The examiner., 1882-02-11
4 DISASTROUS FIRE.
The Flames Sweeping Through a Crawd d Business Buildina in New Hork-TbrIIi1nG Scehes and Inciaent5.

story building on BeekInan stree6, cA'eL liS
 from Park row to Nassau street, New York
 was discovered to he on fire and in about ten
 minutes the whole structure was Ill names.
 The building was commonly known as the
 IVo, ld uiliing, a part of it having been occu-
 pied until recently by that newspaper. It was
 old and peculiar ly constructed, having large
 well in tie center. up which the flames rushed
 with fearful raplity, cutting off many ot the
 tenants from escape by the stalrs. Tho story
 of this fro one of the most d1sas rous that
 has visited the metropolis in many years-1s
 told follows: About fFo minutes after tho
 smoke was first observed the hat11es shot lip
 rom tho basement through an elevator way at
 the Nassau street door, spreading Ill every one
 of the five stories, reaching the top 1n an ln-
 stant, blazing rigEt through the roof, and
 mingling luridly with the column Of smoke.
 To most of the 150 to 175 persons in the
 many offices which occupied the struo-
 ture, the fire itself gave the only warn
 ing. Few heard any ontery. Flames
 cracking at the doors were in sotne instances
 the first sound of the danger; and instat1t
 deadly danger it was, for tue ha!lways and
 @talrways were fill.d with fro before two
 tn rds of the inmates could escape through
 hem. The rest got out by the wirdows or not
 at all. The fire had other ways ot rising and | -preAdlng than by the pine boarded elevator,
 though that would have been sufficient by it.
 self to distribute the flames quickly, In the | center of the builda F huge well, reach
 ing f; om the second story to the loof and hay
 ing windows opening into the adjoining rooms.
 In this the fire roared as in chimney with
 mig.:ty draught. kindling the woodwork of the
 square openings made by the we'll in two of l the floors were rai1ed arou11d with wooden bal
 nstr4les and formed galleries from
 which offices opened, and all this space was
 out, hindrance dl so in the wild
 rush down tic small row of stair
 ways into Park TOW. They were men, women
 and boys. Many of them were bareheaded and
 
 | flight. few carried books and bundles, l caught up on the instant. There were similar | stairs leading down to Nassau street, but along
 side these was the elevator, and egress was i'm
 fire gained headway. It is said that thero | were 150 persons in the building, and that
 nearly, or quite, fifty were still inside when no
 further hope of escaping by doors and stairs
 scattered on all the floors above the lower one. | They were, chiefly the editors, publishers,
 4naatcan, the o5se,es,, :, the seottisS | d7osfi icasa, the Retailer, the Ih,t, Ffe1d and l Fa,m, and Thompson's Bank N0e R-porter, 1 $. M. Pettengill S Co.,, the Paine Brothers, aud | several patent solicitors also had employees l there. The Forld establishment had lately | been removed, an1 twelve carpenters were al- | tering the vacated rooms for other occupancy. The adventures of the imprisoned fifty were varied in their degrees of peril, from com plratively easy climb down ladder all the way 10 hOI rible death.
 4 fallen horse or & car off the track will
 cause crowd in Park row. Itmay be realized, there ore, that the spectacle of five-story building all ablsZe-half block of led flame
 reaching solidly to height Of 150 feet, and topped with 2O0 feet more of dense smoke drew multitude which filled Printing House square. The heat drove everybody out of Mas au and Beekman streets, but on the Park
 row side there was plenty of available space, and It's earlIor occupants were horrifed by what they saw.
 After the first outpour of pan1c-stricken per- sons from the doorway on Park row came se7- ersl stragglers, singed by the flames which had touched them as they stumbled down the stairs, choked by the smoke and wild with terror. Then big blaze burst out and the spectators
 know that no more could come out alive at that point. A general cry of sympathy and alarm arose as the figures of men and women appeared st the windows of the fourth and fifth stories. Bremen had arrived, an alarm at 10:15 having been promptly responded to- but their longest ladders only reached we'll up to the third story. A gill fainted at sight of these seemingly doomed prisoners, and exclamatlons of pity were couched III the strongest terms. From the third story it was easy to climb down the ladders, and many did so with the assistance of the firemen But there were not ladders enough for all who were on that floor even, be- cause the fire was already in the rooms, catch
 ing in the p les of paper with which nearly all the 1,ew@Paper offices were incumbercd, and the utmost haste was requisite to escape burn ing sutfocatlon.
 Two men threw up 8 window of the ObseT'Cer
 office, and climbed out on the narrow sill. A
 red glare behind them, with black back
 ground of smoke, showed how hotly they were
 nursued. They were the Rev. Dr. S. lrenaus Prime editor of the ObserUer. and the Rev. Dr. Stoddart. A wide signboard served as guard
 for them, and they edged along behind it until
 they got to the Times building adjoining,
 where they entered window. At the same
 time Edward L. c. Bruce, of the Tu't,- Field
 ol;, ,l,olf of, nf- fee, in the next story above, and by means of
 handy signboard reached Thompson's adver- Using agency in the Times building, but not without a burned hand and face. A cheer went up from the crowd.
 But the cheering was only for an instant. It
 was silencod by horrifying sight. Mrs. Ellen Bull colored, the janitress of five offices in the
 building, aged about fifty years, came to third-story window and called loudly for help. Some men held 8 large sheet for her and she jumped, but missing the sheet, fell with terri ble force on tho sidewalk. She was raised and taken at once 10 the Chambers street hospital, where she died in about an hour.
 Richard $. Davy, printer, g. native of Eng anl forty years old, was seen on the roof running wildly up and down and calling loudly for sHclp! hoIp!'' Suddenly he was seen to slip and fall. On his way he struck against the telegraph wires and was badly hurt. Re bounding lom the wires he fell to the sidewalk with a crash, breaking his leg and injuring himself badly in the face. He was taken to the Chambers street hospital, where he died While these scenes were being enacted by tho firemen in Nassau street similar ones were going on in Park TOW. Hook and Ladder Con- pany No. 10 was stationed there, and the daring and bravery of private John J. Horn commanded the admiration of the spectators. He ran up the ladder in Park row. near the Beekman street corner, and rescued two men
 and one woman. To do this he had to be supplied with another ladder ten feet long, which was held by one of his com fr,t 1odI 4Jo4 Horn placed the ladder against & room | faces had been seen to disappear from the win dow. He could see nothing when the window was reached, as the room, which was nearly fifty feet square, was thick with smoke Inside he heard groans. He jumped through the win dow and in minute afJerward reappeared with man in his arms. The man was found almost unconscious, lying on the floor. Horn went into the room twice afterM ard, and each time he found 8 man almost lifeless from suffo- cation. AS he descended with his last man the crowd cheered Justify.
 Another of tho rcscIers of Hook and Ladder No. 10 was John E. Nolan, who had charge of a ladder on the Park row side. He had Q ladder that reached to the third story, and from there
 he passed out two Nomen. On the floor above in the windows were others who were crying piteously for help. Nolan wound his legs ln an astonishing way in the rungs of the ladder and cried out: " Jump into my arms; it's your only chance" There were two women ln a win dow Directly above, and the crowd shouted to the:A to leap and one, after moments hes1ta- ton, did so, nd was caught safely ln Nolan's arms. A cheer rose up from the crowd as the
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