Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-08-23
BURNED in A TENEMENT
Nine Lives Lost by Fire in a New York
Tenement House.
The ContiagratiOn Probably the Work
of an Ineendiary.
The Proprietor of the Restaurant Put
Under Arrest.


horror which this city has known for years
came early this morning when a crowded
West side tenement house suffered par
tial destruction by fire snd many of the
tenants lost their lives. Nine charred
and blackened bodies tell the story of the
frightful disaster. At 4:45 O'Clock this
morning the tenement house, Nc, sos
Seventh avenue, near Twenty seventh
street. was discovered on fire. On the
hreme.. -esching the place the building
was ab!aze from ground floor to roof. In
tle atreet outside there was this widest
excitement. A crowd had quickly
gathered and many tenants who had
made their escape in their night clothing
stood among the throng weeping bitterly
and almost frantic with despair. The
fremen had the cOndagraUion under con-
t1ol within half an hour. Nine bodies
were taken in patrol wagon to the Thir-
tieth street station house. Two sons of
VIM. Glennot were badly burned about
the limbs aud body and were taken to the
New York hospital. Many of the tenants
lost all they had. Mr.. Sire, the senior
partner of the firm owning the building
said this morning, that he would furnish
places for all the tenants TO live in, free
of charge until the banned building is re
paired and again ready for occupancy.
Walter Brooks, a colored cook employed
in the restaurant in which the fire started,
said it resulted from an over heated
range. SoYder's restaurant is said to have
been a place of questionable character,
and at the police station it was openly
alleged that Brooks, the cook,
was drunk when he was arrested.
The awful speed with which the flames
swept up through the building suggest
the use of kerosene by the careless cook.
The door leading from the kitchen to the
hsllway was found open, and the great
volume of flame rolled out into the pas
sege and swept up the stairway so rapidly
that the families on the first floor must
inevitably have pelished without even so
much as a warning, but it so happened
that the rooms directly over the res au-
rant were unoccupied on account of the
heat which seemed to sift through the
flooring from the mammoth range under
meath.
A cry ofspsin aroused two policemen
few blocks distant, who quickly hurried
TO the scene, and saw wall of flame
beating against the front windows of
the restaurant. BY the time that a
realizing sense of what the trouble was
broke over them a forked tongue of
flame shot out from the roof and lighted
up the neig ighborhood. With their clubs
the two officers beat in the front door but
a spiteful blaze shot out and warned
them back. They tried the next door and
in that way found an entrance.
There was no sign of life in
the building, and the officers hurried
from one door to another to arouse the
inmates. Murmurings were at first were
NArr, -.
fir ally chang ed into a wall of terror and
agony from men, woman and children,
struggling for their lives in the death
trap. Many escaped down the fire es-
capes, buS not one came down the stair
way and the few Unfortunates that at
tempted an exit that way number with
the dead.
The search for the dead was begun as
soon as possible. The first body found
was that of OH William Glennon. The
remains were discovered by the side of
the bed in his room on the second floor.
He had risen 20 fly with his sons but his
old legs were not nimble enough and he
persisted. The boys were taken to the
hospitsi. They were badly burned on the
feet, caused by walking on the hot iron
bars of the fire escape. In the roooms of
the Wells family was sight which
cannot be easily forgotten. In the mid
die of the floor knelt the mother, Mary
Wells, and in her dead embrace were
her children, Jane and Thomas. They
had been smothered, mercifully enough,
and not burn or blister defaced the pal
lor of their countenance.
The following are the names of the
victims who met their death: Wm. Glen
non, aged so; Nellie Geoghan, aged 80;
Mary Wales, 81; Jane Wales, 4; Thomas
Wales. 2; Bertha L1sting, 4; Wm. Mckee,
At; James Jeffery, 55; also an unknown
woman aged about 45. VIM. Glennon,
aged about 49, was badly burned about
the face and feet and was taken to the
New York hospital.
The niue dead bodies were placed in
ambulances AMI taken to the Thirtieth
street station, and later coroner Hanley
gave permits to friends who claimed the
remains.
Acting Captain Schmittberger says
"The circumstances under which the fire
occurred are, to say the least, sus picious,
I have questioned the three men sepa-
rately and there are certain discrepancies
which they should be called upon to ex-
plain. Snyder has kept the place four or
five years and his reputation is none too
good. 1t was open day and night, and
occasionally some very lively scenes have
taken place there. The colored cook,
Brooks, says that they have not done
much business lately. Snyder had $1,000
insurance on his fixtures, which, think,
is more than they are worth. The policy
expires on Sept. "a and, strange to say, he
had the policy in his pocket when
arrested"
One of the most notable incidents of
the fire was the gallant efforts of Ambu-
lance Surgeon Schaeffer, of the New York
hospital. When he arrived on the scene
all chance of any one escaping by the
stairway was cut off, as it was burning
fercely and the halls were filled with
smoke. On hearing that Nellie McGeog
han, aged 90, had been cut off from es-
Gaping into the sixth story, he boldly
mounted a scaling ladder and got into the
fifth story by smashing a window. Atlast
the doctor was seen again at the window
carrying Nellie McGeoghan's insnimste
form. He bore the girl to store On the
corner, but when he attempted to revive
her he found that she had perished in his
arms.
There was some terrible bungling
work by the police an that fire." said DR..
| was the only docsor on the scene and
mine was only an ambulance and it was
only luck that 1 got there at all. We
OILY received the common hurry call"
TO Thirtieth street police station and
when | got there | found the body of old
man William Glennon. He had been
suffocsteo, and after getting his name l
jumped iLto the ambulance to return to
the hospital. No word vas said about
any of the others, and out of couriosity
I told the driver to go around to Seventh
avenue. When we got TO the house
stopped the ambulance anc got out, and
stood for a moment talking TO the police
and fremen. It was there for the first
time learned about al the other people
up stairs. Not one of the dead were
burned. All ha1 been sufocated-"
John Snyder and Wm- Brooks, his coll
ored cooks, we're srrsIgDed before the
coroner this evening. Snyder was com
mitted 70 the tombs without bail and
Brooks sent to the house Of detention as
q witness.