New-York tribune., 1874-09-21
THE FALL RIVER DISASTER
n,,ny,vc oE THE GRANITE MILLS.


DISCOVERY OF THE FLAMEs-EscAfE oi y, ,-nnvn
~..,.,. ou,rp rrooRs-THE PANIC IN THE UPPER
-yoss orPREcIoUsT TIME IN SOUNDING THE
,,.p,,-coNprAI ANTS AGAINST THE FIRE DEPART
MEST-oRrGIN OF THE FIRE.
fnr TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNEl
~, p,vrR Mass. Sept. 20.-The all-absorblng
~ conversation to-day is the terrible disaster
Of Yesterday, by which more than score OF hves
were lost and some 80 persons seriously injured
Granite Mill No. / is owned by the Granite Mills
Company and is centrally situated In the CITY, Dc
fore Yesterdays fire was an imposing granite sI"o
ture S6S feet long, 6S wide and hye ana ohe-hail
stories high. The building was erected aDou' Az
years ago. and has been used for the oi
COTTON print cloths, the capacity Oeing aDous
1oOOOOoO wards year. The structure was PROVIDED
,i,b stand-pipes and all the appliances
for putting out fire, but, as viii appear peiow'
these were of little of no account IN saving me-
The operatiyes of whom about $50 are employed
usually 20 to work about 6:l5 a. m. Yesterday
was no exception to the rule, but the machinery
was not put in motion for some five or ten minutes
after they had assembled. In less than hai1 an
hour thereafter the fire broke out. james T. NC
Creery the superintendent of the mill, CLAIMS 10
have been the first one to discover the flames. lie
was outside at the time and Immediately struck the
fire alarm. Then rushing into the weaving
room on the first floor, where some slxty giIls
were at work. he gave the signal to stop, ana toiu
the girl nearest him to go out as quick as possloe'
All followed. and none on that floor were injured
The greatest loss of life was in the athc-the
spoolng room Of the establishment-where "A
girls and seven men were employed. The only
means of egress were the stairway aud the fire.
escape The former was filled with dense smoke,
and the latter was accessible only by means OF
ladders placed through the skyights in the pitched
roof These ladders were not in place, and IN
the panic which ensued upon the discovery
of the flames none thought of this sure
means of saving themselves. Some descended
on ropes: others jumped to the ground
distance of GO feet, were dashed to pieces at the
very feet of their friends and dearest relatives and
still Others cried and gesticulated from the attic
windows, vanly imploring aid that never came
Young girls were burned TO death before the eyes OF
their fathers and mothers who witnessed their ter
rble sufferings and cOntortiOns In sort OF mute,
dazed despair
One of the worst features of the whole affair was
the careleSsness or mismanagement IN the striking
of the alarm at the engine-hOuse One signal after
another came from different sections of the city, and
the fremen did not know where to go. Consequently
10 precious minutes were lost before stream of
water was brought to bear on the burning build
ing Then the movements of the firemen were in
terfered with by the panic-strcken people In the
mll-yard and streets. One ladder, 80 feet
long, is said to have been placed against the build
ing wrong end up and before splice could be made
IL had to be taken down and put up again. Even
then il did not reach the attic windows by 10 feet
and might as well have been slowed away in the
house of the hook and ladder truck -Four tiremen
were injured by having people fall or jump them
from above. One large woman who leaped from one
of the upper windows fell upon upraised ladder,
breaking four rounds of it, She was dashed
to pieces on the pavement below her brains bespat-
tering the sidewalks aud the spectators. Horrfyiug
incidents by the score are told and it will be many
day before the Granite Mill disaster will to be
topic of interest in every home in Fall River. The
fire department of the city is said to be ordinarily
very efficient 1t is composed of seven steam fire en-
Uines of the second-class and eight hose carts be-
sides two hook and ladder companies. Some COM
plain that the chief is totally incompetent and blame
him and his mana cement OF mlsmanagement for the
extent of the disaster. Be this as it NAV, there was
inexcusable and objectionable bungling both in the
work of the fremen and in the mill at the time of
the discovery of the flames
The fire began in the fifth story near the north
end of the building. 1t was caused by Fiction in
mule head, aud if proper means had been imme-
diately taken it could have been eXtinguished In
lew moments, ana tnere Woulu nave Deen ITO ueeu
of striking an alarm. The whole north end of the
room was soon one sheet of flame, which spread
with fearful rapdty to the south end 1t then burned
through the floor into the attic, and became wholly
unmanagable. The roof and the floors of attic and
the fifth story soon fell in, carrying with them
portion of the side walls. The first three stories
were not damaged, except by water, but the fourth
and fifth stories and the attic totally ruined.
The loss on the mill and machinery is estimated to
be about sixty per cent of the insurance, about
S27O1OO. The insurancebeiDg S45OOOO, it is the in
tention of the owners to rebuild the mill at once.