The Portland daily press., 1888-03-20
DASHED TO THE PAVEMENT.
MRS. westIake's Fatal Leap from Her
Burning Home.
Life Nets save the Lives of Her Three
Children.
A Scene of Horror at a Fire in New
York.

NEW YORK, March 19.-The Elberton fl is
at the corner of of Eighty-sixth street and
Madison avenue, were burned this morning
about o'clock. There was great excite
ment, and many people jumped out of the
windows. One of them, Mrs. Frances West
lake. widow, was killed. Several others
were badly hurt and burned. Assistant
Foreman Quirk of Engine %, was badly
hurt by tina fall of ladder while rescuing n
child from window of the burning dwell
ing. The following were injured: Addie
Westlake, aged a. severely injured in the
back; Isaac Westlake. aged 10, confusion Of
right hip; Frederick Westlake aged %, se-
verely injured on the back; Sarah Miner,
a servant, both hands severely burned Mrs.
Tynberg, aged 4S, suffering from shock.
The family Of M. A. Tynberg were still
sleeping in their fiat on the third floor at
$50 o'clock, when the members were awak-
ened by feeling which they could define in
no other way than that it was as though a
load Of cotton had been placed over their
lips and they had been expected to breathe
through it. Mr.. Tynberg was the first to
thoroughly awake. 1t was none too soon.
From the dining room and kitchen in the
rear of his apartment there came roar Of
fame and clouds of smoke that told him
there was no time to lose. Wrapping tie
clothing of the bed around him, he aroused
his wife, and servant, Sarah Miner, and
then made a desperate effort to escape. BY
this time the flames encompasSed the Tyn-
berg family and were eating their way in
every direction up and down, and making
with terrible rapidity for the stairways.
Mr.. Tynberg led his family as well as he
could to the place where the stairway ran
but found that already the flames had seized
the steps and the carpet was on fire.
Nothing daunted by this, however, he forced
his family to make venture for their lives.
They did and were saved. They sustained
injuries, but they were comparatively slight.
Meanwhile the iremen had arrived, and
second and third alarms had been sent out
in rapid succession, But their arrival was
merely an assurance that the adjoining
building would withstand the intense heat
from the corner. They had scarcely got to
work before woman's form was discerned
standing in a window of the fifth floor
wringing her hands and gazing with frantic
appeal upon the sturdy forms OF the fremen
below. Up went the window sash and, as
though resolved to wait no longer Tor as
sistance, she stepped upon the window sill.
Half hanging to the sash behind her and
half resolved to wait for aid from below, the
woman hesltated till the smoke came pour
ing through the vent made by the open win
dow. Even then she did not make the peril
GUS leap, and it was only when the
smoke became tinged with flames
that she abandoned all hope for help and leap
ed As her feet left the sill every person in
the street throng beneath held his breath
with dreadful uncertainty. Through the
sheets of smoke and flame, which waved
from every story, the form shot like mete-
orite until it struck the pavement. The
woman, Mrs. Frances Westlake, was dead.
Her body was carried away from the shower
of flaming cinders, and then the work of
saving life began. The life-saving nets were
got into requisition, and none too soon, for
at the window where Mrs. Westlake had
taken her fatal leap. appeared the slight
form of her daughter Addie. The girl
leaped for the net and was caught in ir. She
received injuries to her back that are not be-
lieved to be serious. Then there leaped into
the net from the same terrible height two
more members of the Westlaka family, Isaac
10 years DID, and Frederick % years old.
Isaac was badly bruised on the right hip,and
Frederick's spine was injured. The body of
the dead woman and her injured children
were carried in the house of the Sisters of
Charity at 1131 Madison avenue, and the
wounds of the injured were dressed there.
Quirk struck ON his side as he fell into the
net, and his spine and right arm were in
jured Half an hour lateG the fire was nm
der control. The total loss will not exceed
S25 600