Connecticut western news., 1890-02-05
DEATH BY FIRE.
Two More Boston COnflagra-
 tiOns and Loss of Life.
An Italian Tenement and the yMagnifl.
 cent Sears Building Burnt.
The Destruction of the Former Causes the Loss of Eleven Human Lives-Terrible Scenes-Total Loss on Sears' Building Some oRBO,OOO.

Not since that awful night In July, thirty four years ago, when nine persons were burned to death in North street, has Boston known a counterpart in point of fatality comparable to that of Sunday morning, Feb. ?. Midnight had just lapsed when alarms from three different points ill the North End betokened the bursting out of the flames at the dwelling house No. 259 and 261 North street, one of the crowded tenement struct- ures in that section.
 The shocking summing of the disaster is that eleven persons were quickly burned to death, and nine others were injured.
 The scenes which occurred among the in- mates were of the most exciting description: There was no way for them to get down, and as they ascended to the attic the flames fol- lowed swiftly upon them. The flames then covered nearly the entire front of the build- ing. Shrieks of terror, groans of agony and cries for help filled the air. Men, women and children filled the windows and piteous'y pieaded for help; some of the more venture some even hung from the windows with only slight hol on the stills. Ladders were hur- riedIy raised, lines of hose quickly run off, and "pipe" from the chemical engine was rushed into the flaming mass. In ten min utes the fear of personal safety had subsided. Then the search for the dead began.
 It was not until after the fire had been practically extinguished that the interior of what was then but shellcould be examined.
 Ghh nv the ta
 
 | o'clock, and with difficulty ascended to the upper floors. The stairways from the street l to the second floors were completely burned away, and on the second floor little of the | once crowded tenements was left. When the Chief and his companions reach ed the upper floor of the building sight that mortified as old veteran in terrible scenes as he is met his eyes. Under one of u e windows crouched human form, burned to a crisp almost, the cinder-burned face bearing the avid of the laSf and with the tVt | ms clasped together as in an attitude of | prayer.
 | The flames had died down, soaked with water, and the uncertain, wavering geams of fire disclosed the next moment sight more terrible than the first. In other parts of that top floor were seven other human forms, | recognizable as such only by their shape, covered with cinders and ashes, naked, and disclosing limbs that had been torn asunder by falling parts of the building.
 As to the origin of the fire, serious sus- | picions have been raised that it was the work of incendiaries, and indeed it is stated that when the street door was burst open the smell gave strong in Iications that the stairs and floors had been saturated with oil. The police have decided on a thorough investiga- tion.
 Sears building, which has stood for twenty years at the south corner of Washington and Court streets, was ruined by fire Sunday morning, Feb. 2. The flames appeared al- most simultaneously In the basement and in the upper stories, and though nothing on that point can be stated with certainty, it is be- 1ieved that they originated in or near the boiler room, and leaped upward through a roof on the fifth floor had been completely destroyed and the ruins had fallen upon the fourth floor; tn" basement and first floor, es- pecially in the rear, had been badly damaged had suffered severely from both causes. Though the outer walls below the fifth floor are still sound the interior of the building Is practically ruined. The total loss Is upward of $25O, ,OOO, four-fifths of which Is on the building itself, and the insurance on the building is $15O, O,OOO. More than fifty institr- tions and individuals are forced from their offices. .
 The disposition of forces by Chief En- gineer Webber was quickly made, as he was from the basement to the roof through i've story building which covered a very large area. The critical point was Young's Hotel, which abutted on the rear entrance of Sears vent the destruction of that welLknown house. So fiercely did the flames beat against the walls of Young's Hotel that at one time it seemed impossible to stay their progress in that direction, but endurance and pluck enabled the firemen to stop them in the building in which the fire originated. al though the walls of Young's Hotel bore marks of the serious struggle. The new Ames Building on the opposite side of Court street was good fighting ground, and some of the best work of the day was done from that po- sition. In an hour and half after the de- partment was summoned all danger was passed, and the only thing remaining was to actually subdue the fire on the different floors ard leave the building in safe condition. To do SO required several hours, and it was just $40 o'clock when Chief Engineer Webber or. dered the Gall out" to be given.
 The Sears Building was erected in 1868 and 1869 by the trustees of the estate of Josh ua Sears. The present owner is MT. J. Montgomery Sears. It was of five stories above the basement, with a depth of about 15O feet on Court street and frontage o1 about 54 feet on Washington street, widening to nearly 80 feet in the rear.
 The Assessors books at the City Hall show that the building was assessed for S190, 400 and the land for $9OO 300. The building, it is said. cost about $30O, O,000, and the walls after the fire are intact. These facts, taken in connection with the losses by the tenants, indicate total loss of about l S210 000