Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-04-20
l MILLIONS IN RUINS
New York's Water Front
 Scourged by Flame.
THE WORST FIRE IN YEARS.
Three Million Dollars Worth of Propert, Destroyed by the Devouring Element.

Elevators, Railroad Docks and Stores of Lard and Flour Rurncd-One Life Sacrl- feed and Many Persons Badly Injured SIX Men Said to Be Mlssing-The New
 York Central Railroad n Heavy Loser List ..f the Killed and Injured.
 NEW YORK, April 20-Over $3,OOO,OOO worth of property was destroyed yesterday afternoon by a fire which broke out at 3:30 Scl'cll III the ivc-story building of the w. ;. " WicoX Lard Refining company, at the foot Of West Fifty-ninth street. The fire spread to the Rossiter stores adjoining on the north, and the heat was great from the two burning buildings that the largest of the grain elevators of the New York 1 Central railroad was soon in flames Later another big grain elevator was burning, and the flames were not checked until the covered pier ut tic foot of West Sixty-ffth street, six blocks from the original fire, was destroyed, and all the buildings in the intervening space had been laid waste It looked for time us though four more GOV cred piers, each of which was filled with l valuable railroad freight in transit, would 1 go but at 10 o'clock Chief Engineer Shay ! sent out the report that the fire was under control.
 young man employed in the Union Stock yards discovered a little puff of smoke is- sue from window at the southeast corner of the Wilcox lard refinery at half past 1 three o'clock.
 The room from which the smoke was | pouring is one in which new lard cooling machine was being built There was noth- ing in the room from which fire might be supposed to originate. The young man i'm ! Nyntr gathered about the building and shouted to the forty-tive men at work up stairs that they were Ill danger.
 The building has been used as lard re- tinery for many years and the wood work was consequently saturated with grease. | In an incredibly short time the flames had run up the stairway and elevator shaft, and the entire building was soon in flames. But few of the workmen succeeded in leaving 1 the building by the stairs and the others had no way of escape except by jumping from the windows. Several of them were l fortunate enough to find a rope, which they lowered from the third story window. | Those who went down by this rope escaped uninjured.
 Eleven men jumped from the windows of the second floor. One of these was killed by the fall and two were seriously injured. Others were bruised but walked home
 
 were injured and a woman in a tenement house near by fell from the fire escape of 1 her house, from which she was watching 2 the fire. Her skull was fractured. It was said that six men had failed to escape from the burning building, but at midnight the l foreman of the factory said he believed all had got out Following are those reported by the police as dead and injured: DEAa.
 ci, nF h nue, employed in Fairbanks refinery killed by jumping from second story window
 INJURED.
 JACOB JouNsEN, 543 West Forty-second street, a workman in Fairbanks refinery injured in the spine by jumping from a window.
 CHARLES BROWN, 602 West Forty third street; severe injuries about the head by jumping from a window.
 WILLIAM J. NOBLE, foreman of Eng zine 9 prostrated by the heat while at work at the foot of Fifty-ninth street.
 EDWARD II. ToBlN, assistant foreman Engine B, prostrated by the heat; fell and dislocated shoulder.
 MRS. MARY MURRAY, 547 West Fifty-sev enth street; fell from. fire escape at her resi- dence while looking at the fire; skull frac , tured; will probably die. The New York Fire Department has not been so severely taxed in many years, anC it showed itself equal to the occasion. The wonder is, not that the fire extended SC far, but that it did not go further as in nc [ part of the city do there exist so many in f1ammable buildings, and no where are there so many impediments to overcome il 7 lighting fire.