New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-01-28
TWO FLAT HOUSES BURNED.
MANY FAMILIES DRIVEN TO THE STREET
! FIREMAN FALLS With THE RooF-LossEs ABOUT
$4,000

Nm r,,r,.r. werc called to Patrick McMahon's
srocery on the northeast corner OF rontua'e' "uN
ftyseventh-st yesterday to thaw out the gas ppo''
which had frozen up on Thursday nighe VINO '"o'
Eere working about the gas meter at 4So p 'n 'hor
,os an exnlosion OF gas and fire started In the base
mont, II did not take long for the. TO run up
elevator shaft the four stories OF the nat nous
There was alarm box on the corner anu tue nrene
were summoned without much delay but they saw az
the outset there was going to Dc rouoe anu TWO
additional alarms were rung.
Tn. house was the Martha Flats and 1t held
aipbt families It's brownstone front In Fftyseventh-
NJ was numbered AIT. The adjoining house In Tenth
ava No. $780, also contained eight families. Both
houses belonged 10 Mcmahon and the partition wall be-
tween them thin to prevent the fire from extend
ing into the Tenth-ave house Most OF the men who
ived in the Martha Flats were away from home when
The hre broke out John Manson, a1aborer happen ed
n be with his family the top floor and he he'll ped
oumber Of women AMI children to escape. Several
families on the upper etores escaped OF the roof
Mrs Keator who lived in from rooms on the top floor
Of the Martha Flats leaned out Of awndow and cried
Tor help after OF the fremen had reached the roof
they let down rope 10 her and directed her to IL
% rely out waist Then they swung her out or
the window and hauled her up to the roof over the
eornce The high wind and bitter cold combined made
the task OF extingushng the faIes extremely dincaiI
The frOze the walls OF the houses While tue re
was roaring inside 1t not until nearly IN tina
halffrozen hremen got control OF the names, by
that tmo the corner house Quilted and the Tenth
ave honse was we'll burned the second floor
Half an hour later when some OF the companies we
eeti ng ready to go away water tank on the corner
Souse broke through the weakened roof aud dragged
down the greater part OF the roof with It, Several
members Of Engine Company No. 10 were at work on
the third floor the Tenth ave size when the crash
On me- and Fireman Michael f. Powers carried down
with the wreck. -
Firemen Hennessy and Reynolds. OF the same COM
pany heard him cry for help and rescued him: For
time there was great excitement feared that
onmber of had been buried in the ruins. call
Tor an ambulance sent out and that was Followed
by a signal for three more ambuances. Powers was
suffering from shock, but none OF his bones had been
broken. He was carried to the Roosevelt Hospital
The damage to McMahOn's houses amounted to ABOUT
b2O,OCO His stock of groceries was damaged $1,000
ings were insured and he had "a 900 insurance the
stock in his but his furniture was not Insured
Fifteen families in the houses ma lie homeless FOR
the time and their combined losses amounted to over
$500 Most of them were said TO have Insurance.
Water ca sed losses of $1,000 III samuel Wassman's
butcher shop and John snedicks fish market. on the
fret floor of the Ten th-ave. house.