The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-02-13
MISERY OF MANIACS.
PERSONS BURNED
To Death In an Alm.hou Flro--The EGofts
of tho Attendants to Rescue the In.
ma.es-A Terrible Story OF sss.
r ering and Destruction.

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. PA fire broke
outin the insane department Of the county
aims house, Of West Philadelphia tonight
The flames spread rapidly, and before the
three hundred inmates could be released
nineteen OF them were burned to death
The others were left 10 roam about the
grounds at will, aud many Of them were
picked up by the police throughout the
city. The building at II o'clock tonight
was still burning and the other depart
ments were in great danger.
Another account says: Eighteen raving
maniacs were burned to death In tho in.
sane department OF the Blockley aims.
house, ON the west side OF the Schuylkill
river, tonight, in o. conhagration which
needed nothing to make 1t the most hor-
rible disaster OF the kind ever known in
the history Of the city.
In the north building, where the fire
broke out, there were sixty separate cells
for violent patients, twenty on each floor,
In addition to this there was large
room on each OF the three floors In which
cots for twelve men were placed, all Of
which were occupied when the fire broke
out.
At the time OF the FIRE there were In
sane patients in each OF the twenty cells
on these thee floors, ten in the large room
on the first floor and fifteen in each OF the
large rooms on the second and third
floors. From all accounts to be
obtained Il appears pretty certain that the
first alarm was given by an insane patient
on the first floor. This man, Joseph
Nadine, occupied room adjoining the
stairway and drying room with
about twenty other quiet patients.
He ran to the big iron grated door front
ing on the main corridor OF the building
and cried out SIRE" This fearful sound
reached the ears OF Joseph Shrader an at
tendant Of the ground floor, who was in
his room directly opposite the one from
which Nadine had given the alarm.
Mrs. Umpstead, who has charge at
night, said Il was about 8 clock when the
alarm reached her. Shewas in her office
about 200 feet from the dry room and
at once hurried To the scene.
She says that an attempt was made 10 put
out the flames with buckets OF water, and
at first it was supposed the flames were
only burning from the ground floor near
the stairway, but in almost an instant 1t
was foundthe pointfrom which the danger
came was the second floor. at the top and
above the dry room. She then hastened
to get patients from the main building,
extending back from the east wing.
Attendant Shrader takes up the thread
~ ttnrv At tI,sa M; M nd tl,s r tnS oa,s4a
Of the horrors Of the dreadful night: ~
do not know who sounded the alarm. As
soon as l heard Nadine cry, | rushed
TO the foot Of the stairs and after short
attempt TO. check the fire at once set 10
work to get out the patients. First un-
locked the door Of the room In which
Nadine and his companions were. They
ran out at once. BY this time
the flames were gathering in fury
aud dense volumes Of smoke were ascend-
ing into the upper stories. ! succeeded
in unlocking the doors Of all the cells on
the first floor, and, although with dili,
Guilty in some cases. succeeded in getting
tho inmates out. Fhad no time 70 look
after them further than 10 run them into
the yard, for the flames we're getting SO
fierce that It was almost impossible TO
breath in the now Gercely burning build
ing.
While I was getting the men out be-
low an attendant, William STRAIN, was do
ing the same for the inmates on the sec
ond floor. 1 met Hanna, the nightwatcll.
man,, 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 skyward
and were creeping along To- the cells Of
the doomed inmates. We ran around TO
the other stairway near the new buildings
and by that time some flremen arrived.
All the inmates had been gotten out OF
the second story, so there remained about
twenty-eight on the third floor, twenty in
cells and eight in the large common room
OF the west end"