Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-10-14
Destructive Fire in Philadelphia.

Destructive Fire in Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa, October 13.-I
The fire at Sanderbergers mill last
night, which was SO disastrous to life
and property, originated in the fin
ishing room of the second floor, and
spread upwards through the build
ing amazingly rapid. About forty
five of the hands, twelve of whom
were girls, were at work on this floor,
but majority were engaged in the
spinning and weaving departments,
on the upper floors. The wooden
stairways at either end of the build
ing were soon ablaze. The bridge
connecting the building with another
mill was shut off from approach by
fre-p proof doors and in the absence of
any fire escape panic instantly ensued
among the women confined within
the building. They rushed to the
windows crying frantically to the
crowd below to save them. It was
proposed by the crowd to form
squads in the street and catch the
men and girls as they leaped out,
but before anything could be done,
a young woman leaped from the fifth
story. It seemed that every bone in
her body was broken, for she never
breathed again. After this, the i'm
prisoned people seemed to be-
come frenzied, and although the
crowds in the streets below
sought to encourage them by
shouting that help would speedily be
there, they began jumping from
the windows like sheep. A man ap-
parently bereft of reason flung him
self headlong to the street, and
while his body was still in the air
others followed, now a man then
woman or half grown girl, until in
q few minutes eleven human beings
one and all unconscious, with frac-
tured skulls and broken limbs, were
being carried by tender hands to
neighboring saloon on the floor of
which, body after body was laid in a
row until vehicles were procured to
convey them to the hospitals. By
this time the relatives of the victims
began to gather outside the build
ing, and the cries of mothers out
side to their children still in the
burning rooms and their lamenta-
tons over those who had jumped and
been literally dashed to pieces, were
heartrending to hear. When the
firemen were able to enter the bujld-
ing, they found on the third floor the
bodies of two females burned al
most to crisp. Before they could
search further the fourth floor, with
its heavy machinery, came crashing
through and they barely escaped with
their lives. The fremen were
compelled to desist in their
labors because the floors had
gone through to the ground,
and the machinery, charred wood
and what remained of the unfortunate
operatives, ten or a dozen, were
mingled together in an unrecogniza-
BILE mass, which was seetbing and
sending out volumes of steam as cold
water was poured upon it. Seven
are known to be dead and % injured
mostly young women. The victims
were carried off in all directions.
: some to their homes, some to houses
close by aud others to various hospi
tails, so that the exact number canno!
yet be stated. Physicians say that
nearly every one of the cases admit
,, ted to st. Mary's Hospital will result
| fatally. The number of deaths vii
} probably exceed 20, there being tel
> dead bodies in the RUNS Had the
fire occurred in daylight fully 4O(
people would have been compelled te
fight for life with the flames Within
. an hour the flames were brought
under control, leaving the walls
standing, but the inside completely
Quilted out. The loss in propert,
will amount to $65,OO0, to offse
which there is an insurance O
$4,000. Some of the workmen at
' tribute the origin of the fire tt
sparks from an electric light falling
UuC WCtoUC. oUutIS
the sudden spread to the influence
of the reheated wires. The sam.
mill was burned in 1877. Twi
bodies have been recovered tbi1
morning from the ruins.
Up to noon to day the number o
n dead bodies recovered, as reported t,
the coroner, were eleven, of which
s FIVE are at the morgue, two at the;
5, houses, and four in st. Mary's Hos
u pltal. A deputy coroner visited tn,
e scene of the disaster this morning
0 and learned that the means of escap,
; from the building were inadequate
S The Only theory of the origin of tn
J fire was that already advanced-th'
g electric light.
- The Family Of a Prominent Citizel