Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-01-25
A Thrillin: Scene-Narrow Escape from
Death by Fire.
NEW York, January 8.

NEW YORK, January 3.
A IRE broke out in the five-story brick teue
ment at No. SO Hester street at an early hour
this morning, which was accompanied with
heartrending scenes. The building is tenanted
by eighteen families. Last night all the ten
ants of the place except three families resid-
ing on the top floor were at wedding. Short-
ly after twelve o'clock Mr.. Marks, residing on
the top floor. returned home with his wife from
the wedding. Before retiring for the night
his wife looked out of her door into the hall, to
see if everything was right. The sight which
met her gaze startled her and caused her to cry
out with alright. Flames were issuing from
the door of a rear room on the south side OF the
second floor, occupied by Mr.. Lewis SaiskoW-
ski. Her husband, who heard her shrek, hur-
ried out into the hall. Seeing the place was on
fire he ran to the doors of the rooms occupied
by the other families, and. pounding thereon,
awoke them from their sleep. There were
on the floor at the time four men, fifteen chill
dren and five women, one of whom. aged
eighty years, lay very ill. All, with the ex-
ceptlon of the sick woman, ran into the nail
in their night-clothes. The men. seeing that
the lives of all depended on them, hurried
downstairs through the binding and sufocat-
ing smoke, which was rapidly filing the place.
They could not get further than the floor be-
low. Here their further progress was barred
by wall of flame, which was issuing from
Salskowskis room and eating away the stair
case, the only means OF exit into the street.
The men, finding that they could not escape
this way. hurried upstairs to where the wom-
en- and children were shrieking and running
about in a half-crazed condition. They went
into the rear rooms and opened the windows
to go out on the fre-escape. AS they did so
mass of flame shot up from below. Finding
that there was no chance of reaching the yard
below by this means, the men took the women
and children and hurried them up onto the
roof. They then took out the old woman
on her bed and carried her up. Here tho
situation was terrible in the extreme. They
were on the roof of a five-story tenement,
many feet above the low buildings on either
side of them. Below them the fire was raging
without hindrance. For moment even the
men became excited and the scene was heart
rending. They soon regained their presence
of mind, and looked about for means OF es-
cape from their perIlous position. The house
at No. 20 Essex street. the rear of which abut-
ted on to the yard behind the burning build
ing, and which was the same height as the
latter. seemed to them to be their only means
of escape. A space of twelve feet was be-
tween them and it. One of the men thought
of some planks that were laid over the roof.
Quick as thought they were torn up and
thrown across the space. A shaky bridge was
thus hurriedly constructed. The four women
crawled over on their hands and knees. The
men picked up the sick woman and carried
her over. When the women were i'll safety,
the men made four journeys to the burning
building for the children.