Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-08-30
VICTIMS OF THE FLAMES.
Awful Scenes i'm a Burning
New York Tenement House.
Nine Persons Swiftly Smothered
or Burned to Death.

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 It's nine victims were burned in
their beds. There were 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 a list of the dead: Glen
non W!lham sixty years old, burned to
death; McGeoghegan, Nellie, twenty years,
smothered; Wells, Mary, thirty-one years,
smothered; Wells, Jane, four years, s1noth-
cred; Wells Thomas, two years, smothered:
Lustlg, Bertha, forty years, burned to death:
Mckee, William, forty-seven years, burned
to death; jeffrey, Jane, sixty-fve years old,
smothered.
Unknown woman, forty five years, stoutly
built, medium size, fair complexion, smoth-
cred
The injured were: Glenron, William,
eighteen years old, burned on hands and
feet, at the New York Hospital; Glennon,
John, badly burned New York HOSPITAL
Thirteen families were made homeless by
the ire The loss r. their property is not
great The flames spc-- their fury chiefly in
the hallway and spread out only on the top
floor. Less than $40 900 will cover the entire
damage done to property
The building is a five-stOry structure with
broWn-stone front and stands in the middle
character On the ground floor is John
Snyders restaurant and S. Snyder's fish
store. There was room for four families Oh
each floor, but the two apartments over the
restaurant and one in the second story above
were not occupied on account of the heat
rom the cooking below There were thir-
teen families In the tenement, including more
than sixty persons At 5 o'clock when the
fire broke out nearly all of the tenants were
still sound asleep.
1t is supposed that the flames were commu-
nlcated 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 a 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
street. stood Policemen Warner and Mc(Tul.
Tough, of the Thirtieth street squad, chat,
ting together. The first warning of the fire
came to them In the form of distant veil OF
fear and pain. Pausiug in their converse
ton, and looking up and down the avenue tt
discover where it came from they saw
blaze at the windows of the restaurant,
flash across the sidewalk, and at the next in,
slant the flames burst from the roof Then
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 THEN
raps and alarm calls. They kicked in the
met and driven back by the rush of fire and
dense smoke. That way access and flight
we're 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 i'll sight and not a
human being seemed to be NOV
ing in the building though the
flames blazed twenty feet in the
air over the roof. Outwardly it was quiet
as the grave. But as they held their breath
to listen confused mrrmur 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 dGath-trap and perishinp-
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 fiFe-escapes
in front and rear smashed the windows of
the burning building with their clubs call
ing 1t the top of their voices to the people to
run for their lives. Already Inc iron bridge
was filled with half-naked men and women,
dragging frightened children to the shelter
of the adjoining tenementS.
By this time the firemen had come. CaD-
tain Croker with his engine crew of No. l.
came first. Within fourteen minutes after
the first alarm the reserves of the district had
responded 10 general alarm call WIN q
dozen engines, and half the am5ulanCsS of
the city hospitals were speeding toward the
scene of the disaster.
The struggle in the burning tenement had
been as brief as it was fearful. Not a 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
ire-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 COT
ner of the tire-eScape over to the next build
ing The awning under the dangerous bridge
was burning, and two minutes later esca pe
that way was altogether cut off.
The experience of the Rioters, was that o.
every other tenant who escaped. Frank
Wilson, a night Waterman, living on the
third floor. had barely got into the house
when the fire broke out. He fled, 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 to the roof were q roaring furnace.
The roof itself was abaze, and descent to the
ron ladders was impOssible.
The fire burst from the ground floor win
lows, famed by the draught it caused, and
reaching outward half across the sidewalk
and Ear into the back yard.
When the flames were burning 6ercest, the
6remen stationed OF the roofs of every build
ing in the block turned such a tremen8ou,
hood of water into the burning tenement tina