The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1877-08-16
Burned to Deaths

A most disastrous fire, resulting in the
death of six persons and severe injuries to
several others, and . heavy loss of prop.
erty, occurred in this city this morning.
The victims were most of them young
persons, three of the number girls. rang
ing in age from sixteen to twenty years.
Two were boys of eighteen and twenty,
just verging upon manhood, and one Of
them. ut least, perhaps both, gave their
lives in their endeavor to save those of
their associates, the young girls and
women of the factory in which they were
employed.
The fire was in the cigar-b factory of
Pelstrung & Co., corner of Eighth and
Broadway. They employ, perhaps, thirty
hands. The factory had just opened for
the day, and portion of the girls had as
cended to their rooms on the third and
fourth floors, when the engineer in the
basement saw the fire in the adjoining
room. How it originated il unknown.
The flames spread with wonderful rapidity,
owing to the fact that the building was
filled with the light, dry lumber for the
boxes and the shavings and sawdust made
in the work, and in . short time reached
the upper floors. The ascent OF the flames
was unfortunately by the stairway, thus
cutting off the only avenue of escape. The
unfortunate girls in the fourth story ran
first to one window, then to another, call
ing for aid. Two of them, more courage
Gus than the rest, plunged down the stair.
case through the smoke and flame, and
falling exhausted ct the foot ware rescued.
The others ran frantical:y from one win.
dow to another, shouting, begging for aid,
until, overcome BY the heat and smoke.
they fell back and, disappearing, perished
in the flames. On the ground outside
crowd was gathering, and one young man
of twenty, Frank St0rdeur, forced his way
INTO the building for the purpose Of rescu-
ing some Of the girls. He was never again
seen alive. On the second floor, Henry
Maaz, boy of perhaps eighteen, was at
work. and when the fire broke out, instead
Of saving himself, ran at once to the upper
in this act of heroiem lost his life. His
body is still beneath the ruins.
The Fire Department, of which Gin
cinnati Is 80 proud, responded promptly,
and did all in their power, yet was unable
to save either the people in the building
or the building itself. In fact, 30 sudden
was the growth of the flame that, though
the first company was on the ground be-
fore the alarm had ceased, the victims had
disappeared from the windows and the
flames were bursting through the opening
n every direction on their arrival. The
flour who lost their lives in the building
are horribly burned. In most cases
trunks only remain, the legs and arms
being either burned entirely off, or 50
nearly 80 that their removal except in
pieces was impossible. The remains were
only identified by pieces of their clothing,
bits of jewelry, etc.
After the fire had subsidized, the bodies
of the four victims were found In the eel
lar, Immediately beneath the stairway,
burned to crisp, almost beyond recogni-
ton. The names of the victims arc as
follows: josephine Bey, aged seventeen;
Mary Nurre, aged twenty; Minnie Kubbe,
aged sixteen; Frank Stordcur, aged twen-
~; Henry Maaz, aged sixteen; John
Clanzenbcrg, aged forty-two.
The people killed were mostly members
of families in very moderate circumstan-
ces, aud in some cases were tho sole sup
port of widowed mothers and helpless rel
ativcs.