The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1889-08-20
FAT ON THE FLOOR.
AN EARLY MORNING FIRE
AND ITS WORK.
Nine People Burned to Death I'm
a New York Tenement which is
Supposed to Have Been Fired
by a Restaurant Keeper.

a New HOTK AGnehnent "h1ch Is
Supposed to Have Been Fired
by a Restaurant Keeper.
New YORK, August 19.-Early this
morning fire broke out in the kitchen
of the big five story tenement at 355,
Seventh avente. Nine out of sixty odd
occupants lost their lives, and it is
great wonder that many more did not
perish. The dead are: William Glennier,
aged sixty years, burned to death Mel
lie Nichalegan, aged twenty years, smoth-
cred; Mary Wells, aged thirty-one years,
smothered; Thomas Wells, aged two
years, smothered, Bertha Jastig, aged
forty years, burned to death; William
Mckee, aged forty-seven years, burned
to death; Jane Jeffrey, aged sixty-6ve
years, smothered; an unknown woman,
aged sixty five years, smothered. List
of the injured: William Glennier, aged
eighteen, badly burned; John Glennier,
badly burned and injured. The building
was occupied by thirteen families, who
have been made temporarily homeless
by the fire. The flames did not do much
damage in the various apartments, but
burned out their strength in the Railways.
The loss will not amount to more than
$4,000. The fire originated in the rear
of John Snyder's restaurant, and at an
hour when all the people in the house
were sleeping soundly. How the fire
started is as yet mystery; but as the
restaurant cook is missing, it is fair to
presume that the accident occurred while
he was making a fire on the range. The
awful speed with which the flames swept
up through the building, suggests the use
of kerosene by the cook. The door lead
ing from the kitchen to the hall was
found open, and great volume of fire
rolled into the passage, and swept up
the stairway SO rapidly that families
living on the first floor must inevitably
have perished without even so much as
warning. But it so happened that the
rooms directly over the restaurant were
unoccupied on account of the heat, which
seemed to sift through the floor from the
range underneath. Less than half a
block away, on the corner of 2Sth street
and the avenue stood policemen Warner
and Mccullough, of 3Oth street station.
They received warning from the cry of
pain which came from the building, and
looking in the direction from whence it
came, sawa wall of fire beating against
the front windows of the restaurant.
BY the time they realized what the trOu-
bic was, forked tongue of flame shot
out from the roof and lighted up the
ncighborhood; and with their clubs, the
two officers beat on the front door, but
the spitclul blaze shot out and drove
them back. They tried the next door, and
by that way found an entrance. There
were signs of life in the building, and the
officers hurried from one room to another,
rapping on the doors with their clubs,
and calling to the inmates to fly for
their lives. Murmurings at first were
heard; then the buzz of many voices
were finally changed into wall of terror
and agony from women and children
struggling for their lives in the death
trap. The fire escapes leading from the
burning building to another tenement
were rapidly filled up with half naked
people. In the meantime, alarms had
been sent out, and the fire department
was soon at work on the flames and as
sisting the frightened inmates.
The flames wer, eXtinguished easily
enough by the fireman, and all the peo-
pie in the fire escapes were safely landed.
Not one person escaped down the stair
way The names of a few who tried it
are found in the list of the dead, as given
above AS soon as possible, the search
for the dead began. The first body found
was that of William Glennier, The re-
mains were discovered by the side of the
bed in his 'oom, on the second floor.
He had risen to flee with his sons, but
his old legs were not nimble enough and
he perished. The boys were taken to
hospital. They were burned on the feet,
caused by walking on the hot iron bars Of
the fire escape. In the rooms of the
Wells family was sight which cannot
easily be forgotten. In the middle of the
floor knelt the mother, Mary Wells, and
in her dead embrace were her dead chill
dren, Jane and Thomas. They had been
smothered, and no bnrns or blisters
dcfaced the pallor of their countenan-
ccs The nine dead bodies were placed in
an ambulance and taken to the 30th street
station. Coroner Handy has given
friends permits for the removal of the
dead.
Snyder, keeper OF the restaurant in
which the fire broke out, was arrested on
suspicion of being responsible for its or
igin. A policy of insurance for 81, 900
on his stock was found in his possession,
and the employe states he found fat"
scattered over the floor of the restau-
rant.