Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-02-13
AN ALMSHOUSE BURNED
AN HOLOCAUST BARELY ESCAPED
Sixty Insane Inmates Become Victims
of the Oevouring Element
Frantic Wanderers.

PHILADELPHIA. Feb. l2-There was fire
AT $50 to- night IN the insane department OF
the Philadelphia aims house located in West
Philadelphia. News of the fire spread with
great rapidfty and caused great excitement
throughout the city. Rumors of loss OF life
we're rife. At this hour 30 p. M the fire,
although still burning 6ercely, is thought 10
DO under control. No lives are known TO
have been lost.
LATER--Second dispatch, II m.-The fire
at : o'clock this evening in the male depart
ment of the insane asylum at Bleckley aims
house, this city, Is still raging at this hour,
with probability that the female wing will
al 40 be destroyed. The greater number of
patients were removed in safety. but so far
twelve dead bodies have been discovered. Ii
will be impossible TO ascertain how many
Of the poor creatures perished before morn
ing. Nearly the whole of the fire department
OF the city has been in service since y
o'clock, but the buildings being nearly con-
nected and the water supply being insult
ticient the alms house may also be destroy
ek. The buildings are located over three
miles from the center of the city, and news
from the ground II considerably delayed,
there being no direct communication by
wire with the buildings.
The fire is supposed to have originated
from an oyerheated stove pipe or defective
hue The number of insane persons In this
department was over six hundred. Every
effort was made to remove the poor helpless
creatures. but so rapidly did the flames spread
that il was impossible to get them all
out In the confusion scores of patients
escaped from guards and found their way TO
the streets. and are now wandering through
the city. number of these have been cap
tured by the police and are locked up III
various station houses.
1910 a. ma telephone message just re-
ceived from West Philadelphia. states that
il is now reported that sixty of the ins;
inmates have peri>hed. The fire Is now be-
lieved to be under control, and will be con-
fined to the insane department..
That portion of the Philadelphia aims
house and hospital set apart for the insane
burned to the ground tonight. twenty-five
to forty insane patients. most of them In the
yiolei depart tnent, perished IN the flames.
There were GS4 in ale persons IN the build
inc many of whom were rescued almost
suffocated by the smoke. Only
seven bodies of those who perished
were brought out of the burning building.
At s O'Clock Mrs. Ums: e /, head nurse in the
department for insane, discovered ire III
the wall in Ward NJ, which led from the first
floor to the top of the building. She called
10 her woman assistants and endeavored,
with help, TO put out the Hames, as
they appeared to be of tritiing nature, by
dashing upon them buckets of water. a few
minutes work convinced the women that
this method of extinguishing the fire would
prove Intellectual. The watchmen from the
different buildings mustered with all posi-
BILE speed toward the burning building and
turned on the hose but the force of the
stream was very feeble, and the watchmen
soon st W they could not succeed in combat
with the flames, and an alarm was sounded
from the 2lst district police station. The
order was then given by Superintendent
Smith TO remove the 6S4 unfortunates
to n place of safety. BY this time the smoke
filed the long corridors and penetrated every
iron barred cell in the building, arousing the
patients to sense of danger of they knew
not what. In a very short time the cells were
unlocked. those of the patients who were
we'll were told to flee for life, and the attend
ants began to relieve the sick, scores of these
wretched beings nearly were suffocated by
smoke, which grew denser every mo-
ment and they were placed in blankets
or stretchers and carried TO tho other
buildings in the ground. Many of the other
insane, who had been liberated from the
dungeons, in order TO give them n chance
for life. fled wildly out of the building, and
a large number escaped from the grounds,
and departed rs swiftly as they were able.
i'm all directions. Some of those who ran off
were clad in nothing but night clothes; 9TH
era only had the additional covering
of blanket on them. The fire
burned fercer every moment. The
entire upper portion of the southern
end OF the insane department was mass of
red flames, step by step the faithful nurses
and watchmen were driven back. and forced
to leave many helpless creatures III the yio-
lent ward in the third story to- their terrible
fate The immense crowd attracted by the
fire from all parts of West Philadelphia
watched the efforts of the fremen, when the
first man with dripping helmet and smoky
garments. appeared upon the head of lad
der bearing in his arms sick patient, they
cheered again and again with
mighty enthusiasm that
animated men to- increased exertion. The
roar of the flames sounded like the noise of
Niagara "a they enyeloped the doomed build
ing but when at last they reached the cells
of the miserable wretches who had been left,
there came out of the fire cries and wild
shrieks for help that chilled the blood of all
who heard them. and rose above the roar of
the destroying element, wall after wall Of
anguish told the fate of some poor creature
being burned TO death in the hearing of
thousands of spectators.
pa m-The fire Is still burning. but is
under control and will be confined tO the in
sane department of the almShouse. No more
dead bodies have been taken out. and ii will
be impossible to tell the exact number who
periShed till the fire has been extinguished
and an examination of the ruins made.