New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-01-15
HOTEL GUESTS IN A PANIC.

OF THEM BURNED TO DEATH.
ST. LOUIS Jan. 14.-At ten minutes past
o'clock this morning the fireman in the engine
room OF the Planters House discovered live Goals
dropping in the paved alley just outside the win
dow of the room. Going out, he found the alley 10
filed with smoke that 1t was impossible to dis
tinguish the location of the fire which caused It,
The coals however evidently came from tho store
room of the hotel, which is part of
frame structure extending ont across
the alley at the second floor, and abutting on the
large furniture warerOoms Of the auction house OF
Block, Tyler & Co. The fireman ran to tho end OF
the alley, where high gates incose it, making with
the frame structure a long, narrow room in which
the smoke had accumulated. He succeeded In get
ting the gates open thus creating a current when
carried off some of the smoke and he then return cd
to cxtinguish the fire.
| He found. however, that it had a strong hold in
| the sorcroom aud in the kitchen winch IL imme-
di,teIv over the boiler-room where he had been at
| work He gave an alarm. and i'll three minutes the
| hotel was q bedlam.
Nearly 800 persons filled with the horrible recoi-
| lectlous of the Milwaukee calamity, were rushlhg
| hther and thither through the main corridors anu
down the several stairways into the Office and
street. The hotel employees promptly raped on
every door in the house, and five minutes later
made another round of the hotel to make sure that
| everybody was up and advised of the danger. Very
few waited to dress, as the : noke from the rear
building where the fire was, had already INVADED
| the corridors and was making its way slowly ihto
| the rooms. Stopping only TO clutch lew arucleS
of clothing men, women and children fled in dis
| may and would not halt even in the coinnodlous
main Office where there light and comfort ana
| but little smoke. As the engines the first OF
which arrived within fifty seconds from the
l.,1 N
the stream Of fugtves began to pour from its doors
here were men III nothing but their uDderclothes'
women with only nigh:-dress, and pos
s;bly q shawl or cloak over their shoul-
| ders and little children hastily bundled IN
| blankets or other wraps Few wore shoes,
and great many IN their bare feet. lhe llght
of The Republican and Globe Democrat offices aad OF
n gambling house. all OF which were within a dis
| tance of a block led the half-crazed people to
| TEMPORARY refuge of warmth whence carriages in a
few moments removed them to other hotels.
Some of the scenes incident to this flight were
oulte thrilling, their effect being intensified by the
rattle. clang and shrieks of the engines and the
sbouts of the iremen Soon the main body of the
hotel was cleared of guests, and the building was
in the possession of the remen who, within twenty
minutes as result of second alarm, had thirteen
engines at work.
In tho meantime events in the rear of the build
ing were Of a far more ugly character. The hotel
which is six stories in height, fronts on the west
side Of Fourth ST.. from Chestnut to Pine, while
wing runs back ON both Chest
nut aud Pine-sts. 10 tho depth OF
half n block. Thus the main building forms
three sides Of a rectangle. The fourth side is
formed by a four-story building forty years DID,
midway IN which on the ground floor is the boiler
room before referred e., ard Ito kitchen Is on the
floor above il. The two upper floors are occupied
by the servants Of the house, some seventy -hVe III
number Alongside of the boiler-room narrow
stairway rises and winds 20 the roof The fire.
which started very close to this stairway was car
RED M TO the roof by the draft in the stairway and
bus not only cut off escape By that MEANS but also
formed "A barricaie which prevented the men Sleep
inc in the south half Of the building
from reaching another stairway at the north end.
Hence these unfortunate servants, almost smoth-
| cred bv the smoke were compelled 10 climb out oi
their rooms upon a frame structure which abutted
3 over the alley and thence TO jump or lower them
selves by q pulley rugged there for hosting sup
plies.
One moor fellow was seen TO start down the stair
wav before the fire had reached the third hoor anc
an hour later his crispcd corpse was found IN th'
p k,t chen near the foot of the stairs Another EN-
: ploye who although answering to call at III
room door seems to have been too much stupliet
ofterward his dead body was found on the smoking
mattress of his bed. The female servants all es
= cap.d unhurt by the stairway at tn
b ! north end except one who broke he
;. ankle by jumping to tine ROOF OK
h shed. The frcmen made grand fight, and nozzle
were carried through the walls of smoke right Il
Il where the flames were raging. and not
&c ri,hstandnp the inhammabe nature OF IN
q bu,ding they succeeded in preventing the fire fror
- extending beyond q distance of twenty feet Iron
- the point of ITS origin, but IN That space
burned clear through the roof, destroSin
about ten rooms The remainder of the rear build
ing was made uninhabitable by sgate', but th
# nod proper did not suffer to ID
- extent OF dolIaI' lho "ie' ~"
," ever crossed the alley 10 tho furnur
III vorcrooms where the ircmen had another nerc
II but short fight. The damage to the hotel proper
is ia about $4,000. aud to the auction hlIh aoou
80 500 600 all covered by insurance.
Is F77T',s ev.niug the wOrkmen engaged IN clcaIln
AWAY the depris found the charred body OF Iual
amid the broken tnlbors at the loot OF the sldfWd
on the basement hoor IL proVeu 70 De oirt u,
], who aa "a boy, served aS chOrc boy III the hote
BY The other two dead men are Carlo Rebole, scu
ht lion, and Dennis Rcpoate, Il carver. ,...a,,,i.
structure. we'll provided with, in,
escapes aud staiIways remote from each olher an an
even had the fire invaded IT, lts ptoE,~ss w Mot, III
have been slow. There Were two Matchulen III tu
main bnilung. The origin OF the hfe IL uhkhowh
s. j. j. Gerard, the proprietor, who Two Years az
the StIGfu%r& & T'Si be- in Morng order
~ tuesday morning, aud that the Nations
Furniture Mem, convention and banquet 10 taHh
place at the hotel on % Mc1nps,Iy yv"s f,r quart,
of n centary the best known hoIel ~ the West; an
ld its fame was extended by CharIes DIcAeh
w American Notes"
orr