The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-09-04
VICTIMS UF THE FLAMES.
Awful Scenes in a Burning
New York Tenement House.
Nine Persons Swiftly Smothered
or Burned to Death.

OF OuPH6u 10 D6dGH,
Nine persons were burned to death or
mothered by smoke in tenement house at
No. S05 Seventh avenue, New York city, at
5 o'clock in the morning
Flames broke out in the kitchen of a
restaurant in the basement of the building
five minutes before o'clock and swept
through the five stories above the street
with appalling rapidity, at once cutting off
escape by the stairway. Most of the tenants
were in bed when the fire began and the
majority of its nine victims were burned in
their beds. There were a few more than
sixty persons in the building at the time.
Those who were saved climbed from the fire
escapes into the adjoining building
The following is list Of the dead: Glen
non, William, sixty years old, burned to
death; McGeoghegan, Nellie, twenty years,
smothered; Wells, Mary, thirty-one years,
smothered; Wells, Jane, four years, smoth-
cred; Wells, Thomas, two years, smothered;
Lustig, Bertha, forty years, burned to death;
Mckee, William, forty-seven years, burned
to death; Jeffrey, Jane, sixty-fve years old,
smothered.
Unknown woman, forty-ive years, stoutly
built, medium size, fair complexion, smoth-
cred
The injured were: Glennon, William,
eighteen years old, burned on hands and
feet, at the New York Hospital; Glennon,
John, badly burned, New York Hospital
Thirteen families We're made homeless by
the fire. The loss to their property is not
great The flames spent their fury chiefly in
the hallway and spread out only on the top
floor. Less than SO, 600 Will cover the entire
damage done to property.
The building is five-story structure with
q brown-Stone front and stands in the middle
Of solid block Of tenements of the same
character. On the ground floor is John
Snyders restaurant and S. Snyder's fish
store. There was room for four families on
each floor, but the two apartments over the
restaurant and one in the second story above
were not occupied on account of the heat
from the cooking below There were thir-
teen families in the tenement, including more
than sixty persons. At o'clock when the
fire broke out nearly all of the tenants were
still sound asleep.
1t is supposed that the flames were commu-
nIcated from the range when the fire was be-
ing started in it. The awful swiftness of the
blaze strongly suggests the use of kerosene.
There was door opening from the restau-
rant kitchen into the hallway. Perhaps it
was open and so created draft that led the
flames to the stairway. Less than a hundred
feet away, on the corner Of Twenty eighth
Tough, Of the Thirtieth street squad, chat
ting together. The first warning of the fire
came to them in the form of distant yell of
fear and pain. Pausiug in their conversa-
ton, and looking up and down the avenue to
discover where it came from, they saw
blaze at the windows of the restaurant, a
fash across the sidewalk, and at the next in
slant the flames burst from the roof. Their
lurid glow seemed to shine from every win
dow.
Amazed and awed by the sight, the police
men stood an instant undecided. The next
moment the avenue reSounded with their
raps and alarm calls. They kicked in the
door Of the burning tenement only to be
metand driven back By the rush of fire and
dense smoke. That way access and fight
were equally impossible.
The policeman then hammered on the doors
of the house next door, and burst it open.
There were fire escapes-iron ladders, run
ming from house to house. By these, if at
all the occupants of the burning house must
be reached and warned. Before running up
the policeman glanced at the burning tene-
ment. Not head was in sight and not a
human being seemed to be NOV
ing in the building, though tie
a@ss r the Sasa roo 5wsRsy feet IN ou sss
rs the grave But as they held their breath
to listen confused murmur came from
within it that rose and grew into a wild,
frenzied wall of terror and distress, of men
and women and children struggling for their
lives in the terrible death-trap, and perishing
without hope Of help. The terrible cries
sounded in the ears Of the policemen as they
dashed upstairs, broke into the rooms of the
tenants, and running along the fre-escapes
in front and rear smashed the windows of
the burning building with their clubs, call
ing at the top of their voices to the people to
run for their lives. Already the iron bridge
was filed with half-naked men and women,
dragging. frightened children to the shelter
of the adioining tenements.
By this time the firemen had come. Cap
tain Croker with his engine crew Of No. I,
came first. Within fourteen minutes after
the first alarm the reserves of the district had
dozen engines, and half the ambulances of
the city hospitals were speeding toward the
sceneof the disaster
The struggle in the burning tenement had
bean as brief as it was fearful. Not soul
escaped down the stairs. Those who tried
fell on the threshold of their own doors dead
and were found there. The family of James
Kloter, on the floor above the restaurant.
were among those first aroused to their dan
ger. Husband. wife and children slept in the
'front.' room. The parents gathered up the lit
tie ones two each, in their arms and ran to
the front. The flames were leaping from the
front Of the store, and licking the iron of the
6re-escape until it was red hot. Terrified,
they rushed to the rear. 1t was even worse
there. To venture out on the iron bridge was
to rush into the jaws Of death. With des-
perate resolve, the six braved the dangers OF
the front and climbed from the southern cor
uer of the frc-escape over to the next build
ing. The awning under the dangerous bridge
was burning, and two minutes later escape
that way was altogether cut off.
The experience Of the Kloters, was that of
every other tenant who escaped. Frank
Wilson, a night watchman, living on the
third floor, had barely got into the house
when the fire broke out. He fed like the
others by way of the fire escape to the next
house Had not that way been open there
would have been no other but to jump from
the windows. The stairs and landings from
the street tc the roof we're roaring furnace
The roof itself was ablaze, and descent to the
iron ladders was impossible.
The fire burst from the ground floor win
dows famed by the draught it caused, and
reaching outward half across the sidewalk
and far into the back yard.
When the flames were burning fercest, the
firemen stationed on the roofs of every build
ing in the block turned such a tremendous
dood Of water into the burning tenement that
the fire went out as candle that is snuffed.
In twenty minutes men were picking their
way among the smoking, steaming wreck of
stairway and hall, groping in scorched furni-
ture and dripping rooms for. the bodies of
those known to be there Outside half
nude wholly crazed, hysterical crowd
.clamored, wringing their hands and tearing
their hair for father mother and children.
Firemen, policemen and surgeons, whose
ambulances were in waiting at the door,
made up the exploring party. There was
little need of the doctors Nothing that had life