Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1885-02-13

Fisrcs Flames That Light the Path
To Death
For Many Demsnted DweIIers Ia an
Insane Asylum.
Terrible Scenes In and About the
Building.
The Number of Dead Estimated at a
Score.
Terror That Struck Dumb Men and
Women.
Kissing Tongues Of Fire MingIing
With Maniac Screams.

l' PHILADELPHIA, February l2.-Eighteen
raying maniacs were burned to death in the
insane department Of the Blockley aims
house on the west side of the Schuylkill
river to onight in conAagration which
needed nothing to make it the most horri-
ole disaster of the kind ever
known in the history Of the
city. The fire originated in
wing of the old building Of the insane de-
partment at Blockley, which fronts towards
the Schuylkill river, and is directly east Of
the main building OF the aims house This
wing is las feet front and is connected on
the south with the main building of the old
insane department, which rms south 400
feet to similar 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 were
placed, all of which were occupied.
The flames originated in the drying room,
but from what cause is not known. At the
time there were insane patients in each OF
the twenty cells on these three floors.
From all accounts to be obtained, it ap
pears pretty certain that the
first alarm was given by an
insane patient on the first floor. This
man Joseph Nadine, occupied room ad-
Joining the stairway and drying room with
about twenty other quiet patients. About
ten minutes to o'clock he saw smoke is
suing about the door, which opened into the
wing, in which the cells were situated. He
ran to big iron grated door frontiug on
the main corridor building and cried out,
"Firer This fearful sound reached the
ears of Joseph Shredder, attendent on the
ground floor, who was in his room directly
Mrs. Umpstead who has charge at night
said it was about eight o'clock when
the alarm reached her. She was in
her Office and at once hurried to the scene.
| She saws that an attempt was made to put
out the flames with buckets Of water and at
first it was supposed the flames we're only
burning from the ground floor near
the stairway, but in. almost an in
slant it was found that the
real point from which the danger
came was on the second Aoor at the top and
above the dry room. She then fastened to
get the patients from tho main building
Attendant Shredder takes up the thread
of the story at this point and thus relates
some Of the horrors of
| The Dreadful Might.
| an .Lo ,oupJa1 4hn al lar
| As soon as heard Nadine cry rushed to
the foot of the stairs and after short at
tempt to check the fire at once set to work
10 get out the patients. First unlocket
the door of the room in which Nadine and
his companion were and they ran out at
once.
By this time the GamA were gathering in
fnry and dense volumes of smoke were
ascending into the upper stories. | sue
ceeded in unlocking the doors OF all the
| cells on the first floor and although with
difficulty in some cases succeeded in getting
the inmates out had no time to look
after them further than to run them into the
yard for the flames were getting so fierce
that il was almost impossible TO breath in
the now fercely burning building. The
smoke in the upper stories was so thick
that breathing was impossible. While ] was
getting the men out below
| attendant Mr.. Slrarn was doing the same
for the inmates on the second floor met
uanra the night wstchman. who was also
hsIp;ng, and we went up to the third story,
but were driven back by the flames, which
| had forced their way through skyward, and
we're creeping along to the cells OF
The Doomed Inmates.
We ran around to the other stairway, near
the new buildings, and by that time some
! (iremen arrived. All the inmates had been
gotten out of the second story, so there re-
mained about twenty-eight on the third
floor.
Following are the names Of the occupants
of the nineteen cells in ward IN, near
where the fire FIRST started, all Of whom are
supposed to have been suffocated or burned
to death with the exception of three, who
were rescued BY the fireman.
Tho Dead.
| FRANK ID. DECHAR0N.
JAMES MCCLUNG.
JOHN LYDEN.
ISAAC O'EEILL.
CHARLES SCOTT (co'ored.)
JOHN DWYER.
JAMES BURKE. This man killed three
of the inmates Of the institution during the
TWENTY-FIVE years he was confined there.
For twenty years his hands were chained to
his body.
THOMAS RUSK.
MICHAEL WRATH.
ROBERT CUNNINGHAM.
CHARLES NALENBERG.
THOMAS JONES.
| JOHN HERRIGES. (He is the man
who wus discovered in 1870 in siantg at
Fort;eth and Lombard streets, where he had
been confined in chains BY his parents tor