Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-12-12
APPALLING CATASTROPHE.
The Burning Of Fifth Avenue Hotel.
% Dead Bodies Found Already
Frightful Results of Criminal Stu
pidity.
The Fire Raging Five Hours befor
Alarm was Given.
Guests Assigned by the Office Clerk
to Rooms already Burning.
A Shoddy Building of AristOcratic
Pretengi0ns.

NEW Ohh3 OcC. Ill NC htO 90 -
Fifth Avenue Hotel last night broke out
shortly after 7 O'Clock, on the second floor
of the hotel. The staircase upon which the
fire started was one atthe back OF the house
leading from the laundry in the basement
to the servants rooms on the attic fioor,
The flames ran rapidly up the stairway. IL
was as a chimney, there being no openings
from it but at the top and bottom. Ii ate
up the staircase and charred its surround
ings. Reaching the open space into which
rooms of the servants opened, it burst into
its fullest strength. The flames in their
progress did little or no damage until they
reached the corridor at the top, the draught
driving through the narrow passsgs-waY,
carrying the flames quicker and making
them more destructive as they went On.
They spread ever the entire extent of the
west wing. The wood work of the rooms
where the servants slept, Immediately
caught the flames, and soon the entire wing
was a mass Of lurid flames. The flames
spread so rapidly the servants asleep in the
rooms at the top of the staircase were over
taken, and before assistance could reach
them were completely shut off from the
main building.
The fremen who had meantime arrived
were too late for assistance, as by this time
the apartments of the poor creatures were
enveloped in flames. Shortly after one,
when it was found that numbers OF. persons
were missing, police officer and chief Of
the fire department effected an entrance by
means of an iron ladder to a room where
the people were supposed TO be. They
there found the charred and burned bodies
of thirteen persons. Bedding and fITni-
ture were strewn about the room coz
fused with the human remains. The bodies
lay at different places from which the poor
people had tried to find means of egress.
Some had endeavored TO escape through the
windows. Others in the endeavor TO find
air had fallen at the head of the staircase.
The bodies of two women were half con-
ceaIed under bed in sn outer room where
they evidently tried to shelter themselves
from the binding, suffocaing smoke and
scathing flame. When the fremen aud
police got into the wing, the floors of this
room we're sound, but the roof timbers
were burned and had fallen upon the floor
in a confused mass upon the bodies. The
water thrown from the hose was several
inches deep upon tie floor, and was filtering
through to The ground. The heavy beams
of the roof had fallen upon the burned
bodies, scalding lines and mutilaiing the
remains horribly. The bodies were speedily
removed to Bellevue from whence to-day
they will be sent to tie Morgue. Owing TO
the confusion aud excitement the names Of
the victims could not be sscertained.
Up to 20 minutes past O'Clock twenty
two dead bodies had been recovered, siXI
- and civ in bor rrvti .t,
is probably all. The alarm was first given
By one Of the female servants, who shrieksd
"Fire!" through the Railways, awakening
the guests, of whom there were about fYs
hundred in the hotel. Many Of the guests
went to the Office and inquired as to'the
excitement, but were Informed by the
clerks that il was only litll5 fire in tie
laundry. This attempt to keep the fire
quiet SO as tc avoid panic, helped to bring
about The terrific result. When the guests
became cognizant of their danger, scenes
of confusion ensued-peOple moving about
in apparent distraction and baggage filed
the hallway. The smoke was suiiocatilg
and water drenched the floors.
1t was nearly twelve O'Clock before any
one gave the al srm, and passing police
man then learning Of the fire inside, caused
the fire engines to come to the spot. The
fire by this time had made considerable
Roadway. Ladies were in wild state Of
excitement. The carpets were al covered
with water. A poor servant girl was found
on the third fiocr Writhing in agoDIes Of
pain, her body frightfully burned. The
shrieks of the servants ia the upper stories
were heart-rending as the fremen were
making their way TO rescue them. L3rge
crowds had in the mean time gathered on
the streets. The excitement on the out
side kept up till about two O'Clock, when
the fire was about eXtiDgnished.
The Herald editorially says it is stated
that gross carelessDess was apparent in the
condition of the warming apparatus, aud
that there was too much anxiety to keep
the fire secret and too little effort made to
save the unfortunate girls. The whole sub
ject will no doubt be thoroughly iavestiga-
ted. The losses are estimated at from a
hundred and thirty to one hundred aud fifty
Thousand. ThsTe are various statements as
to the origin Of the fire. One says it was
caused by the bursting OF q steam pipe in
the laundry. Some seventy or eighty SER
wants altogether were awakened from the
top floor and the burned down stairs.
Their clothing was utterly ruined. a FIRE
man named Deany was seriously injured
by falling through a crevice TO the pave
ment. The hotel furniture was worth
about four hundred thousand; fully one
fourth of this was utterly ruined. The
house is owned by A. z. Emo, but leased to
Darling, Griswold s. Co.
just before the alarm guest was assign
ed to room which on reaching he dis
covered to be on fire, Returning 10 the
clerk he was informed there was no other
room vacant. The Ere was not known at
this time in the Office. Among the most
prominent guests were Gen, Burnside, Gen.
Horace Porter, G. Ii. Pullman of Chicago.
Several of the lady guests were accommo-
dated in neighboring hotels and houses.
Miss Nelson the actress was among the
lady guests. The building was so slightly
constructed that the water went through
the floors as sieve.
At the MOrSue-The Story of Rescued
Cir.
Large crowds of rich and poor gathered
at the Morgue this morning to ascertain the
names of the persons taken
there from the Fifth Avenue fire. Eleven
bodies are already at the Mogue. Only two
sofar are recognizable the others being cTTued
almost to crisp. These tao are Mary
McCsbe and Mary Pagan, Goth servants.
Mary Heaney, one of the servants, is at
Bellevue; she states that when the alarm Of
fire was given she knocked at nearly all the
doors of the other servants. She then tried
to get down stairs, but the smoke aud
flames drove her back, when with Mary
Turney and Bridget Curtis she broke opsn
skylight and got on the roof, remaining
there till the firemen rescued them. She
will recover. The bodies at the Mrogue
have the appearance Of having suffered
great agonies.
Confused Account.
There is great confusion at the Fifth
Avenue Hotel to-day; one of the propTie-
tors denies that there was any delay in Civ
lug the alarm. The walls Of tie laundry
were completely burned. Iccles hang from
the ceiling. T damages cannot be esti-
mated yet. Accounts of the number oHthe
burned are conflicting. Il is learned al the
hotel that only eleven persons were burned,
and these wer all female servants.
WOOdmsD, Spare That Tree.
ST. Louis, Dec. 11,--At the meeting Of
the State Horticultural Society Of Kansas
at Topeka yesterday, resolution wss
adopted asking the SDacial nffsnff0D of