Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1872-12-18
BURNING OF HOTEL.
Twenty Lives Lost.

hence In the Upper stOTy Ol the cliJn
Avenue hotel, on the Twenty third
street side. The fire department was
quickly on the spot, and soon poured
q stream of water on the flames, which
by twelve O'Clock envelOped the whole
Of the TwenJy-third street side. The
hose was attached TO various pipes in
side OF the hotel, thus assisting those
on the outside. Many Of the guests
had retired, OF were about retiring,
when the fire alarm sOurd, d, but il
was not until the firemen brought the
hose into the hotel that any alarm
was felt; then ensued a panic among
the guests. who rushed for their val
uables and trunks, and made for the
doors. The female domestics were
considerably alarmed. The fire was
first discovered by Samuel Tenneck,
an occupant of room %, who, on en-
terinSthe hallway, observed thesmoke
issuing from the crevices of the door
leading to the small Don nea hi
own. He opened the door and an i'm
mense mass Of smoke and flame met
him : he cried fire, and the halls were
instantly filled with men. The scene
was now one of the most exciting that
can be imagined. The employees OF
the hotel procured buckets of water
and threw.them onto the fire. The
tiremen o on got properly to work,
but not before the fire had assembled
to the sixth floor and was spreading
along the roof. After working man
fully some time, the fire was Ultimate
" confined to the wing in which it
originated. At midnight it seemed as
if the entire west wing would go. On
the fourth. fifth and sixth floors a
large number of rooms badly
damaged. The loss by the fire cannot
be estimated at present, but it Is be-
lieved to be about q hundred thou
Sand dollars. Loss on building prob
ably twelve or fifteen thousand dol
lars. The l0ss is entirely covered by
insurance in the city and out Of town
companies.
Among the prominent guests were
General Burnside, Gen. Porter, Mr..
Pullman, and Others
During the confusion attending the
fire. many women tainted in the hall
ways.
A. soon as the fire was extinguished,
the firemen commenced an examina-
tion of the top hoOrs, and made the
horrible discovery in one of the serv-
rooms that sixteen servants. men
and women, had been burned to death.
The bodies were all horribly charred
and disfigured, and the positions in
they were found indicated that
they had been overcome by intense
heat. and were e~udeavnring to escape.
Six other charred eorpses were found
in another room adjoining. These are
probably all the victims.
At 2:30 A. n. the fire was finally sub
iued, aud the dead bodies taken 10
the mOrgue. Warden Brennan had
hree ambulances on the ground TAX
ing bodies To the hospital. Margaret
aged thirty years, was 50 badly
burned about the head and body that
little hopes are entertained of her re
e0very. Jane Healey was badly scald
d about the face. The fire originated
n the elevator leading up to the laun-
dry.
NEW YORK, Dec. 1.-THE alarm
was first given by one Of the female
>ervants who shrieked fire through
the halls, awakening the guests, Of
whom there were about five hundred
the hotel. Many fthe guests went
10 the Office aud inquired rs to the *
element, but were informed by the
that there was only a little fire
in the laundry. This attempt to keep
the fire quiet, so as to avoid a panic.
helped to bring about the terrible re-
When the guests became cOgnizant
Of the danger, scenes Of confusion en-
sued ; people moving shout in appar-
ent distraction; baggage filled the
the smoke was suffocatinR,
aud water drenched the floors. 1t
nearly twelve o'clock before any
Dne gave the alarm. A passing pO-
liceman then learning of the fire in
side caused the fire engines to come
to the spot. The fire by this time had
made considerable Roadway. The la
dies were in q wild state of excite
The carpets were still covered
water. A poor servant girl was
on the thiru floor writhing in
agony, her body frightfully burned.
The shrieKs of the servants in the
upper stories were heartrending, as
the fremen were making their way to
them. Large crowds had in
the meantime gathered in the streets.
aud the excitement outside was kent
up till about two O'Clock, when the
fire was nearly extinguished.
The Herald, editorially, says it is
stated that gross csrelessness was ap-
parent in the condition of the warm
ing apparatus, and that there was too
much anxiety to keep the fire secret,
and too little effort made to save the
unfortunate girls. The whole subject
will no doubt be thoroughly investi-
The losses are estimated at from one
hundred and thirty to n hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. There are
various statements as to the origin of
the fire. One says that it was caused
by tie bursting of steam pipe in the
laundry. Some seventy or more serv-
were awakened from the top floor,
and hurried down stairs. Their cloth
ing was utterly ruined. A fireman
named Deavy was seriously injured
by falling through a crevice tO the
pavement. The hotel furniture was
about forty Thousand dollars,
one-fourth Of which was utterly
The house was owned by A. Emo,
but was leased to Darling, Griswol1 &
Co. just before the alarm, a guest
was assigned a room, which, OF reach
ing, he discovered to be on fire. On
to the clerk, he was i'll
r-z.N a. H., .-,- 80 AAhar ~
vacant. The fire was not known at
this time in the office.
New YORK, Dee. u Crowds are
collected in the vicinity of the Fifth
Avenue Hotel, excitedly discussing
the fire. Great numbers are visiting
Bellevue Hospital this morning, to
the corpses Of the victims await
ing recognition. The bodies of one
woman and two men lie on a marble
slab, awaiting recognition by relatives,
presenting a CHASTITY sight. In the
dead-house, in the rear, nine cofius
lie side by side, each containing a dead
body
The sight-seers pass around the cof
fins and look at the remains which
are all chakred and scalded beyond
of Identification. Some evil
have been literally roasted to
others are burned black, and
their tongues are prOtruding from
their mouths. In all cases the arms
and legs are drawn up, and hands
clenched. Mary A. Fagan
boiled by steam until she assumed
bright red color, and she died in
great agony this morning. She shows
no sign of being scOrched by flames at
all. Mary Ann Hesley, while escap
ing from the burning portion of the