Daily Republican., 1881-10-14
| SJCKENING HOLOCAUST.
PHILADELPHIA HILL
uuRNINS DISASTER.
.,.le scenes in the Burning
u,,,tipg Twelve Persons
Dsad, Eighteen Injured
ana ONE Missing.

mia FIRE at Landenberger's mill, Co
nha I avenue and Fifth street, Phila
Itubia was one of the most horrible
~, ever happened in that city. II
""d bv itself on lot near, but was
p@nnected @ with a larger building oper-
tsd by the same firm, by means Of a
oolen bridge across an alley.
Ths property had been burned out
;ce before, and 1T would be supposed
~, eyperience would have taught the
~mer caution, but in rebuilding he ran
na plain brick affair, four and a half
nres high, without any tire-escape,
nj with two narrow wooden stairways
nd a slow running elevator as the only
eans of communication from story to
kory, The stairways were so narro W
bat two stout persons coul1 not pass
them and the elevator, as usual,
rived only AZ a chimney for the smoke
nd flames. With such an arrange
lent as this, i, is not surprising that of
he g employees who were ut work on
be upper floors when the fire broke
kut ii are now known TO be dead, -
hore or less seriously injured, aud
still missing.
4 The only theory Of the origin of the
re is that it mast have been caused
" some disarrangement of the wires
fbich fed the e.ectric lights in use in
be building. The foreman, who had
bue down into the cellar 70 examine
e electric light machine, saw no sign
danger as he went down, but on re-
truing a few minutes later by the ele-
ator he found the second floor in
ames, and had just time to stop the
eyator and escape through the nearest
Sintow. Thomas Dunlevy, Il weaver,
ho was working on the fourth floor,
! bid a story this morning which epito-
hizes the experience Of his 80 or more
ksoclates or that floor and the one
'bove He was working at his loom
Then he beard a cry, but suppo,ing it
! he one OF the workmen calling auoth-
h he kept on with his work.
About a inmate afterward he heard |
be cry of "Fire!" aud, looking up saw
he men and wotueI in the room start |
Ii aud run abou: in the widest c,n-
6sion. He ran to the stairway and |!
|egan to 90 down, bu. was met by |
hch a volume of smc Ike and flame that
e was driven back. He then hurried |
, the elevator. but on opening the door
bund that the shaft was a roaring fur
aee As a last resort he raised VIM
bw intending 10 jump out, but hap
bning to find bunch of warp lying
b the floor. he Lad enough preseLce of
bind to tie one end of it to loom,
brow the other end out of the window
pd slide down. A workman named
homas Edwards started to follow him
pt Dunleyy called to him to wait until
p (Dunlery) got down, which he did.
BE mpr0vlsed rope was about l3 feet
Snort but Dunlevy dropped from
end of it and escaped unhurt.
dWards then started down, but by
eS time the flames were close to the
lIndow, and when Edwards vas half
av to the ground another man started
ter him and their combined weight
ose the rope.
The unknown man was killed by the
!, and Edwards was badly hurt.
Several of those who succeeded in
ching the third floor made dash
the bridge connecting with the
th-street building, but on running
'oss it found that the door into the
Ter building was locked. The girls
ength was not sufficient to force it,
d in their despair number of them
'ew themselves off the bridge, and
'eived severe ii lures from the fall.
e men succeeded at last in kicking
door open, bIt 100 .ate to save many
eS.
All this scene Of excitement and ter
occurred betcce the fire engines
ached the spot, although a policemen
no was standing near saw the fire
eak out and promptly sounded an a.
rm. The flames ragged with such fury,
I'd the means OF communication were
pltifuIly scantv, that the ntighbors
no hurried to tn. mill could render no
'slstance. There was not even time
stretch blankets under the windows
u the frightened work people to jump
Ato.
one powerfully built man caught
'hree people in SUE cess ion in his arms,
and though two OF them bore him to
~ 'ne ground by the force with they fell,
vi escaped uIinjured. So far AZ can
aScertained, these were the only per-
u Jus saved in this way, though q tew,
no mad wit and coolness enough to
IMP carefully Oh the Co,umbia-avenue
ue OF the building, aligned on soft
'ound and escaped with only a slight
ring or a sprain or two. When at
~ ~ The fire1nen arrived, they found
we 70 he done in the way of rescue,
ey picked up the groaning victims
Um : the pavement: and carried them
10 their homes or to st. Mays
ospltal, which is near by, and theu
the flames after the upper
u, olles had been burned out. The walls
III stand, and the first floor is unin-
re- 1ed except by water.
Inc insurance of $4,000 will proba-
cover the loss. 1t was feared last
gnu that scme of the employees were
lrhed to death in the mill. and this
othlng this was found TO be the case,
bodies of John Weeks and Elizabeth
~ ahk J being found in the ruins. Weeks
W from Ulster County, N. Y, was
aitlea very recently, and has only
el at work about week. His wife
~ one OF the most frantic witnesses
! t1e lire last nis sht, but nobody could
!! ~ her anything about her husband
,'ll his charred body was found this
'rnlng. The Coroner's list today
llls up y dead, of whom 5 are at the
o,sue, o at st. Mary's Hospital, and 2
sn .nelr homes. Some of the dead are
recognizable.
Bend <sr's Victory.
.1onuon, Oct. 13.-This is the fourth