurred: heard some excite
ment in the press rooms and ran around there
burning; it was big blaze, up nearly TO the cell
ing; saw one man throw a coat on it to smother
1t and our foreman had board with which he was
trying to put 1t out the time was after five o'clock
think about quarter past five; several OF tb men
then cried "Fre ~ and started to leave the build
ing; ran and got my clothes and ran down stairs !;
coming from the three south windows ON our ioor |;
there was no smoke nor fire coming from any
five or six minutes after ! got down stairs
before the first engine came; saw one girl at the
she didn't cry long; the smoke issued out OF the
upper windows very soon afterwards, and ! thought
she was smothered.
1 live at SO Fleet place, Brooklyn am foreman for
Anderson, Archer 4 Co. bookbinders there occu-
pied the fourth, fifth and sixth floors OF the build.
ing Nos. 81, SO and IS Centre street; l think
we had about forty-nve girls in our employ
and twenty-five men and boys; they were all
at work on Tuesday, think; all the girls worked
on the fifth floor and the floor above was used as a
stock room; no person worked there; the binding
that floor; had charge of the binding at the time ;
the members OF the firm having gone. and some OF
the men were desrons OF quitting work, willie
stood in the middle Of the floor looking about TO
see that all of the men were at
work, when heard some one ON the
stairs cry out, "Get out we are all
anrel'' and almost Immediately / saw the
flames rolling up outside OF our front windows;
Invent to the stairs, and by that time all escape in
that direction was cut or; think some OF our
people did escape by the stairs; they had to pass
through the flames on the landing below thought
OF .he fire escape, and called to the hands to follow
me: by that time our floor the ourth) was full OF
smoke and the fire coming up the elevator and
stairway; the girls that were on the filth moor at
the time OF the fire came down to the fourth floor
and got out by the fire escape; there were between
thirty and forty persons escaped in this way the e
escape was on the Leonard street side don't
think 1t extended above the binding t!ourth floor
1t was out OF order, and we had to Jump from the
third balcony to the roof OF the adjoining building
distance OF about sixteen feet in dong this there
was great danger OF falling through large sky
light in the roof directly beneath the balcony; |
think there was one other fire escape on the west
end Of the building, and extended from the fifth
floor to the roof OF u saw planning mill, a distance
OF about fifteen feet; that fire escape did not COM
municate with any floor except the fifth;