New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-02-02

arranged. badly constructed, bad for escape, lie
thought the fire engines should have been on hand
within three minutes from the time Of the alarm. as
tha; was time enough considering the distance thev
had to 60, from Chambers-st OF the rromptness of
the tiremen Fire Commissioner Van Cott said
Their promptncsS was remarkable. Ii was so
much SO, ana struc' me so fOrcibly that ] had
memorandum of the act time made out and hung
up on the door. ! in my office when the first
signal came. at 1912. The third alarm reached
here at 1014lo; the general alarm at 1923 nave
been here five years and never saw anything as
rapid as that before. The binding burned very
rapidly. | went there immediately after received
the news, and talked with good many who had
been in the place. No two agreed as to where the
fire started. II moved so rapidly and overlook them
SO soon, that they could tell nothing abonT it, In
my five wears here remember only four other hIcs
that equal it il rapdity. One was at twenty,
ninth-st. and Seventh-ave. That building burned
III half an hour. Two others were the Fonrth-aye.
car stables and the rubber manufactory IN twenty
iifth-St. This last one was some years ago"
The statement having been made by Chef Engi-
neer Bates of the Fire Department that the water
supply at the fire in Park-Tow was not equal to me
demand, reporter of THE TRIBUNE Yesterday
called Chief Engineer Newton, of the Crot"n
Aqueduct He said "The statement there was
short supply Of water III the vicinity on the ire Is 10
me somewhat strange. There are Withn a us
tancc of 800 feet from the burned building fourteen
doube-nozzle hydrants, seven OF them nG,ng Gp
nectcd with twenty or twcnty-tour lnch mains.
These hydrants each have capacity 10 supply 10
engines There are also SIX ordinary hydIIllIS
within the limits mentioned. The reason that mere
are no hydrants in Park-ruw between Beekman and
Ann-Sts is due 70 the fact that the space - oc-
cupod by vaults extending from SIX 10 yen Ci iGef
bcVond the curb. II seems TO me strange tat Chfi
Bates Knowing that the Beckman-St. pipes wOuld
not be equal TO the emergency, should not nave sent
his engines at once, as he ana subsequently 10 Vo
meet with the twelve and twenty -four inch mains III
Broadway and interScctinG streets where me sup
ply was ample. Deputy Commissioner HamIln tens
me that he saw only one engine attacncu 10 tlle
dOube-nozzle hvdrant from the twcnty-Inch plpe III
Frankfort-st. between Printing House square aiu
WIlliam-st, and that on the small nozzle, although
yit, nf lp
and there was every facility for another engine AT
that point. This on the east side convcnlcnt TO
the fire and on the side where Chief Bates says te
supply was deficient. The same thing may Oe %uu
of the dOublenoZzlc hydrants In Prlntng IiouSe
Square, Sprucc-st, and IN tI0nt OF frencH ilocl.
Ii was half an hour after the outbreak Oh tilc ic
before the gate keeper Slgnalled 10 raise inc
proper gates at the Central Park Reservoir and TINS
was at once DONE -, -,
who was lost. is said by the people OF me ObSFf~
Office to he boy who is always attempting some
daring thing. He is a tall, thin lad. OF seventeen
years, but lie the most collected and brave per
son IN the composing room after the hTc was dlscoV
cred. In conversation with TRIBUNE reporter
Yesterday he gave the following account ol ihe
escape of the cOmpOsitoTs i'll The O6Serrer composing
room: ,., ., ., +
Smelt smoke strong. | stepped to the door leading
to the entry and opened it TO see what was the mat
ter The minute opened it the smoke rushed III as
if il was coming out of the funnel of locomotive
Then everybody was frightened. and commenced 10
run about wild sang out to them to keep cool
and closed the door. Then went To the window
nearest The Tines Building, and. opening it, stepped
out on the sign of The Scottish Amercdp; sang ont
to the boys TO follow me- and they all did, excepting
nv brother, Mir Cunningham and Mr. Harris.
Mr.. Harris and mg brother last saw rush rush
beTiidcred and did not know what to do
stepped from The Scottish 1mcrican sign to one OF
The Times building It was a pretty good reach
from one sign 10 the other but got over, and the
other ccmposiors followed. Then We got IN q WIN
dow of The Times building and were all right"
But nv brother, he was lost.' added the boy
after pause, his eyes filling with tears.