The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-01-19

some implement to break it with. Mean
time Belden's shrieks for help were loud
and agonizing, and as Dewey re-ascended
his cries died away. The smoke
and flames poured from the window
so that no help could be given him. DR..
Dewey, hearing calls for help from another
window, hurried TO the rescue, and though
a man OF light build, dragge lSO-pound
patient through the window and bore him
safely to the ground. The burned building
was used as an infrmary, many OF the IN
mates being unable from sickness to walk.
The only chance for obtaining water was
from the small washstand faucets, not even
fire-buckets or barrels being on hand. The
night wstchman, Cobb, testified before
the Coroner's Jury that he regis
tered b. bdSr report The 0[ r,g.s MS sbonsd cad
that he visited the furnace room at
$40, and found it all right at 4;10, when he
discovered the fire, and that the floor, i'm.
mediately oyer the furnaces, had frequently
seen noticed by the attendants sleeping
there ss nncomfortably hot; that the
furnace was rooted by sheetiron, aud then
by two layers OF brick laid in mortar, with
space of but six inches between them aud
the pine.
Attendant r G. Williams test fed that
i've minutes after the fire was discovered it
wss blazing through the floor. On being
rOused be ran outside and saw ire only
visible about and around the furnace.
9Attendant ]. G. Mcfarland, ,soutside night
watchman, testified he heard cry OF FIRE
and reused the attendants Of wards No.
and 8, and carried two ladders to the burn
ing building from the carpenter shop, 100
| yards away.
P. Skully. foreman for Architect J. r,
Willett, of Chicago, who has charge OF all
the hospitsl buildings testified that he in
| spected t..A furnaces when completed and
was satish. Il Wlh them then. He had not
/ inspected them since. Air circulated be-
| tween the faIAace roof and the pine timber.
The hot-air conductors are brick fnes; no
wood about them. The hot-air hues had
four-inch walls and the smoke-fues eight.
inch walls.
The Coroner's jury are well-known citizens
who promise careful consideration before
rendering verdict 1t is the first fire that
ever occurred at the hospital. An alarm
was sounded in the city, but Kankakee has
no fire department and the hospital is half
mile away, so no aid reached there. The
State does not insure its property,
| but a comparatively slight appropriation
added to the present incomplete facilities
would furnish for the hospital an adequate
defense against flames. The appropriation
1 for that purpose has already been asked of
the present Legislature.
! The builders OF the furnace in the burnt
| building are Ruttan Furnace Company, OF
| Decatur ana Chicago.
| SeDdIOr merely T62CneQ hd0kake6 OF y
| special train for the remains of his brother.
The furnaces in the other recently COM
! pleted hospital detached wards are built in
| precisely the same style and at the same dis
tance frem the pine timbers as was the one
in the building burned.
The building burned wss known as the
InfirmarY South 1t was located south aud
little vest of the main building, 100 yards
in the southeast corner OF the collection of
buildings, and 600 feet from the nearest
detached ward. The hospital buildings
| are arranged in almost the form
of q square. The main building, fronting
the east, with two lateral wings, then south
and west and north OF it on streets, laid oat
in square are about twenty-five buildings;
running directly back of the main buildings,
in the center TO the west portion OF the
square, ,is an almost continuous row of build
ings, containing the kitchen, shop, engine
room, boiler room, laundry and coal house.
The two main streets run around the ends
of the man buildings wings to the west side
of the square, bordered on both sides by
detached cottages. The street running along
the west side of the square is partially
bordeIed by cottages. The space north of
row running from the main building TO the
west side CT the block and North streets con.
tains two buildings-the bath-house and
amusement hall, the last named fsrthest
east. The open space on the south
side has one building. The refriger-
]
of this square from the west
The Kan pkakee River winds past In front of
the main building, a quarter OF a mile
awsy. Running northwest along the river
bank are the gas works and water tower.
The main building, standing on knoi ,
one running up aud the other don
the river The stable building and yards ~
half q mile southeast of the main bdilding-
beyond are lawns beautifully laid out.
The main building is about 500 feet Ions
the wings 200 feet long; from one street
another, measuring past the main building,
is about Z 800 feet. The squsre, from lin
TO limit north and south, is about 1000 fee
and east and west 800 feet. Trustee nc
Cogg and Hospital Architect Willett rescae,
kansakee about midnight on q special
investigate the causes leading TO the fire.
The Associated Press reporter interyie We
Architect Willet on his arrival at Kankakee
He said: / see no reason why the building
| should have been fired from the furn aces.
They are in my opinion, the very best fur
naces made. OF course there is danger oi
FIRE from any heat radiatiDg center whether
it be by steam or hot air. | remember tha;
there is another furnace located almost ex
! ectly identicaIly with this in another ward
am talking merely from memory, and in 8
desultory way now. Still / do not believe
that would recommend, at any rate not
| now, that the furnace be removed. Every.
thing about that furnace-room is dry as
powder think there would be more liabil.
ity OF that fire being caused by negligence
on carelessness of the employees than from
the furnace. lighted cigar dropped iD
places about there weUld readily have started
such q confagration. have as yet had no
opportunity to investigate as to the
details, but / am loathe to be-
lieve the fire started as is the general
impression, from the furnaces being toe
close to in naammable timber. You see that
pine was six inches from the layers of brick
which sIe supposed to be the best non
conductors in the West that we
have. Below the brick was sheet-iron.
and next not the furnace proper
but hole, an air chamber; and betEesn
the brick and pine was another air chamber
From what can learn l can not believe the