New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-11-11
SEVEN MEN HURT AT A FIRE
FIERCE FLAMES AT THE FIVE POINTS.
A HEAVY LOSS CAUSED EITHER By ACCIDENT
OR CARELEssNEss-MANY LIVES EN-
DANGERFp

OR CAIELkSSNESS-MANf LIVES EN-
DANGEREp.
Chief Shay and a dozen companies OF frcmen
were called to the Five Points yesterday morning
70 put out exciting fire, at which several
men were hurt. The flames were disco, cred
soon after a. M, in the irregular hve-story
brick building, Nos. . to O Mission place 'front.'
inq on Paradise Park, and having windows over
looking Worth-st BY the time the 1rcmen
arri sed the building was ablaze from the cellar
70 the fcGith-foor The fire had been shoulder
ing for hours in stacks of paper on tho first
floor. and it spread with great rapdty soon
rs there was any ventilation Cornell, Bing-
ham d Co., manufacturers of paper bags and
dealers in wrappinE-paper, such as is used in
groceries about town, occupied the cellar and
two lower floors, and the fire must have begun
to eat slowly into the firms stock OF paper
. early on Friday evening. 1t was said that some
boys who were playing ia Mission place before
10 o'clock on Friday night noticed smoke curling
OFT of the basement and told policemen about
it, but the policeman said
Go along with you That is only steam from
the boiler" Benedict g. Valentine, printers and
boolbinders, occupied the third, fourth and fifth
stories, and about forty men in the employ OF the
firm entered the work rooms ut O. m yesterday.
Nearly one hundred women and girls were TO have
begun work in the building IN hour later. The
men noticed smoke as soon as they entered the
work rooms. Before they had got to work the
doors Of Cornell, Bingham IL Co.'S rooms on
the first door were opened, and the fire was dis
covered. AS soon as air was let into the rooms
the flames broke out with great fury, and quickly
took possession OF the lower part Of the builuing
cutting of the escape of the men upstairs by the
front exit. There were fre-escapcs on the front
In
tho front doors, and as the DANES darted
out Of the doors end curled up under the iron
balconies, no person could get out that way.
In the rear of the building tnrce-cor-
nered wellhole, one side of which had an iron
ladder fastened to 1t. Half way down the
ladder was the coping of a shed, which had a
front in ParS-st Part of the roof was made
of glass few of the workmen in the build
ing had run down stairs at the first cry of fire,
and they got out into Mission place unhurt
few Others went up the ladder in the rear 10
the roof and escaped TO other buildings. One
man jumped from second-story window safely.
The rest went down the wellhole as fer as the
coping Of the she'd There two or three Of
them stepped on the glass roof and went crash
ing down TO the door OF the she'd Tho smoke
was so thick in the wellhoe that the men could
not sec where they were going.
Several men fell off the ladder to the bottom
Of the pit and were hurt At length some one
unfastcned the iron shutters OF window which
opened into the wel-holc from the warehouse of
Donaldson Brothers, in Mission place, and the
who had stayed on the c0rnlce or the sned
were able TO escape without further danger. Inc
men at the bottom of the wellhole were helped
out through the shed into Park-st> Ambulances
were summoned and the injured men were carried
TO the Chambers Street Hospital. IL was known
later that none of them had been hurt dangerously.
At the hospital their names and injuries were
given as follows:
KING THEODORE age seventeen. No. 407 East Nine
teenhst cut on the and bruises on his BODY
MCKEE, FRANCIS age twenty-five, No. az Sprlne's|'
both hands cut and sc rched.
MEYER WILLIAM. age eighteen No. l63 East Ien'n
ST., back injured.
REILLY. JOHN. age twenty-five. No. IL ChrJsaes-'
severe bruises right leg.
TRACY WILLIAM, age nfty-nve. No ~ CantonsH.
Brooklyn bruised about the back and legs
wFIsBERG, PHILIP. age nineteen No. 500 East
Twelfth.st scalp wound and bruises the back and
legs
Fireman Charles Werner had his hand cut
severely at the fire. but he did not go to a hos
building for three hours before the flames were
under control. 4 large crowd was attracted 10
the fire by false report that one OF the FIVE
Points Mission buildings was burning INC
heaviest loss by the flames was in the rooms OF
Benedict a Valentine, whose stock and machinery
were damaged about $50. 000 Connell, Blng-
ham & Co lost about 100000. The hre also
got into the rooms of d. Kahnweller, manufactured
of lifc-prcscrvcrs at No l42 Worth-st., ana Dam
aged his stock TO the extent of $4,000 Inc
buildings were damaged about slO'OoV' All
the property was said to be fully insured