The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-01-20
The Burning Of an Insane
Asylum.
DETAILS OF THE TRAGEDY
The sickening Sights and Scenes IN
a So-caIled Fire Proof Builu
ing-News in Brief
nnrninr OF an insane Asylum.


tbe furnace room and had got good head
ing before it was discovered. The WOO
work of the building being pineit burne'
very rapidly. The building was occuple'
bv forty-ive patients and one nigh
Watchman. Seventeen patients are miss
ing. and thirteen bodies have been re
covered. All the patients were 1ntlrm
The bed-ridden iwere rescued hrSt, bu
those able to assist themselves did no
realize the danger and many OF them
perished. The attendants lost all thell
effects and many had very marrow es
cane. One of them had to lie bed clothes
together and let himself down from
toD window. The building was new
one and cost $4,000, but was not
vet provided with water works
The building was two story stone and
brick with no wood about it except the
floors and stairways. Itwas completed
last August. 1t was used as an infirmary
with forty-fYe insane inmates, twenty
three on the first floor and twenty-five
on the second. The attendants, Brown,
Rose and wife, were sleeping on the
second floor; the attendants Reed and
Williams and fireman La Barge slept on
the first floor. The building was heated
degrees below zero when the Waterman,
Gabb, discovered smoke issuing from the
floor Immediately above the furnaces.
He awoke the attendants. Smoke at
once became drawn through the hot air
fues and along the halls and stairways
to all parts of the building. The fire
spread so rapidly that all efforts to save
the building in the absence of a fire alarm
70 summon help and for want offacilities
10 queneh the flames were found to be
in vain. Attendant w. A. Reid began
dragging and carrying out patients.
Many of the patients clad in night
clothing only, rushed from the bitter
cold air back into the building. Reid,
at the risk of his own life, struggled on
until twenty-one of his tweGty-three
patients were rescued, when he became
exhausted, and was carried away. On
the second floor attendants Rose and
wife heard the alarm and escaped down
the stairway, just before it fell Attend
ant Brown, sleeping on the same floor,
was awakened by the smoke and
attempted to save patient in the
adjoining roem and failed, and sliding
down by means of a sheet from his
TlndoE, Jumped to the ground.
the scene and with ladders climbed to
the second story windows, smashed the
windows and was able to
rescue some of the patients thereby.
Almost all the patients refused to
cooperate in the efforts being
made to save them and were ONLY
rescued by being dragged from the
flames and forcibly prevented from re-
turning. A marvellous escape was that
of an inmate who fell with the second
floor, struck the burning debris above
the furnace and bounded through a
window to the ground uniniuTed. The
remains Of twelve patients have been
taken1Eom the NUNS, burned to frag-
ments, only to be identified by the loca-
tion.in which they were found. The
dead thHs Identified, with the ages and
residences, weIe shown at theacoroner's
inquest this afternoon.
superintendent Dewey testified that
he had asked the Legislature two wears
ago for s., 500 to protect these detached
wards from fire; that$1 ,0OovTas allowed
allof which was used in mains and
hydIants; that the amount was INSULT
Gent to answer the purpose. He sug-
gested that the floor above the hot air
furnaces be changed, it being shown in
the evidence it was but four inches
from the outside and ten inches
from the inside of the furnace to
the:pIne jcasts., He gave two reasons
dor the greet number .of deaths: first
the patients were almost all suffocated
by the smoke before they could be
reached; and second, the inability or
unwllllngness of the insane patients to
try and help themselves.
The remains of the bodies with one ex-
ception did not aggregate each but a
little more than a handful of charred
ashes. The entire remains of ten of the
victims We're spread on a small table.
two feet square. Friends are arriving
IN search of lost ones The scenes on
their arrival and view of remains are
necessarily very heartrending. Tele-
grams are pouring in from all parts of
the State from parties asking as to the
safety OF their friends among the 1900
inmates, of the hospital.
The eoroner's jury, which adjourned
until tomorrow afternoon is inyestigat-
ing as to whether the furnaces were de-
receive. The TACT that there is no gener;
ITe alarm between the various buildings
OF the hospital, or any system of water
works to protect life and property there.
accounts largely for the very large loss
of life. u.s.
H. w. Belden, aged 50, of Gal .sburg.
one OF the victims, and the only one
whose remains preserved even a sem.
bl2nce of human being, was a promi-
nent man IN his section of the State
Hewas on the second floor, was an in
valid, and unable to help himself. SUI
perlntendent Dewey, aided by an at
tendant, placed ladder to his window.
Dewey. assembled it, and broke the glass
with his hands, but being unable to
break the sash, descended for some i'm
plement to break it with. Meantime
Belden' S shriekS for help were loud and
agonizing- As Dewey reascended. the
shriekS died away; smoke and flames
poured from the window. so that no
help could be given him. DR.. Dewey.
hearing calls for help from another win
dow, hurried to the rescue. and though
a man of light build, dragged a hun
dred and eighty pound patient through
the window, and bore him safely to the
ground.
The only chance for obtaining water
was from small washstand faucets, not
even fire buckets or barrels being on
hand. Night watchman Cobb testified
before the coroner's jury that he regis
tered the report of his calls every half
hour. The register showed he visited
the furnace room at $40 am, and
found it all right then. At4.40 he dis
covered the fire. The floor Immediately
over the furnaces had frequently been