Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-02-13
ANOTHER HORROR.
The Insane Department of the Phil.
adelphia Aims House De-
stroyed by Fire.
Eighteen Raving Maniacs Burned to
Death-An Attendants Story.
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. Il

flre broke out in the insane department
OF the county aims house in West Philadel-
phla, about 8 o'clock this evening. The
flames spread rapidly and before the 300 in
mates could be released, Is were burned to
death. Others were left to roam about the
grounds and many of them were picked up
ov the police throughout the city. The build
ings are, (at II o'clock, still burning and
other departments are in great danger.
Eighteen ravlng maniacs were burned to
death in the insane department of the Black
lev aims house on the west side of Schuyl-
Kill river, tonight, in the contlagration, which
needed nothing to make it the most horrible
disaster of the kind that has ever occurred in
this city. The fire originated in the wing of
an old building OF the insane department, di
rectly east of the main building. This wing
Is 10 feet in front and 60 feet in depth. 1t
is connected on the south with the main build
ing of the old structure of the insane depart
ment, which runs south 400 feet, to a similar
wing in which the disaster occurred. In this
northern building, where the fire broke out,
were 60 separate cells for violent patients 20
on each floor
In addition to this was large room on each
of the three floors, in which, cots for II men
were placed, all of which were occupied when
the fire broke out. On the second floor, op-
posite the central row of separate cells, on
the north side of the corridor, was the dry
room. heated by steam. This room, which
was about 10 feet square, was directly along
side the middle stairway, leading to the floors
above and below. Here the flames originat-
ed but from what cause is not known.
AT the time there were patients in each of
the 20 cells on each of the three floors, 10 in
the large room on the first floor, and II in
oph oft fhn lar thn and
third floors.
From all 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 Nadine,
occupied a room adjoining the stairway and
drying room, with about twenty other quiet
patients. When about 10 minutes to 8
o'clock, he saw smoke issuing from above
the door which led into the wings in which
the cells were situated
He promptly gave the alarm BY shouting
fire" Joseph Shredder, an attendant of
the ground floor, who was in the room di-
rectly opposite the one from which Nadine
had given the alarm, says
As soon as | heard Nadine cry rushed to
the foot of the stairway and after short at
tempt to check the fire, at once set to work
to get out the patints. First unlocked the
companions were. They ran out at once.
Bv this time the flames were gathering in
fury and dense volume of smoke was as
sending into the upper stories | succeeded
in unlocking the doors OF all the cells on the
first floor, although with difficulty, and sue
ceeded in some cases in getting all the in.
mates out. | had not time to look
after them, further than to run
them into the ward tor the flames were getting
so fierce that it was almost impossible TO
breathe in the now tercely burning building.
The smoke in the upper stories was so thick
that breathing was impossible. While was
getting the men out below an attendant.
VIM. Strain. was doing the same for the
inmates on the second floor. | met Hanna,
the night watchman, who was also helping,
and we went up to the third story, but were
driven back by the flames, which had forced
their way through the stairway and were
creeping along to the cells of the doomed in
mates We ran around to the other stairway
near the new buildings on the west, and by
that time some tiremen had arrived. All the
inmates had been cotton out of the second
story, 50 that there remained about 2S in the
third floor, 20 in the cells and eight in the
large common room on the west end.
The unfortunate occupants of the cells
were being smOthered to death by the smoke
and perhaps blistered and burned BY the
flames. Their cries were heartrending; some
of them cursed and swore, others laughed
hideously and others yelled with pain with
such awful cries as would have appalled, the
hardest heart. The firemen, myself and a
patient named Rafferty, crawled 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 so
horribly bruised they died before one could
get them out of the building. We could not
see any of the men in the cells, but could
hear horrible cries above the roaring of the
flames.
While Shroeders was going through
this terrible experience the flames were
spreading to the main building of the de-
psrtment wing in which the victims were
burned alive was wrapped in flames which
were shooting many feet in the air and IL
Illuminating the city for many squares.
The following are the names of the occu-
pants of the 10 cells in ward NJ, near where
the fire first started all ofwhom are supposed
to have been suffocated or burned to death,
with the exception of three who were rescued
by the fremen: Frank ID. Dechacon, Jas.
McCay. John Lyden, Isaac O'Neil, John
Digger, Jas Bark. (this man killed three of
the inmates of the institution during the %
wears he was confined there; tor ~ wears his
hands were chained to his bodv); Thomas
Rusk, Michael Wrath, Robert Cunningham,
Chas Nolenberger, Thos. Jones, John Her
RIGGS; (the man who was discovered in 1870
in shanty at the corner of 4th and Sanbard
streets, where he had been confined in chains
bv his parents for 20 years); John Kochler,
Thos Smith, Edward Murphy, Chas. o Brien.
and Philip Newbur1er. The bodies of Dech.
aeon, Wroth, Jones, Burk, kohler, Herriges,
Lyden, Newburger and Nolenberger have
been taken from the ruins and removed to
the dead-house by midnight.
When the firemen arrived the fire was en-
veloping about enc third of the main build
ing and was burning fiercely. Ladders were
run up to the third story windows. and the
firemeu attacked the iron grating of the cells
in which the maniacs were fastened, and sue
ceeded in getting out four men alive.
The loss of lite is Is. At one o'clock this
morning the entire group of buildings making
up the insane department were a roaring
mass of flames. The loss to
property will amount to about $4,000. Nine
bodies we're discovered. Only three of them
had apparently died from burns received, the
others evidently having been suffocated by