The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-06


bore no weight at all, and upon this fact being
question to be eased down. It was while the
men were engaged in doing this that the west
erly wall, unevenly upheld, gave way, and fell
with tremendous crash carrying with it about
one-third of the westerly end of the building.
Almost simultaneously flames burst FORTH in
this building being the soap works and tin
factory, where furnaces were freely used,
and the wall, falling upon the extensions of
the dwelling houses on Atlantic avenue, crushed
them ike SO many eggshells, the cooking stoves
scattering their burning Goals among the debris,
starting the flames among the tenements. The
houses damaged by fire in this manner number
from 49 to 63 Atlantic avenue. On the east side
OF the gateway entrance is row of flats running
from 81 to 63 Atlantic avenue. They are owned
by Mr. Lndenbere, and are mostly damaged in
the rear, where the wings from the main build
ing on State street almost connected with them.
No. was occupied as follows: Henry L. Judd
q Co., windowshade roller manufacturers, had
the whole of the top or fifth floor. They
also occupied floors in the main building, which
fronted on State street They alone employed
by G. w. Butior e Co., tin dealers. who had one
half, and Benjamin Moore 6 Co.. who had the
other half. William burst, metal spinner, had
half of the second floor The other portion was
not occupied. George Young had half of the
first floor as machine shop, and William Davies
a. machinist, the other half These were all the
occupants of the building where the calamity
occurred. Those who rented space in the
other portions, according to the state
ment given to Brooklyn Eagle reporter
by Mr. Abbott, the agent are: Thurber,
Whyland Co.. securing soap; Charles Schwit
ter, watch cases; j. u. Gerow, pencil cases.
the Columbia rubber works; Geo. Whitaker
Co.; Roy & Co.. watch cases; Frank Whitner
Howard & Mole, gold refiners; G. w. Butler g.
Co., tinsmiths; VIM. burst, metal spinner
Baker & Monroe, machinists; Albert Henrichs,
metal specialties; Elliott & Fudlam rod trim
mngs.
Mr.. Abbott, the agent, stated that the build
ings were owned by Mr. Nathan Cushing, of
Boston, who has been telegraphed. All of them
were furnished with steam power, and Mr..
Cushings insurance on the building and ma
chinery is about $70 000
there were in the building at the time it FELL he
said:
''I don't know; about forty. guess"
The superintendent of H. L. Judd & Co.
laughed at this "Why," he said, 1--WE have
three hundred hands alone, and suppose there
were over one hundred in the building.
All tried to save themselves at first and
many had left when the flames were discovered.
We had lot of hand grenandes, and we used
them to check the fire. They did so when they
were thrown, but the heat was so intense that
the flames would soon burst out again, and we
finally had to save ourselves and let the fire 60
ahead"
THICKLY POPULATED BUILDINGS
In the different manufacturing places in the
buildings there were 700 people. In the New
York Tin Company's employ there were thirty
or forty girls, and whether all escaped is ques-
ton which cannot be solved. Some Of them were
seen shrieking wildly upon the iron fre-escape
of the fourth floor, where the tin factory
was located. The flames seemed to leap from
floor to floor and from building to building with
a clerity that battles description. Within an hour
the whole mass Of the structure was in ruling,
with the exception Of the building which fronts
Columbia street. but which was thoroughly
gutted. The fire extended to the buildings that
fronted on State street. and the buildings went
to pieces like houses of cards The crash Of fall
ing walls and floors, the vast clouds of smoke,
and dust and steam, the spires of flames that
shot from crumbling ruins, gave terror to the
spectacle, and the general excitement grew into
panic when it was reported that several en-
ployes had been crushed and burned to death in
the ruins.
While the excitement was at its height, four
explosions were heard in quick succession. The
four engine boilers under the State street side
walk had burst Many of the employees lived in
the immediate neighborhood of the buildings
and their friends and relatives were quickly on
the ground in state of wild alarm Truck No
turned into State street Immediately on reach
ing the scene of disaster, and fireman Daniel
Garritty was appealed to to save a couple
of girls who were said to have been seen at one
of the windows of the fourth floor
'My God if there are any people up there they
are lost" said the fireman. 1.-THE whole building
is one fire."
Garritty was then told that the fireman of the
building was in place Of great danger, and as
the starways were in flames he could only be
reached through acoal-hole in the sidewalk The
cover was quickly removed, and the man was
found calmly stoking his furnace. He had no
idea that anything unusual was going on until he
was drawn out of the place and saw the walls
cracking and the flames rolling from the win
dows above him. He was quite surprised when
he saw the firemen's faces at the aperture above
him and was loudly admonished to ''get out of
here"
Until the police had cleared the streets, many
of the people who lived in the neighborhood of
the burning buildings were huddled together on
their doorsteps wrngng their hands and la
menting the probable destruction of their houses
and their goods. Some of them were quite
dazed and wandered about the streets, close
under the lee Of the falling walls, until hurried