The west Tennessee star. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1888, 1888-11-16
A TERRIBLE FIRE.

A Large Number OF Persons Killed and In
Jured By the Burning OF the Rochester
Steam Guage and Lantern Works at
Rochester, n. Y.-The Death List Mag
Reach Upwards Of Ftfty.
ROCHESTER, n. Y, Nov. 10.-The most
disastrous and fatal fire that has hap
pened in this city for many years oce
Cured last evening, and the loss Of life
is expected to reach between fifty and
sixty persons. A general alarm was
sounded at half-past seven O'Clock on IRE
being discovered in the packing room of
the Rochester Steam Gauge & Lsntern
Works, an important factory employing
large number of men. So busy has the
factory been lately that the men have
been working night and day to catch up
on orders. The locality where the IRE
occurred is regarded as somewhat dam
gerous, and when the report got
abroad that the lantern works and the
cotton factory in it's vicinity were on fire
there was intense excitement all over the
city, which was increased, when at nine
O'Clock the rumor got abroad that large
number of men had been killed. The
building to which the fire was confined
was SIX stories high. About sixty men
were working in the three upper floors,
and as soon as they found there was fire
underneath them they began to leap
from the windows, ignoring the fire es-
Il
them on the south side of the building.
In these leaps quite a number of men
were injured, many Of them so seriously
| that they will probably die. BY nine
O'Clock the building was entirely de.
| stroyed and five men had been taken out
dead, sixteen seriously injured, fourteen
were entirely safe, and the rGst unac-
counted for, of whom quite a number are
unknown by name.
The scenes at the fire were hears-rend-
| ing, and prominint among those who
/ were present after the fire were three
priests in their surplices, who admins
| tered spiritual comfort to those who
were in dying condition.
| The factory was built on the high bank
on the west side of the Genesee river,
/ and was q difficult one for the hremen to
get at, owing to one side being closed to
/ them.
| Two buildings that were in great dam
| for a long time were the Rochester Cot
ton Factory an williams & HOyt's shoe
| factory; but both of these buildings were
| saved from destruction, the only damage
done to them being by smoke and water.
Following is q list Of the casualties so
far as learned up to midnight
The killed are:
| John Gall. foreman.
Joseph Dancer; jumped from sixth
hoor, and picked up dead.
Henry Snyder; burned intsrRalIys
Frank A. Ochs.
| Joseph Webber.
| The injured are:
Frank Siddons; both legs and back
| broken; will probably die.
Jacob Diehl, night watchman; burned
! Internally and prostrated by shock.
John Devlin; left leg and wrist injured
aad more or less burned aud bruised.
Richard Pierce.
John Greenauer.
William Devlin.
Frank Froedlin.
s. Burkhard.
| Oscar Knots.
| Joseph Burkhard.
J Charles Diehl.
/ G. Kippert.
| Stephen Forbes.
John Greenauer, No. q
Con. HoIleran.
John Ball
Those known to be missing are:
Thomas Matthias.
! S. Robbins.
Charles Weber.
| John Miller.
| Patrick Cosgrove.
Richard ConnOr
/ q. Waters.
Charles Smith.
Robert Poole.
Frank R. Evnish.
Alfred Cannon.
These are known by name to be miss
ing, but until the books are examined II
will not be possible to tell who were ac-
tualIy at work. Among those saved
were: John PIatts, who escaped by slid
ing from the sixth floor. He says there
were thirty persons at work on that a Oor,
and three were saved-Robert and Ho-
ratio Hall and Joseph Smith.
PIatt thinks that about ten others es-
capped with him. The lantern works, with
stock and machinery, is a total loss, es-
timated at about $225,OOO The insur-
ance is $179, 0OO
The cause of the fire is a mystery
The men went to work after
. | supper and all seemed to be right
| then. Soon afterward Jacob Diehl, Tho
, | watchman, while making his usual rounds
! | discovered flames making their way
| up through the floor. He had barely time
| to give the alarm when he was surrounded
. by the flames, but he succeeded In max
Q ing the danger known to the men on the
Z fourth fifth and sixth floors. They a
once realized their perilous position, and
6 made their way from the building, bu
. ! before they all got out the structure wai
? a seething mass of fire. There was no
D.. the slightest chance OF escape by thu
. usual doors Of exit, and the window
were at once utilized for the purpose
8 The majority of the workmen lost theil
8 heads and began to jump instead of tax
Q ing the fire ladders that were attached Il
. the building.
u. 1t is believed that number Of men ar
q buried in the ruins, but at present it is
& impossible to be sure Of this. All may
(. have escaped, but the probabilities ar
D.. decidedly against it AS soon as th'
q ruins are sufficiently cool, work will b.
begun Of searching for bodies.
II The streets were crowded with peopl
B.. during the progress of the fire, anxious
for their friends and acquaintances
:. They stood through the heavy rain whicl
g fell constantly during the evening, an
n watched the operations Of the hremen
. and did excellent work in saving the ad
l2 joining factories, but were too late to b
=. of use in the lantern works.