The New York herald., 1872-12-20
THE FIFTH AVENUE FIRE.
More Aid Received for the Suffering
Servants.


Prefers being Panic-stracken 10 Being
stewed, and Don't Like 20 SIT UP An
Might with . Revolver I'm One Hand
and Fire Extinguisher I'm the Other.
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD;- frv
The report Of the Fire Marshal, after careful
examination into the origin OF the Fifth Avenue
Hotel fire, BY which eleven lives were lost and
many more jeopardized, brings into prominence o
criminal fault existing in nearly all hotels. Being
obliged to travel almost constantly have had fire.
Quent occasion to know that the tired guest who
goes to sleep IN fancied security in any OF the
average hotels Of the country. or he who imagiass
that he Ia to be Afforded protection, as wen a.
shelter. for the liberal price be pays his host, is
Ignorant Of his peril
The leading hotels throughout the country are
nightly packed with from $50 to 1000 guests. they
pay for quiet and secure lodging. They have right
to sleep soundly expecting to be protected. / ven
EMPLOYS : suitable night watch, and that the
guosu, packed ike sardilee IN box to the top OF
large soss are universally lett to their fate, ana
are wholly unprotected. A nre breaking out or q
the guests had suffered or sustained @ loss. 'ii'a
nre should start IA any one OF hundred hotels
could name It would never be known until some
half-suffocated guest jumped nom window and
crushed himself on the pavement below, by way OF
intimation to outsiders that something was the
In most hotels all hands, from the landlord to
the Deiooy, retire at seasonable hour, leaving,
once. lat late conner conner must % bang and rattle rattle at at the
outside door by the half hour before he can waken
any one to let him in. Throughout the country 1t
rs nightly occurrence for expert thieves to pr0wl
from one room to another through the deserted
halls OF large hotels, and entering the rooms OF
TSey have no fear q being Detected Tie
public are not warned, for such facts are sup
tneft both in hotels and staterooms, shows H how
little innkeepers and common carries offer In the
way ofprotection to sleeping guests and how much
Your nrst account Of this Fifth Avenue Hotel arc
reported that guest assigned to q room in the
not not on ire IT The Fire Marshal in his report,
e sa ha me nGe
was badly burned before she awoke, says:-"My
opinion Is that the sufferers were sufocated before
being burned, inasmuch as the fire had to burn
from the hallway through the partition walls into
their rooms before the fire reached their bodies
which would consume some fifteen or twenty
In the name Of Justice, where was the night
WAKE u ed % wey re
while the lives Of eleven girls were sacrificed and
the rest only escaped by discovering the fire long
survived the danger of the lightning
sh' nSss sSPrss with Ss PaSsd ony Sss the way TOP
egress ana then left to the certainty Of destruc-
ose 5e er ne e
all night with revolver In one hand and q hre
extinguisher In the other?
The law regards nnkeepers as common carriers
and holds them not only responsible for the COM
fort and security Of their guests but the insurers
Of their persons and property.
Only second In crimnality to the unguarded and
unprotected situation OF the servants and guests
OF them to be notified for fear OF . useless panic
and exodus. Within the past year slept az cer-
tain hotel, quietly and peacefully, until some fre-
pressed me with the necessity Of getting up.
The fire had been discovered outside, and the
Department tclegraphed by the police but not a
guest In the house heard any alarm until the nre-
men banged In their windows Let US be notified
Mr.. Editor. Iwould rather have panic than be
stewed in the top story. Let hotelkeepers under
stand that even II we do seek for hasty lodgings
elsewhere, most Of MS honest enough to return
aiterward and pay the bill that had accrued.
The hotels loss would be small-the sacrifice o
| life from such criminal delay might be fearful.
TRAVELLER