The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-05-08
A TERRIBLE FIRE.
Midnight Scenes of Horror in a
New York Tenement.
Women and Children Sufocated and
Crushed to Death.

Eight persons were killed and fourteen So
verely injured Just before 1 o'clock A. NJ
by an outbreak Of fire in a
crowded tenement house on First ave
nue., near Thirtyeighth street, New York
The building is nav double tenement
house, standing alone, next to a coal yard on
the east side of the avenue. The ground door
was occupied on the north of the entrance by
restaurant kept by John HUMPHREYS, in the
rear Of which the fro broke out, aud on tho
south side by Mrs. Burger, saoon-keeper
The other four floors above Were occupied by
seven families, one suite of apartments being
untenanted. There was but one dark and
narrow hallway through the building for the
use of the forty inmates
Tho fire was discovered by Mrs. Koerner,
who lives on the fifth floor. She smelt the
smoke and at once rousel her son Jacob
She imme lately rushed into the hall and
shouted at the top of her voice. The whole
house was full of SMOKE which was surg
ing up in great black pillows from the
basement Down stairs in the rear
there was bright light which showed
where the flames were cutting OF the re-
treat. At the sound of the womans voice
nearly everybo " in tine house sprany out of
bed, for they were all sleeping at the time 1t
lid not take long for them to realize their
danger, and without waiting to put on their
clothing their was Il mad rusn of half-nakel
nea, women Ill children, shrieking AMI cry
ing, for the street.
The most thrilling incidents occurred be-
Tore the arrival of the firemen. Michael AL
en-, strapping young follow who lives in
East Thirty-eighth street. was one of
'he first on the ground. He saw q woman
.rouching at third story window amid a
tense volume of black smoke. She was Mrs
Limbacher,
"Hep, help" she shreked, and then disap-
ocared The spectators supposed that she
lad lost consciousness and was slowly dying
from suifocatlon. In a few moments she
again appeared with child in her arms.
Save my babyl' she cried franticaly, AMI
chen flung the little one TO the street, a dis
lance of fully forty feet Michael Allen firmly
braced himself and held out his arms to receive
The child that was making such perilous
aerial journey. He grasped the infant in its
teScent AMI carried it unharms I'd to place Of
safety. A man next appeared at the
same window with another chtl in his arms
and having shouted to the crowd below threw
It out. The child was caught by Officer
Thomas Flaherty, of the Twenty-trst pre-
3inct, and was but slightly injured Mrs
Llmbacher again presented herself with a
third child and let it drop to the street 1t
also was caught in Michael Aliens strong
arms and with the other two was
taken to his home in Thirty eighth
street. Mrs Limbacher lost her pres Of
mini, and threw herself from the win low.
She fell and struck an iron railing, one leg on
each side of it, Both limbs were broken, and
the woman sustained internal in uries. They
had only novel into the house on Friday
Michael Allen and Flaherty were loudly
cheered as they carried away their little bur
dens.
As soon as the firemen arrived they began
TO pour streams into the rear of the house
and the flames were soon under control.
AT the same tim3 they entered the building
AMI groped their way through the sutfo ;at-
Ing smoke. AT tho foot of the first flight
Of stairs they stumbled over the bodies
Of mother ami her infant She was Mrs.
HUMPHREYS. who lived above the restaurant
kept by her husband. At the first alarm she
hal claSped the child to her breast and
started for the street. 1t is supposed tina
she fell down the narrow stairs and was suf-
located while she lay wounded and in pain,
aim Ist at the very entrance to the street.
She and her child We're carried to f. NJ Hor-
ton a. Co.'S, office in the coal yard ad Joining.
Fireman Dalrymple got up to the fourth
1oor by means of a scaling ladder and
handed down several persons from the front
windows to iiromen on ladders below.
At the head Of the lower stairs lying in the
doorway of his own room, was found the body
Of John HUMPHREYS, thirty seven years old
lie was fully dressed In his room near the
door lay the body OF the family servant, a
seventeenyea old girl. She was in her night
dress, and had evidently dropped to the floor
Sulfocated within a few moments after she
had started from her bed
On the same floor, bat on the opposite side
of the hall, Were found Christina koarner
and another woman, Mrs koerner was dead,
but the other woman was alive. Thus the
firemen brought form after form out OF tae
death-trap and laid their burdens on the bare
floor of the Office. The ambulance surgeons
sortel them out and those that gave any
manifestation of life We're tenderly put into
the ambulances and conveyed to Bellevue
hospital The dead were laid in a row and
covered with sheets
The list of dead was as follows; Joseph
Humphires, aged thirty five; Henry Hum
phries, aged four months Mrs. Christina
koerh r., aSel forty-eignt; Pauline koerner,
ags nm 'tsen: Mrs Nina krethschmar, aged
thirtytwo; Richard Kretzs ,hmar, aged
eleven; William Hurley, aged twenty; Mary,
servant of Mrs HUMPHREYS, aged forty-tive
With the exception of William Hurley,
who died the next morning at the Presby-
terrain hospital all were taken out OF the
building dead.
Beside the killed, there were fourteen
persons injured, two with probably fatal re-
suit.