Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-05-28
A VERITABLE TRAP.
Another Awful Sacrifice to Inn.
proper Construction.

1 kAuOtu0I Aw4uA 0e1O1AA0O w AAAs-
proper Construction.
Working Girls Penned Up In the Upper
Stories of q Burning Cincinnati Build
ing with No Possibility of Escape
At Least Fifteen Lives Lost.
CINCINNATI, O., May .1.-At 1880
this afternoon fire broke out in the five
story building on the corner of Sixth and
Walnut streets, occupied by Sullivan &
Co., printers. There is also laundry In
the building in which q number OF girls
are employed. The flames spread so
rapidly as to cut off their escape, and sew
eral of the girls jumped from the thirS
story windows and were instantly killed.
1t is reported that seven girls were killed
and two men injured.
CINCINNATI, O., May 22.-The build.
ings in which the fire originated yester-
day afternoon is Nos. 10 and 81 West
Sixth street, occupied by Orth, Missell &
Co., as a dye house; Sullivan Co.'s
steam printing works; Partisan Dyein2
and Securing Company. The Ledger
Postal News Company and J. j. Kinsleyl
gold, silver and nickel plating works.
Huge volumes of smoke burst from
the fifth story windows of the building,
folio wed by the half-smothered shrseks
of frightened women, who Immediately
appeared at the windows, then, as
they seemed to realize that all escape
was cut off, one leaped into the air and
fell to the pavement below. Cries OF
"Hold on!" from below, retarded the
others for a moment, and then another
leaped to the pavement below.
As soon as the fire had been located in
the printing office, those in the vicinity
familiar with the interior of the place
first began to realize the awful tragedy
that was inevitable. The second story
contained the presses and machinery, en-
ploying about ten men and boys; the
while on the fourth and fifth floors were
the folding and binding departments.
The fire originated at the hatchway by
the elevator on the second floor. boy
had Just carried up a can of benzine and
set it down at this point, when it almost
Immediately exploded. The burning
benZine was thrown over the already
greasy woodwork of the elevator, and in
an instant the fire was drawn up to the
IOuEln anu H1Il uOOTS. I1cTC were cmplOy~
ed fifteen or twenty girls, and
here the awful scene of death concen-
trated. There was no possible avenue of
escape. In the rear and front alike were
but barely two or three narrow windows,
with no means of leaving the room save
down q narrow stairway from floor to
floor, and a clumsy elevator running
through the center of the building. Every
floor was packed with paper, which, to-
gether with the light pine woodwork,
made rich food for the flames.
The fifth floor was also occupied as
folding-room, and here, too, were several
possible. Nothing but death could re-
lieve them, and even had there been a
chance, the fire was so sudden and fierce
that the poor victims were obliged to
give up their lives without struggle.
Among the killed is John Sullivan, q
nephew of the proprietor, who was on
the second floor at the time the fire start
ed. He at once rushed up to the fifth
floor to save the women employed there,
and finding his own escape cut off at the
steps, went to work to save them through
the window. Some one had got upon
the roof from an adjoining building and
threw large rope down, and this
the hero clutched, and standing on
the window sill, shrouded in the hot,
binding smoke and flames, aided two of
the women to grasp the rope and let
down, then seeing that no
more pressed forward. to be saved, he
himself reached out and caught the line
and began himself to descend, but he
was not to live to reap the reward of his
bravery. The treacherous flames had
severed the strands. and before he had
descended two yards the rope snapped
above his hand, and he fell with crash
to the pavement to be crushed into
5ha peless mass. He never breathed.
Josie Hooks, the last girl who came
down the rope, is severely burned, and
was taken to her home.
Chief of the Fire Department Wisbey
said: "When l was able to get into the
fourth story 1 had no suspicion of what
should find there. The house is not
Quilted; in fact, the fire was chiefly in the
fifth floor. and the burning in the fourth
s not considerable. did not expect to
meet such sight as 1 saw. In the
smoke that still filed the fourth
ioor l counted ten girls lying
lpon benches, tables, etc., OF
stretched upon the floor with not hair
inged. / don't wonder at it, however,
IS, excepting hatchway, was unable to
Ind any way up or down from that floor,
although suppose there must be stair.
Vdys ~ was q eCALluAO ciSHt-luc WOr6t
ever saw in my experience. They lay
n all conceivable positions, where they
lad lain down or had fallen while wildly
moving about in despair.
The following are the killed thus far 70.
exported:
Tillie VIM.
Fannie Jones, aged twenty-five.
Lizzie Meyer, aged sixteen.
Kate Lowrey.
Della, Kate and Mary Leaban, aged
fourteen and sixteen years,
Kate and Mary Punton, aged twenty.
wo and nineteen, respectively.
Lizzie and Dollie Handel, aged twenty:
win sisters.
Annie Mcintyre.
Annie Bell, aged orty-eight, married
,oman.
Fanny Norton, age thirty-four.
John Sullivan, aged twenty-five.
The injured are:
Annie Pinchback, Of Covinptou. Nv.
eriously burned.
Josie Hacks.
VIM. T. Bishop, printer, frightfully
urned and crushed; will die.
Mamie Shepard, head badly cut.
Interstate Commerce COMMITTEES.
NEW YORK, May 22.-The select com.
'ittee on Interstate commerce consist
,g OF United States Senators Shelby M.