New-York tribune., 1889-12-20
FIREMEN HURT.

Eighty-one patients had narrow escape from
terrible death by fire last evening at the Presby-
terian Hospital, at East Seventy y-frstst. and
Fourth-ave. 1t only by the greatest of luck
that there are not thirty or forty dead in the
ruins. The fire was discovered few minutes
before o'clock At this hour nearly all the
patients were in bed. The day nurses had gone
away at o'clock, and the night nurses had got
through attending to the wants of the sick and
giving the patients medicine, and everything had
queted down for the night.
The Presbyterian Hospital is a brick and sand
stone structure, five stories high, with mansard
roof. The basement is used at present as dis
pensary and storehouse for drugs and other prop
erty Of the hospital. The structure is divided by
Railways running through the centre on each floor
On the first floor are Wards Nos. l and ., on the
second floor are Wards Nos and A, and on the
third floor are Wards Nos. and 6. Nos. 2,
and are the surgical wards, and Nos. l, and
are set apart for medical cases. In the mansard
roof there were number of beds that were not
in use, and this part of the building was empty.
On the south side of the building small
tower, at which place large tank supposed
TO be filled with water for use in case of
fire or other emergency. In the hall on the
first floor, between Wards Nos l and ., was an
auxiliary ward, used for children and women pa
tients. On the second floor was a large operating
room, adjoining Ward No 3 on the right.
EIGHTY.oNE PATIENTS IN DANGER.
The hospital has accommodations for 300 pa
tients, but there only eghty-one there last
evening. There were four private patients In
| Ward No. l were ) patients; No. >, patients
No. B. I6 patients; No. 4, II patients
No. 3, 10 patients; No. s, 10 patients
No. Z, A PATIENTS No. s, patients.
The office of the hospital is in Seventeth-st.,
west Of Fourth-avc., and is connected with the
hospital with bridges that the patients may
be taken from one place to another without being
exposed, and also give opportunity for con-
valescents to get air and sunshine. Between the
Office and hospital was the engine-r room, which
furnished heat to the hospital and Offices. The
structure was strongly built, but not fire-proof,
the nurses and orderlies being instructed to be
always the lookout for smoke and flames
The doctors and superintendent had rooms in the
office building within easy call of the hospital
proper.
Between and o'clock last evening George
Coppinger, young who is the night orderly
of wards No. ) and on the top floor of the
hospital, made the rounds of the wards and
found everything in good shape. The
patients were all easy ana some Oh
them were sleeping. lie closed No. 3 and went
across the hall to Ward 6, where he fixed the
windows for ventilation, and took the temperature:
of several patients. This is the surgical ward, and
in it there were several men who required close
attention on account of their dangerous condition.
Ii was nearly o'clock when he sat down by the
bedside of Charles Mcclure, who is recovering
from fractured leg. McCiuire nervous and
wanted some amusement, and asked the orderly
to play a game of checkers. Coppinger got out
the checker-board and soon busly engaged
in the game Smoke came into the ward. but the
orderly did not mind it, as it is common thing
for gas and smoke TO enter the hospital from
the engines of the Central Road. The game went
on, and the smoke became thicker
The patients were not alarmed. but showed
considerable uneasiness, and one of them asked
the orderly if the smoke did not
indicate danger. The orderly replied laugh
| ingly that he guessed the place
was fire. He did not suspect how close ne
was to the truth The smoke did not seem tt
come from any particular part OF the building
but when James AlahOney, one of the patients
told the orderly that little pulls of smoke were
coming through the floor near his bed, Copplngel
thought that it was about time to make an III
vestigatiOn.
\ DENSE SMOKE
q IL. n