St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-03
Fire in a Tenement House in New York
Last Night Causes Terrible
Panic.
Six People Killed, Fourteen Injured in
Trying to Effect Their
Escape.
Riotous Strikers Near Joliet, Ill, Ne
cessitate Calling Out the
Militia.
Desperate Cattle Thieves Near Della
ware Bend, Tex, Kill Four
PurSuerS.
ATenement Horror.

New YORK, May 3.-At 1 o'clock this
morning fire broke out in room in the
rear of John Humphreys liquor store at
672 First avenue. The building is five sto-
ries high, the upper floors being occupied as
tenement house. The room spoken of
was filled with trash of an infammable ma
ture, and quickly burned up, filling the
house with smoke. The, tenants became
panic stricken. Some jumped to
the street from windows, and others rushed
down stairs, falling on each other, and suf-
fering injuries of more or less serious
nature. All the ambulances in the city
were called to the spot at 1870. III was
found six lives had been lost and fourteen
persons were injured. The dead were:
JOHN HUMPHREY, his four months
old child and servant girl.
MRS. KREPCHAMER. a widow.
ELIZABETH HURLEY, aged %, who
jumped from the third story.
THE WOUNDED
were three adult females who were Suffo-
Gated and suffering from burns. One had
broken knee. She jumped from top
window. -Four men, two women, three
boys and one girl were all suffocated and
bruised. The fire was soon eXtinguished
and the damage to the building was slight.
Christiana Kenner, aged 4S, who lived on
the fifth floor, also died from suffoca-
ton. Her son Albert, 16 years
old, was suffocated and taken to the hos
pital. Her daughter, Paulina, aged II,
jumped from the window of her room On
the fifth floor, and was missing up to a.
m. When the alarm was sent out the
engines of the district were putting out a
small fire and it delayed the fremen some
what in getting to First avenue. When
they did arrive they found the house sur
rounded by great crowd and the dead,
dying and wounded lying on the sidewalk,
and in the halls and bedrooms the cries Of
the dying
WE'RE HEARTRENDING.
A general alarm was sent out and ambu-
lances, doctors and police came to the
scene in goodly numbers. The wounded
were selected as rapidly as possible from
the dead and conveyed to Bellevue hospi-
were lying on cots in the hospital and as
many doctors worked on them, trying
to restore life or alleviate
pain. Half of the patients seemed
to be diving. The names of none but Yoerg
Koenner could be learned. The asst fore
man had carried an apparently lifeless
woman down a ladder from the fourth story,
and when the street was reached she
breathed. Willism Corcoran of 317 East
Fortieth street carried out three babies.
Twelve families occupied the house. Of
course they were asleep at the hour the
fire occurred.
The stairs were next to impossible and
the scuttle was hard to reach. The Win
dows were used as means of egress. Mrs.
Krepchamer was smothered in her room.
Her three children had not been accounted
for. The families of Mrs. Lehnpuel, on
the second, and of the Rochrichs on the
fifth floor, are known to be safe.
The family of Mr.. Birge who kept sa-
loon in the building, were reported safe.
The Hurley family lived on the third floor.
Three young men who jumped from that
story were saved. At 2:30 the census OF
the tenants was still incomplete. 1t is pos
sble that more persons were lost. A frame
house in Prospect Place, near by, caught
fire at the time and was allowed to burn
down, as it was empty. Canse of fire un-
known.