The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-05-06
A DEATH TRAP.
A DEATH TRAP.
Another Terrible Calamity in
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Burning Of a Five.StOried Factory.
Panic Stricken Girls Leap from
the Blazing Building.
Three Persons Known to be Dead and
Twenty-Five Missing.
Burning of a Five.storled Factor

BROOKLYN, N. Y, May Sat $50 O'Clock
this morning fire was discovered in the engine
room of general factory of five stories which
fronts on Columbia street, south of State
street, and occupies more than two-thirdS OF
the block running through to Atlantic street
A dozen manufacturing firms had portions OF
the building and employed altogether &C
hands, chiefly young women, all of whom
were at work. Before the alarm could be
sounded the infammable tinder like wood
work of the interior was all ablaze, and the
first hremen who arrived found many of the
panic stricken female operatives shrieking
wildly and crewdiDg to the windows which
opened upon the interior area of the works.
Two wings of the factory running towards
Atlantic avenue were the only portions not
fierceIy blazing, and the women might have
been saved without difficulty il they had kept
cool. Ladders were run up to them promptly,
but the imperiled girls had already begun the
dangerous experiment of throWing themselves
out of the second. third and even fourth story
windows Firemen and volunteer life savers
did their best to catch those who jumped, and
none were very badly hurt, considering the
risk they ran.
In the excitement of the accident, It was
found almost impossible to get a correct history
of the occupants of the factory SO as to get at
the loss of life. 1t is known, however, that
the foreman of the factory, who was also the
engineer, was burned to death. He gave the
alarm and then returned to the burning build
ing to aid in extingnishing the flames, which
spread so rapidly that he was overcome almost
as soon as he reached the death trap.
1t is also feared that as many as ten of the
women operatives are in the ruins The in
hammsbe character and the peculiar con-
struction gave little chance TO save the fac
tory. 1t was so narrow and possessed so many
windows with wooden easements and so many
interior shafts that 1t was like blast furnace
within the first half hour and returned the
streams of water in the shape of steam without
m hPio q tpa 0Ff r he
blaze. Shortly after 10 o'clock the roof fell
IN, and the Columbia street wall Immediately
afterward bulged aud fell. A few min utes
later the interior wall. facing Atlantic avenue,
gave way with almost explosive violence.
Four dremen we're caught in the ruins. AS
soon as possible they were got out from the
debris. The only one whose name could be
ascertained was Barney Rookie Of No. 4 en-
gine. The other men belonged to the same
company. They were taken to the Long
Island hospital
NEW YoRK, May 6.-The Brooklyn Eagle,
in an extra, says of the burning of the Abbott
building this morning: Workmen are now
engaged in searching for missing comrades,
and the foremen of the different shops are
energeticslly gathering their forces and an
effort is being made to ascertain the names of
the missing. A belief prevails in police cir
cles that the calamity is even greater than re-.
ported, and some assert that there were no less
than 40 or 90 men and girls in the shaky struc-
ture when 1t gave way. A large force of men,
including all who were fortunate enough to
escape from the building uninjured, are now
actively engaged farming over the debris with
q view OF saving some of the less seriously
injured under the ruins. The building was
owned By Nathan Cushing of Boston. Loss
estimated at $250,000.
Toe Evening Post gives the following as the
cause of the Brooklyn fire today. About
O'Clock this morning, while a number of men
were engaged in snoring up the wall Of one of
the wings of the old Brooklyn flint glass
works in the block bounded by State and
Hicks streets, Atlantic Avenue and Columbia
Place, Brooklyn, two OF the Jacks gave way,
the second floor of the building was a soap
manufactory. The furnaces were all alight
and 80 the building fell it was set ON fire, and
the flames quickly spread to the rest OF the
and women at work. Soon after the firemen
arrived, the wall of the building fronting on
State street fell, burying number of firemen.
Policemen and other firemen quickly rescued
them, only three men being seriously injured.
When the wall that was lacked up fell, q
number of men were at work at it, and they
have not been seen since.
Rosa Partridge, an employe Of Milo Haines,
is among the missing. Edwin Butler was
seen by his brother to jump from the second
floor into the ruiHs, and he has not been seen
since Four of the men employed BY the a.
missing. Chief Nevens said: "I believe
there are ut least rs people in the ruins and
there may be more.
LATER.
Five fremen were injured, three fatally.
The loss of life OF this time cannot be estimat-
ed. bat the latest report gives the number Of
missing persons as 25.
Three bodies have been taken from the
ruins, but they we're burned beyond recogni-
ton.
Spectators Stories.
VIM. Sand1ord, who was employed by G. M.
Young y Go. on the first floor, said: "Ten
tons of silica, which were to be used in the
manufacture of soap, were brought into ths
building yesterday. The structure was so
rickety 1t is surprising it did not tumble long
ago. Ii was common saying among the people
who worked in it that they risked their lives
every time they entered it, and when the silica
was brought In We joked each other as to
whether the old place was strong enough to
stand the heavy weight. In our wing of the
building there were at least go persons en-
ployed, and will be very much surprised il
more than 40 OF that number made their
beneath the falling timbers and buried beneath
the ruins. Most of them were women"
VIM. Payne said: "Just after the fire broke
| out, was afraid it would extend to my house
| so got on the roof to watch its progress and
saw, blinded with smoke, man climbing to
the roof OF the button factory. He was fol
lowed by five or six others. Flames were
shooting up after them, and all of sudden
the floors gave way. / heard a scream that nc
i've men could have uttered, and then all those
saw had fallen into the ruins Every one o
these men must have been lost, and there mus
have been many more with them. / know al
least 20 men who worked for Charles Scwitter
watch case maker, and only saw two OIL
three oi them about the Ere, and they are al
AFRAID their fellow workmen are lost"
Henry Roessles, the foreman, related the fol
lowing expsriencs: ~ had ten men at work
and the first thing we knew of anything wroni
was that the walls caved in on u.s. and thl
only way / could see to escape was to tear NJ
some OF the flooring, which did, end dropped
through to the floor below, where cot out
The others got down by stairway, then on