Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-22
FIFTEEN DIE BY FIRE.
SOME KILLED BY JUMPING AND
OTHERS BY SUFFOCATION.


A Business Block at Cincinnati the
Scene of the Dlsaster-EIectrIc Wires
Interfere with the Raising of Res
cue Ladders-A Hero Perishes After
Saving Two Lives.
CINCINNATI, May 21.-At l 80 o'clock
this afternoon j. A. Green, city editor Of
the IimeS-Star, upon going up the stair
way to his office, saw dense clouds of
smoke issuing from the windows of the
building, Nos. 10 and p West Sixth street,
and Immediately telephoned to the Fire
Department. An alarm brought the en-
gines almost instantly, and, as the tiremen
could reach the building from the front
and rear, in less than 10 minutes the fire was
so much under control that Chief Engineer
Wisby was able to reach the fifth, or top
floor. The Chief said in speaking of it:
The house is not burned out: in fact the
fire was chiefly in the fifth story. In the
smoke L counted 10 girls lying upon
benches, tables and other things, and
some on the floor Their clothing was
not burned, but the skin on the back of
their hands was scOrched. 1t was ter
rible sight, the worst l ever saw in my
experience"
ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.
The fire started from a can of benzine on
the second floor near the elevator shaft
The can probably exploded. A boy on
that door says that he heard a report and
instantly fire leaped to the elevator shaft
and darted up il. The shaft reaches
to the top of the building, and from
the third story to the fifth floor. 1t was
enclrcled by wooden stairway, which
was the only means of access to those
floors. The elevator shaft, to add to it's
| com bustlbility, was encased in thin wood
lattice work. The second floor, where the
fire started, was the press room, the third
the composing room, the fourth the stor-
age and waste room and the fifth was the
folding room. As sOon as the fire started,
| John Sullivan, cousin of the proprietor,
ran up the stairway to the fifth floor to give
warning to the girls. Instantly, almost,
he found that he was too late 70 get them
down the stairway, and that his own re-
| treat was cut off. Four of the girls had
already leaped from the window to their
death.
SAVED WITH A ROPE.
j. R. Kinsley's son and his foreman
| had gone to the roof of their building,
adjoining this on the west, and, knowing
! that the girls were imprisoned on the
| floor below, they procured a rope and
| lowered it to the window where Sullivan
was. He instantly fastened one Of the
]
and Kinsley and SHREDDER lowered her
safely to the sidewalk. The rope was
brought up and Sullivan again quickly
fastened it to another girl and sent her
down safely.
sULLIVAN'S FATAL FALL.
The rope came the third time, and as
the other girls by this time were all suf-
focated or were afraid TO venture, Sulli-
van fastened the rope to his own body and
was being lowered when, as he was half
| way down, flames shot out of a window
and he fell headfOremost to the sidewalk
in the presence of the Mortified crowd of
people who had witnessed his herOism.
When the girls were jumping from the
window a large colOred man herOically
tried to catch them and so break the
force of the fall. He nearly lost his own
life in the attempt. Within ten minutes
after the fire began patrol wagons We're
called into use to carry away the wounded
and killed. AS well as can be ascertained
there were about 30 occupants of the
building, of whom 20 or % were girls in
the fifth story. The boys were ON the
second and third floors. and this accounts
for their escape. All agree that the
spread of the flames was almost instan-
taneOus.
A NEGLECTED ESCAPE.
There was an avenue of escape which
the panic stricken girls did not think Of.
1t was an opening IN the roof, which they
could easily have reached from a bench
standing beside the wall, and once on the
root they could have reached other build
ings with perfect ease. Lack of ready
access to this place lost all these lives. The
| fire was almost Insignificant. The wooden
stairway around the elevator shaft is not
burned so as to be useless or even unsafe,
| yet the flames seem TO have pervaded all
the floors and to have ruined all the paper
and other light combustible matter Mr..
| Sullivan estimates his loss at $4,000 to
! $4,000, with an ample insurance. The
loss to the building is slight. Fifteen
persons are dead, all girls, except young
Sullivan. OF these two were sisters named
! Handel. two sisters named Putnam and
three sisters named Leaban. Four Of the
injured persons will probably die.
The fifth story was completely burned out
| but the walls still stand, and the other
! floors are not much damaged. The build
ing was occupied by sullivan & Co.'s
| printing works and L. II. Wissell & Co.'s
dye house, the Ledger Postal News Com
pany, the Partisan Dying and Securing
Company, and j. X. Kingsley's gold, silver
and nickel plating works. A mass Of
telegraph and telephone wires prevented
the tiremen from setting up ladders
promptly for the relief Of their Inmates.
LIST OF THE SUFFERERS.
The following are the losses with no in
surance: Curtis $500. johnson a. Co. $3.50,
johnson a. Bro. $4,000, Amas & Stokes
$500, Sheppard 81 300, John Chain 5000.
The balance, who were insured, are:
Mayer Bros, loss 81 200, insured for s., 900;
Allenger a Co., lOss $500. insured for
81 ,jO0: VIM. Johnson. loss 81, 900. insured
for $500; Chaffen building, loss 81 600. In
sured for $1,000; Mr.. Mints, loss $4,000
insured for $1,000; Mr.. Mayo, loss 400,
insured for $1,000; Carluritz's building
and bakery, loss 81, 800, insured for $4,000;
damage 10 post Office $500; McDOugall,
loss 1000, insured for $4,000; Mr.. Amas,
loss $4,000, insured for $4,000; Mr. Blake,
loss $1,000, insured. The lire was Of in
cendiary origin and started in the mer-
camille house Of Mayo Bros.
MILTON DEVASTATED.
PENSACOLA, FLA, May 2l.-Milton.
twenty miles east OF here, was devastated
by a tire Of incendiary origin last night.
Seven general stores and a drug store,
thrce saloons, one hotel. one wagon shop,
two shoe stores, one iewelry store, the
telegraph Office, a barber shop, law Office
and cue residence were destroyed. The
loss is about $4,000. The insurance is
unknown.
"a business BLOCKS BURNED.
fTrst