Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1885-05-16
A TERRIBLE CALAMITY.

The Collapse Of . Building In New'York City
Causes tho Loss of Thirty Lives.
New York, May 5.-Early this morning
the two houses. numbered IS and 81 Allan
tic street, Brooklyn, were discovered to be
on fire. The fire was discovered in the en-
CINE room of the building which was sort OF
q general factory fronting on Columbia
Street, Brooklyn. and occupying more than
two-thirds of block. A dozen manufac-
turing firms had portions of the building
and employed altogether 600 hands, chiefly
young women all of whom were at work
in some of the five stories of the building.
Before the alarm could De sounded, the
infsmsble finder like tie wood work of the
exterior structure was all ablaze and the
first firemen who arrived found many ofthe
panic stricken female operatives crowd
ing aud shrieking wildly at the windows
which opened upon the interior area of the
works. The two wings of the factory run
ming towards Atlantic Street were the only
portions not fercely ablaze and the women
might have been saved without trouble if
they had kept cool. Ladders were run CD
to them promptly but the imperiled girls
had already begun the dangerous expert
ment of throwing themselves out of the
second, third and even fourth story win
dows. The firemen and volunteer life
savers did their best to catch those who
jumped, and none were very badly hurt
considering the risk they ran, although
two of them suffered such bruises as made
it necessary to send them to the hospital
In the excitement Of the accident it was
found almost impossible to get correct
list of the occupants of the factory so as to
get at the loss. It is known, however, that
the foreman of the factory, who was also
engineer, was burned. He vas overcome
almost as soon as he reached the death
trap.
The scene around the place wa. soul-har-
rowing. Despite the prompt action of the
police who formed fire limits almost as soon
as the fremen got to work, dozens of peo-
pie assailed the officers with fearful in
quiries for their relatives who had not
answered to their names since the accident.
If is now believed thirty lives were lost in
the disaster, the building being occupied by
by about twenty small manufactures.
It was erected twenty-three years
ago. The cause of the fire was
the overturning of boiler in q soap factory
on the second floor. The west wall of the
middle wing on Atlantic avenue hadsettled,
and workmen were screwing it up with
acks. The middle jack had been screwed
up too high, and it was lowered, when
the whole weight of the wall came
upon the two jacks at the ends,
and it fell with crash. The
firemen injured were Bernard Stark
and Michael F. Grogan, of Engine No. 4,
Patrick Docherty, of Hook and Ladder No.
8, and fireman Hanley. The wounds are
all scalp wounds, caused by falling bricks.
Among the employees known to be injured
are Henry Mauer, scalp wound and tract
ure of the leg; Mrs. Hennetta Haas, re-
ported to have died on the way to the
hospital; Miss Mamie Hass, her daughter,
hurt; two unknown women were
pulled from beneath the burning timbers
by the chief of the fire department, Mr..
Nevins: Rosa Partridge, an emplove of
Milo HAYNES, is among the missing; dwin
Butler was seen tojump from the second
story into the ruins and ne has not been
seen since. Four of the men employed by
the Judd Manufacturing Company are also
missing Two women were taken from the |
second floor by fireman who had raised
ladders to the State street buildings Chef
Nevins said, 81 balieve there are at least
;wenty five people in the ruins and there
nay be more" The loss is estimated at
800, 900; insurance unknown. The build
ng was owned by Nat Cushing, of Boston.