The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-07-19
THE WESTERN UNION
Building on Lower Broadway is
Burned.
SOME VERY NARROW ESCAPES.
Heroic EndeavOrs Of the Employees to
Smother the Fire-The Retreat
Through the Flames.

NEW I ORk july lS.-Ihe Western Union
telegraph building caught fire at o'clock
this morning. The distributing room on
the fifth floor, operating room on the floor
above, the Associated Press rooms and the
restaurant On the ninth floor were COM
pletely destroyed. Seven lives were mi
raculously saved A few minutes before
O'Clock the operators began to arrive to
go to work. About fifty men and young
women had reachpd the operating room,
when messenger boy saw puff of smoke
under table in the distributing room on
the floor below the operating room.
AS soon as smoke was. noticed Night
Manager Tobin cried ''fire, rand in a mo-
ment all the men in the room jumped for
hand grenades, which hung about the
walls. These they began to throw down
the hole where the flames were. The cor
tents splashed out when the glass broke,
and the liquid spattered little as it met
the ire and that was all the visible effect.
Hand grenades Could not fight a fire like
this. Tobin told messenger boy to go
down and send in an alarm. AS soon as
the boy started down stairs the operator
unrolled the big hose wheel, which IS kept
at the south side of the floor always ready
for an emergency of this kind. They un-
rolled the hose and then turned the water
on. 1t was psetty good stream and
1t looked at first as if it would beat the
waves OF flames out of existence. but it
did not bit. The only effect it seemed to
have was to make the fire shoot up higher
and it was noticed that the smoke came
rolling out of the big hole in greater
volumes than before. The operators
worked the hose until the smoke became so
thick they could not see where the fire
was. Three ladies of the day force who
had arrived kept cool and the operators
worked like beavers. They soon found,
however, their efforts were useless. The
elevator man had brought an elevator I'D
to the fifth floor and the women went In
tn the cars with some of the men.
they began to realize by this
time that the fire was going to
be more serious affair than at first
thought. When the last few men crowded
into the last car they were just little bit
more frightened. AS they passed the floor
below hot wave rolled over them which
made their throats dry and parched and as
the car proceeded down firebrands fell
upon them and burned their clothing.
When the car reached the bottom they
were ali glad enough to get out. Not until
then did these men realize that escape had
almost been cut off, and it is not on record
where men worked so hard under such
fearful circumstances and against such
odds as did these thirty men.
by this time flames reached the
getting of the distributing room and were
eating their way through the operat-
ing room, where the instruments that
connect with the wires that distribute
the news throughout the country are
located. In less time than it takes to tell
1t this entire floor was ablaze and the
flames extending to the floor above on
which the Western Union company's
restaurant was located Here were three
men and four women, cooks and walters in
the restaurant, who had been forgotten in
the excitement All means by this time
had been cut off whereby these persons
could escape. They were not aware of
their peril until the smoke rushed up the
stairway leading from the operating room
10 volumes. One of the men, finding no
possible means to escape downward.
rushed for the scuttle mole In the roof. The
trap door was pushed off and the prisoners
climbed to the roof
The flames were shooting out of the
front windows and volumes of smoke pulled
heavenward When the great crowds on
the streets saw the men and women rush
out on the roof, a cry of horror went up,
Tor 1t did not seem possible they could be
recovered The women screamed and
wrung their hands, and the men yelled, :.For
Gods sake do something to save us.n A
long ladder was placed against the rear of
the burning building. 1t did not reach
within fifty feet of the roof, but undaunted.
however, two tiremen scaled the ladder and
threw rope up. 1t was caught and tied by
one OF the brave girls. The firemen pulled
themselves up hand over hand until thew
reached the top. and, amid the cheers from
the thousands below, they let the seven
down to places of safety 1t was accom-
plished just In time, for the flames imme-
diately burst up through the cornice and
soon enveloped the roof. The tower of the
building was caught up by the flames
The entire upper part of the building
was Quilted and every instrument and wire
rendered useless. How the fire originated
no one seems to know positively, but it is
surmlsed that Two electric light wires be-
came crossed, first setting the floor on fire.
Had the tre broken out an hour earlier the
loss OF life might have been enormous. !
Full seven hundred girls and men are EN-.
ployed on these two floors.
The offices of the Associated Press suf-
fered rather more than any of the others in
the great building. The ruined operating
room rendered every Western Union wire
on Manhattan, island useless, so the Asso
ciated Press opened headquarters in jersey
City. Every facility is being afforded them |
by the officials of the PENNSYLVANIA rail
road company, and before the fire was un- |
der control the various circuits of the AS
Soclated Press were in active operation |
NO exact figures can yet be given in re-
gard to the loss, but it will be heavy.
The building of the Western Union had
been for many years one of the great and |
land mari S of lower Broadway |
The building is filled with offices on the |
i've lower flools, which are occupied BIZ |
some OF the greatest railroad magnates in !
the world. The vast system of the Pacific
railroads is operated through instructions
given from the Western Union building.
and there are the private offices of jaw
Could, Sydney Dillon, Dr. Norvin Green
and others, who are familiar through the
length and breadth of the land.
AllapoVe the sixth floor was DESTROYED
the fifth and other floors below being
soaked with water. The battery and stol-
age rooms occupied the sixth floor, the
operating room the seventh, and the AS
ISOLATED press and part of the bookkeeping
department the eighth. In the ninth were
the Western Union files. The associated
Press loses instruments, typewriters, fur
niture and all its books, papers and records.
dating from lS45, and valuable reference
library. The loss is irreparable. All of
the material for the history of the growth
OF the press in America was contained in
letter books and files DESTROYED and can
never be replaced. The money value is
estimated at $4,000; no insurance Hon.
William Henry Smith. general manager, is
q heavy loser by the destruc-
ton of rare books and papers, many of
which cannot be duplicated. Among them
were one hundred rare pamphlets collected
in Europe which Smith supposed secure in
his fire proof building. Extensive CORES
pondence of great value was also con-
sumed.
a survey made of the upper portions
found cables and pneumatic tubes intact |
and they will be soon available for use. !
General Eckert, vice president of the
Western Union, is of the opinion the loss
to that company will not much exceed one |
dr.od hon xIolls,