New-York tribune., 1885-02-13
PATIENTS BURNED.
=, .Mes IN A PHILADELPHIA ALMsHousE'
pRoBApLY NINETEEN PERSONS LOSE The"
RAPID PROGRESS OF THE FIRE
,py TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUssi


Try TELEGRAPH THE TRIBUhhi
p,,,, ,,nr,puA Feb. 12.-At least thirteen h'o,e
.hoh,v n,neteen lives were lost py lio 'o
tbropob the criminal carelessneSs VI n s;da |
,,ant of the Bockley Almshouse on 'n0 nv, D.
no. ~. - cahnylkill River, in this city, Inc rooi
ho,se property covers large track VI siouou 90.
,s for years been in such condition az W 'ie"s"
M anv time the disaster which befell IL 'o-hlen'
A. s.15 o'clock the first alarm was gwen
a. ;nsane department. There were
n;nstv.one men aud large number Oh women
~ the building. When the names "eio
d;soovered The firemen responded promptly W
,ba call but the fire spread rapidly that IL was
Immediately apparent that there must oo .n"J
casualties. In the ward where the nre oi,sn"
49, we're twenty cells all containing either vio
isnt or harmless maniacs There were ho n'o
.scanes and even ii there hao u0on
the result could not have peen a'oiuuu'
as the cells were ioekoo -
n;obt While the flames spread from one Joist 10
s.S.. ~, afsort IN hurst open the cell doors was
r,ade without avail Amid the yells OF the terror
st,;cken and helpless idiots, the attempt 10 rescue
.ha from the inside was abandoned, and the hremeh
&c a truck and ladder company mounted the wahs
ON the outside. The heat was intense
the flames in some instances a;a
;ng the windows, but the reserves a I
NOT falter. Manfully they worked unli 'ho9 49,.
forced an entrance into the cells he evo"o 49,
met their gaze was terrible one I'D eien' - y. ~"
little apartments the inmates were ei.nei o""
to death or suffocated In SIX others tho p''i0
wore found almost lifeless. The injured were car
"a down the long ladders and the bodies OF the
dead were removed
While this work was in progress anu WINS o'oaus
streams of water were poured upon the purn,ime nin
building diligent search was maze ioL ped e neus
ing five persons known TO be IN tn1 oIASu ~ ~
They are still missing and are probably lost. ,
'1Ss One Of tho first to enter the ,iuiIG burn,
Ing tSs Snildins syientS Ess he Sta describes he
scene as appalling ~ Men AM and hW womeT Wege not
the wards ID Ssp dnns Cs tSe r"ans ma
neaImo to be rescued In some instances they coua
not BE- induced to SooI fly and e had to be- pushed
forward by main force. The women ne says WEI. meae
the worst to manage. while the men were IN great
majority Of es eases Sef@fe ali the
five missing, were accounted fer Inc resctte tSe
were hudded in the COURTYARD watclnEs and
nthars na,ars 'V With awe. Meanwhile in the other
departments of the institution every e9or' han All
tSe GSen otber tsqe buildings had fire escapes and
owing to this fact aione it is safe TO say huhdreS
lives of the 500 IN all were were boyo hoy of Saen identified
Jones. jon Charles Scott, colOred, John Lyden' John
hpsnls anoas those D missing whose bodies are
PGT Tcov being isaac Sear'osS SSe i0f JOhH pwyer
TSo@ss TSGos Rush. T Michael Roth Charles
RoSert Cummings Jacob Yeas%sn Francis Smith pGI
Ia Ssrd Murphy, Charles O'Brien and nd fh,np NIP
SswserssfF stsss cf ths At fire fire the % inmates Of the
insane department were turned loose through me
grounds At midnight the lire was under control; ,L
Al Io.10 A. m IT was ascertained that there were
.~seven dead. six dying and three missing ,ho o,a
The fire originated in The wing %cb or 5nq fronts Dt
toward the schuylkill River. aud directly east OF
the building Of the al%shouse Inns wing n ihs
south with the main building OF the oia tno
Of the Insane department, which ruus south 32o So
dsst 6Ss in to winch 'lae the disaster Occurred;
In this north building where the f NE ioIont oohe
Uat,ents twenty on each floor. In addition to this
there was large room on each o1 tue IluSc MP %
in which cots for twelve men we're plIoeo ont al On
the second floor opposite the central cell
Of the row, of separate cells bo% on rnns ,ns
north side of the corridor, wnch runs
from east to west, was a dry-room, heated by
steam. This room, which was about zen Ieet
square, was directly alongside the mla1o sre ths
flames originated, but from what cause iS nov nov
known AT the time there were insane paiients
in each of The twenty cells on these three hoo,s;
Ten in the larges room of the first floor and twelve
in each of the large rooms OH the second aho 'Dnu
From all the conflicting accounts to be obtained
IL aUpcars certain that the first alarm was
given adSr by az tbs insane main P''bShEd Building This
man, Joseph Nadine, occupied room adjoining Looming
the stairway ana the dryingroom with about about
twenty other quIet patients. When he saw SMOKE
,ssnine from above the door which opened into the
wing IN which the cells were situated he ran 10 the
big lron- grated door fronting on the nam corridor
of the building and cried ont Fire!" Inns so9nd
Teacbed the ears of Joseph Schroeder,
the attendant of the ground floor, who was IN his
room directly opposite zone from WHICH Nauiho
Mrs. Tmpstead, who has general charge, at
night, says that it. was about O'Clock when
the alarm reached her. She was IN her
Office about 200 feet from the dry-room and at
once hurried TO the scene. She says that an az
tempt made to put ont the flames WIN PUCK et
ets of water and at first 1T was supposed mat the
flames were only burning from the ground hoor near
the stairway but almost in an instant 1t
danger came was the second door at the top OF and
above the dry-reom She then fastened TO get al
the patients from the main building extehdihg
back from the east wing. ,
Attendant schroeder takes up the thread OF the
story at this point, and thus relates some o1 the
horrors of the night: ,o,
as heard Madness cry rushed to the foot OF the
stairway, and after short attempt 10 check
the patients. First / unlocked the door of
the room in which Nadine and his companions
were They ran out at once. BY tins time the names
were gathering in fury, and dense volumes OF
smoke were ascending into the upper stores.
succeeded IN unlocking the doors OF all the cells on
the first floor and IN getting theme ne fnrber than G@
10 run them into the yard, for the flames were get
ting SO fierce that it was almost Impossible 10
Breathe in the building The smoke IN the upper
stories was so thick that breathing was impossl-
tendant William Strain was doing the same for the
inmates the second floor. met Mr. Hanna,
the night watchman, who was also helping, and
we went up 10 the third story, but were driven
back by the flames. which had forced their way
through the stairway and were creeping along to
tle cells We ran around to the other stairway,
nesrthe new buildings on the west, and by that
time some fremen had arrived. All the inmates
ol.o fyQp "