The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-05-09
TERMS-BY MAl[,
A ROTTEN BUILDING,
i Fiye-St0ry Factory in Brooklyn,
New York, Suddenly Falls to
the Ground,
Carrying Death and Destruction With
1t List Of the Killed, Wounded
and Missing.

1t List Of the Killed, Wounded
and Missing.
BROOKLYN, May Shortly aftel
p o'clock this morning there was
crash at No. SIS Atlantic avenue
Brooklyn, and the people on looking
i,p from the street saw that the roo
of the building had fallen and that q
portiOn of the walls had also disap
peared. They could hear the screams
of the people injured, and it seemed
hut moment when volume OF
smoke rolled up showing that the
building had taken fire. Hundreds
of people, men, women and children,
were at work at the various branches
of business carried on in the build
ing, which covers considerable
ground. having wings that exten ded
from Atlantic to State street. AS
soon as the crash was heard of the
IalluS Aoo1 uuuuAcuS Vi tuOoc gill.
p!oyed in the building endeavored to
make their way out of every avenue
of escape, and some who were last to
reach the street appeared with be-
grimmed faces and blood streaming
from the wounds which they had re-
ceived from the falling timbers. The
excitement in the neIghborhood be.
came very great, and in short time
the wives of men who were known
to be working in the building and
the parents OF girls who were en-
plOyed there blocked the streets.
Three alarms of fire were sent out,
and the services of large number of
police had to be called in to keep the
people out of the way of danger.
DANGER OF THE INMATES.
1t was reported ut first about one
hundred girls who were employed ia
Mils Haynes bolting works, which
was on the top floor where the roof
fell in, were killed, but it appears
that most of the girls made their es-
cape by climbing on the roof of tene-
taent houses. The building was oc-
eupied by twenty small manufacture
ers. and there were about 500 men
aud women employed therein. 1t
was five stories high and erected q
years ago. The wooden work of the
burning building was like finder.
When the hremeE arrived they
found many young women at the
windows screaming for help. Their
retreat being cut off, the firemen
quickly ran up ladders, but the girls
were hemmed in and many fell back
into the flames before help could
reach them. The height of the build
ing hindered the efforts of the fire.
men. 1t was ascertained that the
engineer of the factory. Daniel J.
Lowry, was one of the victims. He
was killed by the falling of the left
wall.
CAUSE OF THE FIRE.
The cause of the fire was the over
turning of the boilers of the soap
factory on the second floor. The
west wall Of the middle wing on At
lanttc avenue had settled. The
workmen were screwing it up with
jacks. The middle jack had been
screwed up too high and it was W.
cred, when the whole weight of the
wall came upon the two jacks at the
end, and it fell with u crash. Ten
or twelve have been taken out seri-
.ously injured. Chief Levenson said
he thought there were at least twen-
ly-five people in the ruins, and there
may be more. The loss is estimated
al 5000, 900; insurance Is unknown.
STATEMENT OF WITNESSES.
A workman named Marcus says
there was nothing in or about the
place to check q fire-neither hose,
extirguishers nor fire escape. This
is the third time a fire has occurred
on the premises. Milo Hine, who
occupied the top floor for the manu-
facture of buttons, stated that at 9
o'clock II was in my room directing
the work Of my employees, of whom
there were forty, mostly women
The first we heard of the accident
was when We heard a crash, and this
was followed by part of the flooring
giving way. In one corner of my
room there was a ladder leading to
the roof and all the employees made
rush for it. There was panic among
the women for a while aud two or
three OF them tainted, but the tore
woman soon succeeded in restoring
order, and then in single file the en-
;ployes climbed the ladder and gained
the 'oof of an adjoining building and
reached the street by descending
fire escape"
The insurance on the property de-
stsoyed is about $500, 900, while the
damage will aggregate at least $780,
600. AT $3.50 a. IN. fifty employees of
the Board of City Works arrived on
the scene, and we're Immediately set
to work by Commissioner Pollion
searching for the missing. Three bod
les have been taken from the ruins
all burned beyond recognition.
KILLED, MISSING AND INJURED.
Th. names of the killed, injured
ald missing ones are:
Killed-An unknown man charred
N-yond recognition, supposed to be
ID tnlel J. Lowery, the engineer in
fhe button factory; an unknown man,
hon.is.iy burned and no possibility of
hehtliioatiOn; trunk of a person, not
known whether that of male or
female, the fire having burned away
all the outer coatings, leaving the
vital organs exposed, while the limbs
were gone and only the trunk and
i 'shless sktlaton remaining.
Missing-Inquiries have been made
ier the following, who are supposed
no be in the ruins: Breaiing Conrad,
,9r', aged 90 years, of Dutchkill, IL.
T.; Edward Butler, aged q, of 81 At
iantic avenue; William CLARK, aged
~, residence unknown; Henry
Dnrse, aged sc, of 81 Marion street,
Sew York; Fritz Egger, aged q, resi-
dence unknown: Henry Haffner,
aged 40, of 1875 Graham avenue; -
Johnson. residence unknown; Dan