The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1885-02-18
Almshouse in Flames.
WEST rGIlLADELPHLA VISITED BY
A D1sAsTROUS FIRE
Esehseoa Insane Inmates Burne4 70
D~ath. Over Two Hundred Room-
Ing the Streets OF the City.


Eleheeou Insane Inmates Burne1 TO
Death. Over Two Hundred ROon-
ing the Streets OF the City.
PHrLADEIpHIA, Feb. 12.-A fire
broke out in the insane department
of the county almshouse in West
Philadelphia about nine O'Clock to-
night. The flames spread rapidly
and before the 800 iamates could pc
released nineteen Of them were burn
cd to death. The Others were lett to
roam from the grounds at will, and
many Of them were picked up by
the police throughout the city.
ALATER DISPATCH.
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 12.-Eigil-
teen raving maniacs we're burned to
death in the insane department at
the Blockley almshouse on the west
side of the Schuylkill river tonight
in a conflagration which needed
nothing to make the most horrible
disaster of the kind ever known in
the history of the city. The fire
originated in the wing of the old
building of the insane department
of Blockley which fronts towards
the Schuylkill river and directly
east of the main building of the
almshouse, This wing is lis feet
front and 60 feet deep, connected on
the south with the main building OF
the old structure of the insane de-
partment which runs south 400 feet
smaller wing to the one in which
the disaster occurred. In this north
building where the fire broke out
there we're sixty separate cells for
violent patients, twenty on each
floor. In addition to this there was
large room on each -of-the three
floors in which cots for twelve men
we're placed, and all of which were
occupied when the fire broke out.
On the second floor opposite the
central cell of the row of separate
cells on the north side of the corri-
dor which runs from east to west
was a dry room heated by steam.
This room which was about ten feet
square, was directly along side the
middle stairway leading to he floors
and below. Here the flames origi-
mated, but from what cause is
net known. At the time there were
insane patients in each ofthe twenty
cells on the three floors-ten in the
large room on the first floor and
twelve in each of the larger floors.
From all the conflicting accounts
to be obtained it appears pretty GER
tain that the first alarm was given
by ALI insane patient on the first floor
of the main building. This man, Jo-
seph Nadine, occupied room which
adioined the stairway and drying
room with about twenty other quiet
patients. When about ten minutes
to eight O'Clock he saw smoke issu.
ing from above the door which open
ed into the wing in which the cells
were situated, he ran to the big iron
grated door fronting on the main cor.
ridor of the building and cried out
"6re." This fearful sound reached
the ears of Joseph Shredder, the at.
tendant of the ground floor, who was
lin his room directly opposite the
one from which Nadine had given
the alarm. Mrs. Umpstead. who
has general charge at night, says
that it was about 8 o'clock when
the alarm reached her. She was
in her Office about 200 feet from the
drv room and at once hurried to the
scene. She says that an attemp,
was made to put out flames with
buckets of water and at first it was
supposed that the flames were only
burning from the ground floor neal
the stairway, but in almost an in.
slant it was found that the real
point from which the danger came
was on the second floor at the top OF
and above the dry room. She then
hastened to get all the patients from
the main building extending back
from the east wing
| Attendant Shredder takes up the
thread of the story at this point and
thus relates some of the horrors OF
the dreadful night Il do not know
who sounded the alarm. As soon
as l heard Nadine's cry / rushed to
the foot OF the stairway and after a
short attempt 70 check the fire at
once set to work to get out the pa
tients. First I unlocked the door
of the room in which Nadine and
his companions were. Tnev ran
out at once. BY this time the flames
were gathering IN a fury and the
dense volumes ofsmoke were ascen-
ding into the upper stories. | sue.
ceeded in unlocking the doors of all
the cells on the first floor and al
though with difficulty in some cases
in getting all the inmates out. | had
no time to look after them further
than to run them out intothe yard,
| for the flames were getting so fierce
that it was almost impossible to
breathe in the now fierctly burning
building. The smoke in the upper
stories was SO thick that breathing
was impossible"
1 s-.~l>~noS Ia Qaos~