, 1885-02-13

The unfortunate occupants of the cells
were being smothered to death by smoke
and perhaps blistered and burned by the
flames. Their cries were heartrending.
Some Of them cursed and swore. Others
laughed hideously, and others yelled
with pain with such awful cries
as would have appalled, the hardest
heart. The fireman, myself and a patient
named Rafferty,, crawled on our hands
and knees to such Of the men men as we
could reach, and dragged out fourteen.
eight Of them. alive, four suiiocated to
death and two horribly burned. They
died before we could get them out of tho
building. We could not see any Of the
men in the cells. of course. but eould
hear their horrible cries above the roaring
of the flames as they became to realize
the horrible fate that was in store for
them
While Schroeder was going through
this terrible experience, the flames were
extending to the main building Of the de-
partment. The wing in which the vic
Tins were burned alive, was wrapped in
flames, which were shooting many feet
into the air and Illuminating the city for
many squares.
At $50 an alarm had been struck and
in half an hour the general alarm sounded.
When the firemen arrived the FIRE was
enveloping about one-third of the main
building fercely. The truck arrived on
the scene soon after the first alarm and
the ladder was quickly run up TO the
third floors TO the windows and the cells
in which the inmates were fastened.
With an axe and hook the fremen at
tackled the iron g~ratings of the cells and
succeeded in taking out seven men, four
of them suifocated to death, and three
still alive. The last man thus rescued
was the notorious Jim" Burke, who has
been in the institution over thirty years
He was brought from the Eaton peniten-
tiary, where he was undergoing sentence
for murder.
III Of the inmates of the insane de-
partment were rescued safely except those
in the third story Of the wing in which
the fire originated. The total loss of life
is eighteen. There is nothing except wild
theorising as to what caused the fire. No
are known which would justify any
statement whatever. At l o'clock this
morning, the entire group Of
buildings making up the insane depart
was in flames. and there was no
prospect of saving any Of them, although
the iremen had the FIRE well in hand. and
the other departments and buildings
we're safe.
The total number Of inmates of the in
s%titution is placed at 676; of these eigh-
teen are known to have persisted. 1t is
said also, however that seventy-ive are
but Of these there are probably a
number who nave been picked up in
different parts Of the city by policemen.
The fire originated in the drying room,
which was used by the laundry women
to dry bed clothing in cases Of emergency.
1t had no direct communication with the
Of the institution. In it were
piled heaps of soiled bedding and old
Three weeks ago Mrs. Ulmstead,
the housekeeper, discovered fire u this
place, but it was e~xtinguished before any
serious damage was done. As there were
neither stoves nor fire in that part of the
bnilding, and as zone of the patients were
seen in or about the room, the fire is at
tributed to spontaneous combustion gem
Grated in some old clothes. The same
cause is believed to have brought about
the distressing confagration TO night.
The loss to property will amount to
about $4,000. The buildings we're
erected in 1880, and are only partially in
surcd.