The Portland daily press., 1885-02-13
HORRIBLE SCENE.
The Insane Department of the
West Philadelphia Almshouse
in Flames.
Eighteen of the Inmates Perish,

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 12-Fire broke out in
the insane department Of the county aims
house in West Philadelphia about o'clock
tonight The flames spread rapidly, and. be-
fore the 300 inmates could be released 10 we're
burned to death, The others were left to roam
about the grounds at will, and many of them
were picked up by the police throughout the
city. The buildings are (at IL o'clock still
burning and the other departments are in
great danger.
LATER.
The fire originated in the wing of the old
building OF the insane department OF the
Backley almshouse, which fronts towards the
Schuylkill river, and directly east of the main
building of the almshouse. This wing is 115
feet front and go feet deep, and is connected
on the south with the main building of the old
structures OF the insane department, which
runs 1900 feet to similar wing to the one in
which the disaster occurred. In this north
building, where the fire broke out there were
60 separate cells for violent patients, 20 on
each floor. In addition to these there was
large room on each Of the three hoors, in
which cots for Il men were placed, all OF which
were occupied when the fire broke out.
On the north side of the corridor on the
second floor was dry room heated by steam.
This room, which was about 10 fset square,
was directly alongside tho middle stairway
leading to the floors above and below. Here
the flames originated, but from what cause is
not known. At the time there were insane
patients in each of the 20 cells on each Of the
three floors ten in large room on the first
foor and IL in each of the large rooms on the
second and third floors. From all the conflict
ing accounts to be- obtained it appears pretty
certain that the first alarm was given by an
insane patient on the first floor of the main
building. This man, Joseph Nodine, occupied
room adjoining the stairway and drying
room with about 20 other quiet patients, and
about o'clock he saw smoke coming from a
600r which OOanRd int0 fha call WING and
shouted fire.
Following are the names Of occupants of the
nineteen cells in Ward NJ 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 we're rescued by fire.
men: Frank. D. Dechao0D, James Mccoy,
Sohn Lynden, Isaac O'Neil, Chas Scott
(coloreD John Dwyer, James Burk, (this
man killed three of the inmates of the institu-
tion during the % years he was confined there
and for 20 years his hands we're chained to his
hody,) Thomas Rusk, Michael Wroth, Robert
Cunningham, Ohas. Nolenberger, Thomas
Jones, John Herriages (Herringes is a man
who was discovered in 1870 in a shanty at 4th
and Standard streets where he had been con-
fned in chains by his parents for 20 years. John
Koehler, Thos Smith, Edward Murphy, Chss
O'Brien and Phillip Newburger. The bodies
of Decahcon, Wroth, Jones, Burke Koehler,
Herringes, Scott, Lynden, Newburger ana
Nolenberger had beea taken from the ruins
While was getting the men out below, at
tendant William Strain was doing the same
for the inmates on the second floor. 1 met
Hanna, the night watchman, who was also
helping, and went up to the third story but
were driven back by the flames, which had
forced their way through tho stairway and
were creeping along to the cells of the doomed
inmates. We then ran around to the other
stairway near the new buildings on the west
and BY that time some fremen had arrived
n1lt hea ~.
second story, SO that there remained about
twenty-eight on the third foor,-twenty in
cells and eight in large common room on the
west end.
Attendant Shroeder's story.
joseph SHREDDER, an attendant of the ground
floor who was in the room directly opposite
the one from which Nodine had given the
alarm says: GAS soon as heard Nodine cry,
I rushed to the foot of the stairway and after
short attempt to check the fire at oEce set to
work to get out the patients. First unlocked
the door OF the room in which Nodine and his
companions were and they ran out at once. By
this time the flames were gathering in fury
and dense volumes of smoke were ascending
into the upper stories l succeeded in unlock
ing the doors OF all the cells on the first floor,
although with difficulty and succeed ia some
cases in getting all the inmates out. had not
time to look after them further than to run
them into the yard forsthe flames we're getting
80 fierce it was almost impossible to breathe in
the now fiarcely burning building.
The unfortunate occupants OF the cells we're
being smothered to death by the smoke, and
perhaps blistered and burned by the flames,
and their cries were heartrsndiDg. Some Of
them cursed and swore, others laughed hide
ousy while still others yelled with pain in
such awful cries as would have appalled, the
hardest heart. The iremen, myself and pa.
tient named Rafferty,, craTled on our hands
and knees to such of the men as we could
reach, and dragged out IA, eight OF them alive,
four suffocated to death, and two 50 badly
burned that they died before we conld get
them out of the buslding. We could not see
any of the men in the cells, but could hear
their horrible cries above the roaring of the
flames.
While Schroeder was goingIthrough this ter
rible experience the flames were extending to
the main building of the department. The
wing in which the victims were burned alive
were wrapped in flames which were shooting
many feet into the air and illuminating the
city for many squares.
The Fireman's story.
at half past eight O'Clock the alarm had
been struck and in half an hour a general
alarm sounded. When the firemen arrived the
fire was enveloping about one-third of the
main building and was burning fercely
Truck T. arrived on the scene soon after the
first alarm and its ladder was quickly run up
to the third floor to the windows OF the cells in
which the maniacs were fastened, and with
axes and hooks the firemen attacked the iron
gratings of the cells and succeeded in taking
out seven men, four suffocated to death and
three still alive.
All of the inmates Of the insane department
were rescued safely, except those in the third
story of the wing in which the fire originated,
the loss Of life being Is.
At 1 O. clock this morning, the buildings of
the insane depsrsment were in flames, with no
prospects of saving any of them, although the
firemen then had the fire wsll in hand, and all
the other departments OF the buildings were
safe.
asThe 630 inmates who were turned out we're
as soon as could be provided for in the out
wards. Nine bodies have been recovered.