Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-04-17
BURIED BENEATH RUINS.
EIGHT BUILDINGS IN NEW YORK FALL
Entombing Sixty-five Persons--Heartrend-
ing Scenes-The Work of Rescuing
the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Ex-
element Prevails.

NEW YORK, April l3.-Eght five-story
houses in 62d street fell in this afternoon
burying the men employed there. Many
of the workmen are believed to he killed
and the cries of the injured are heard be
meath the debris imploring help. Up to
4;3O p. m. ten persons had been taken
from the ruins. They were seriously but
not fatally injured. Gangs of men are ut
work on the debris and it is feared that
many others of the workmen are still
buried in the ruins. The buildings were
erected last winter and were reported by
the building department as unsafe. The
WOrkmen were engaged in repairing the
defects in the houses mt the time the acct
dent occurred. NJ mortar was used in
she construction OF the buildings, the
bricks being held in place by sand. Sixty
five persons are said to have been in the
houses and twenty are thought to have
been killed
Later-It was said soon after the acct
dent occurred that twenty persons were
buried in the ruins, but up to a late hour
nobody had been found and rumor had re
duced the loss in killed to eight. The
most superficial examination of the de-
bris showed the cause of the disaster to be
wretched workmanship and poor mate
rial. This and the fact that the building
had been erected during the cold weather
of wet and frozen bricks were directly the
cause of the collapse. The builder,
Charles A. Buddensiek, who was respon-
sible, left the neighborhood in carriage
Immediately after the disaster and drove
to his residence in East nth street Where
he went from there nobody could learn.
The police who ARE sted the master brick
layer. Charles Fink. could not find the
builder
FpUr }us and eighteen carpen-
ter .. . painters, fathers and
PLUMB. ing perhaps thirty, were
at wor> premises at the time
Fifty nI.u al laid off as some ma
terial had TT rived. About 1915 p. m
a shout ~ ling went up. The end
building -N Eleventh Avenue was
seen to tutj,I then fall with IA thun-
derous NOS. 10Th foundation side walls
had fallen out and the body of the house
deprived of its support fell in between the
cellar. The building adjoining it having
nothing to lean upon fell next Then the
whole row followed like line of card
houses. \ continuous roar seemed
to last many minutes as one after the
other of the tall buildings went down after
its neighbor. Workmen in buildings for
blocks around We're startled by the noise
and shock and in very short time the
locality of the paper dwellings was packed
with an excited populace whose threats of
vengeance on the reckless builder filled
dust had cleared away the people
looked upon heap of broken bricks
and timbers, which was piled only a few
feet above the level of the street. Men
with broken limbs and bruised faces and
members were struggling out from under
the wreck and dragging themselves pain
fully away Shrieks and grOans were
heard from one or two places and to these
spots the people rushed. Firemen and all
thelavailable ambulances in the city were
summoned to the scene. The Roosevelt
hospital ambulances were first on hand
and carried away nine of the wounded
Four hook and ladder companies and the
crews of three engine companies set to
work to remove the debris. large gang
of workmen was pressed into service and
in fifteen minutes the labor of rescue was
well under way. Night had set in before the
efforts were relaxed at all: The workers
fancied they heard the cry for help
but no person was found. About 9 o'clock
Louis Walker was found between many
crossed timbers and held fast in the ruins.
He was eXtricated with great difficulty.
He had been engaged in bolstering up the
building. He still breathed and was re-
moved to the Roosevelt hospital. Then
the digging was resumed under strong
calcium lights. 1t was said that Budden-
sick had been hurt by a falling brick when
the buildings fell. There were many
threats of lynching the man and it was
lucky for him that he stayed away. Bud
densiek is notorious as n builder of cheap
edifices. Many narrow escapes were had.