Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-01-15
ANOTHER HOTEL FIRE.
ONLY THREE LIVES LOST THIS TIME.
Panic-Strlcken Guests-DtIer Serious fires
Tho Incendiary's Work ut MIL

The Planters hotel, one of the largest
in st. Louis, took fire early Sunday morn
ing, and the servants quarters burned SO
rapidly that three persons lost their lives.
The greatest confusion prevailed when the
alarm was given, and nearly all the guests
escaped in their night clothes. The
weather was Intensely cold, and the
tiremen were thereby greatly hindered in
their work. The fire At 1925 o'clock was
under control.
The fire broke out shortly after a. IN.
in the kitchen of the hotel, and extended
to the pantry, storeroom and servants
quarters. These We're in building IN the
| rear and detached from the building,
which was not injured. One servant Was
| satfoca:ed, one burned and two o:neIS
| have broken limbs. Great excitement
prevailed amoug the occupants CT the
hotel, most of whom left the hotel, but
returned during the day.
The hotel which is six stories high,
fronts on the west side of Fourth street,
from Chestnut to Pine, while a wing runs
back on both Chestnut and Pine streets to
Il depth Of half block. Thus the main
building forms three sides of 2 Tcctanglo.
| The fourth side is formed by a four-Story
| building forty years old, midway of which
on the ground floor is the boiler room, and
the kitchen is on the floor above it. The
| two upper floors are occupied by the help
| of the house, about Sevcnty-tive in num-
Der. The fire started very close to tho
narrow stairway and was carried up to
the roof by the draught, cutting Off cs-
cape by the stairs, and forming Il barri
cade, preventing those sleeping in the
south half of tho building from reaching
another stairway at the north end.
| One poor fellow started down the stairs
before the fire reached the third floor. An
hour later his crisped corpse was found IN
the kitchen noar tho foot of the stairs.
Another employee answered the call at his
door, but seems to have been stupetied by
smoke, and two hours afterward his dead
body was fouEG on the smoking mattress
of his bed.
The fire crossed the alley to the furniture
warerooms Of the auction house of Black,
Taylor Il Co., where tho firamcn bad
another fierce but short fight. TAe dam
age to the hotel is $4,000, and TO the
auction rooms about $50, 900 all, covered by
insurance.
The charrcd body OF Henry E!aney, vino
had been employed at the hotel since he
was 4 boy, was found at the foot OF the
stairway. He was over GO years old. The
other two dead men are Carlo RebOla, IA
scullion. and Dennis Reporte, carver.
incidents of the Fire.
WheD the ire broke out the night clerk,
Mr.. Salter, was sitting in the office talk
ing to q bell boy, when he noticed a dense
smoke coming through the wash room.
iIo ran out and turned on an alarm. Re.
turning, he and the bell boy ran up to the
top story and raped Oh the door of every
room; they then went to tho next tioo.
and awo!,e ii! the guests. After they had
knocked on every bedroom door il the
house they returned to the top floor to see
that everybody was awake. Several
ladies, upon hearing the cry of fire, tainted
and had to be carried to a place OF safety.
The clerk then returned to the office and
placed the register and books in the safe
Of the Office. In less than three minutes
the hotel corridor vas crowded with ladies
and gentlemen with Their baggage in
hand.
BY th:s time people had begun TO run
ont OF the hotel into the streets, all of
Them IN their night clothes and all crying
'iirc ~ Although it was SO early il the
informing. Il large crowd gathered as If b.
magic, and P:ae stree !Sas almost block
AIDED within live mirutcs from the time the
alarm WAS sounded.
The scene rapidly became one OF indis-
cribable horror; ladies' aud little children,
men with infants in their arms and cham
hsrmaids all in tEclr night clothing,
poured ont Of every doorway, the females
sl.iyeriDg with cold and shrieking with
horror. In response to the alarm turned
!, on by the cerl- the fire department came
I rapidly, and getting their engines to work
they conquered what promised to be Il
t fierce aud disastrous coniiagratiOn, contin-
ing the flames to their original area--the
kitchen and the rooms just abOve.
, Governor Phelps occupied a room on TIE
first 1l0cr. lie was one Of the first
awakened, and quickly dressed and ap-
pearcd in the hallway outside his room as
cool and calm az if nothing had happened.
lie cndcavcre,i to pacfy the ladies, who
wcie rushing iiantically up and down the
hall, and brought them into his room,
which WAS iice from smoke. Don't DE
frightened, ladies, the fire is out and there
l is not Il particle Of danger, just sit down
and the confusion will be all over in q few
{ moments" tie governor said, after ne
2 had Got them cut Of the hallway. He
then made another trip into the lobby and
guietcd some OF the working girls WHO
were crazed with fright.
: During ,he fire a lady was heir:! bitter
ly crying. Bring me my baby, bring ME
my baby - and soon the infant was safely
a.! restored tn the welcoming ariGs of the
agonized mother. Mr.. Robert McCrai,
$ OF the beef canning company, was seen
! running through the crowd III frantic
{ hunt for his wife aud child. He was on
the !on,th floor and had sent them down
G tie stairway while he stopped to get his
Q uvcrcoag tn put around his wife. He was
| almcs: overcome by the excitement OF the
+ dreadful occasion and when he vas told
D that his wife and child had been taken
= into III adjacent saloon his joy was with
5 out bounds.
4 Julia iIasscl, laundress, made her
way TO the window Of the room where she
was alecring ani s'Ic was told to jump.
She did SO, thinking it was only foot OF
G two to q roof below, but in reality the
Y ronf was sixteen feet from tbs spot where
/, she made the leap. Her right ankle
t was broken. The chambermads were
a III i state Of the widest excitement dur
$ Ing the fire and declared that every one in
, tue house was burning up. John Kurnan
= one of the houseman, rushed fror' the
/. alley with his head bleeding, saying that
V he had ,jdmpcd from his window to the
l roof of the cook house and from thence to
a the ground examination showed that
4 his hurts were slight.
S Thomas Fitzgerald, another houseman,
s also came out of the alley, after having
jumped from the roof. He was badly
Jared and his face blackened with smoke.
People ran about tho streets in every di--
rectiOp and tho greatest apUitatiOn DvC-