The daily state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 188?-1891, 1890-07-19
WESTERN UNION ON FIRE.
TUEIMMENsE BUILDING OF TIIr,
W. U. L. c., of N.Y., BURNED.
Supposed to Have Caught from Cross.
cd Wires--LOsses and Inconvenience
Very Great.
lBy United Press.l

very tsEcats
lBy United Press.l
New YORK, July 1S The Western
Union telegraph building caught fire at
z o'clock this morning. The battery
room on the sixth floor, The operating
room on tho floor above and the res
taurant on the ninth floor, were COM
plctely destroyed, and seven lives were
miraculously saved. A few minutes be-
fore O'Clock the operators began to ar
rive to 60 to work. About fifty men and |
young women had reached the opera
ting room. a messenger boy named |
Matthews first saw q puff of smoke un
der y table in the checking department |
on the floor below the operating room. |
He had scarcely time to investigate the
cause, when a wooden table was in
flames and the fire was spreading with
lightning rapidity. He pushed up stairs
to notify the new arrivals that the bull
ding was on fire. They We're compelled
to go through the checking department
to - down stairs. u
X panic was the result Of the messen-
gers warning. The young women
screamed and the men rushed pell NELL
down stairs to escape the pursuing
illmes, which in less than two minutes
had spread throughout the entire check
ing i partment, burning up wires, in
struments aud tables as if they were so
much tindcr The entire room, when
tho panic-stricken crowd passed through
il, wds filled with dense sitting smoke.
hey fell over each other in their wild
efforts TO reach place of safety. The
little messenger, with an operator named
Skidmore, were the only two persons
who riained presence Of mind enough
10 take ia the awful situation. The boy
rushed down stairs and out of the build
ing and sent out an alarm, while Skid
moro got down fire eXtinguiSher and
undelvnred to quench the flames. This
lie saw was impossible, and he had to
il3s in very few minutes. The
flames a;e through from floor to floor in
short order. Just about this time it
flushed upon the minds of the frightened
persons who had escaped that there
were seven others on the restaurant
Il ,or who had not been warned of their
danger All exit had by this time been
cut oil, but the imprisoned people sue
coeded in reaching the roof through the
trap door Under the caves of the big
building the flames We're shooting and
The eiifiee seemed TO be crowned with
ire. When the great crowds Of people
on the streets saw the men and women
rush NJ OF the roof, o cry OF horror
Ecat up, ior it seemed impossible that
ser couid c: cape the fire burning be-
iU1ea them and the street. Screaming
e,meu on the roof wrung their hands
H..a tie men cried "for Gods sake do
something to save US"
The first engine had arrived before the
terirying events transpirng on the ROOF
were made visible to the crowd gazing
upward from Broadway. Soon volume
of water was pouring into the burning
building and the sounds of crashing
and breaking timbers was added to the
confusion of the scene In a few minu
ties there were fourteen engines and hool
and ladder companies and q water towe
.on the ground. Water poured in through
the flaming windows and beat down upol
the roof But the flames were stubborn
IN spite Of the tons of water poured upol
them. Still no effort had been made t
sqy, the terrfyed men and women O
the roof, who could be seen like spectre
enyeioped in smoke and mist.
A long ladder was rushed up on tn
roof on Dey street and placed agains
the rear OF the burning building. 1t di
not reach within fifty feet of the roof c
Che telegraph building. Undaunted
however, two fireman scaled the ladder
Leaving it at the top, they threw a rop
to the roof. 1t was caught and tied
one of the brave girls, who seemed nevt
hN,
pulled themselves up hand over han
until they reached the top. and ami
cheers from thousand thrOats from b'
low they let the seven down to places
safety. 1t was accomplished just
time, for flames burst up through tt
cornce and soon enveloped the roof
The tower of the building was caugl
by the flame. 1t was beautiful and
the same time a terrifying sight to 81
the fire shoot out from the wlndoV
around the entire building fully thlrt
feet and blowing back like great tie
tongues to lick the roof of the buildin
Tho entire upper part of the buildil
was gutted and every lnstrument al
wire rendered useless.
At this time the loss cannot be es
mated but it will be great. How t
nre originated Ho ono sochlo W ny
positively, but it is surmised that 7,
of the company's electric light wires
came crossed and set the flooring on I'll
Had the fire broke out an hour later
loss Of lie might have been enormo'
Fully seven hundred girls and men
employed on these two floors.
Reliable particulars as to the fire
the Western Union Telegraph huildis
1875 Broad way, are now obta;nab
James Larreney, wireman, who was
duty in the building was the first to
cover the fire. About the SAFE IL
Mr.. Toben, night chief operator, notlf
an odor of burning rubber, and on lo
ing into a wire shaft leading from
battery room to the operating room
smoke very distinctly. This was I
minutes before 7 o'clock. Two wat
men were supposed to De on duty,
no alarm was given by the
When Mr.. Toben discovered
smoke in the shafts, and descend
to the battery room, he was surpri'
at the great headway the fire had ma
The flames followed the wires, they
Ia, oovared with rubber and paraffi