The morning call., 1890-07-19
BRAVE OPERATORS.
CoOlly Fighting Fire in the
Face Of Death.
The Western Union Telegraph Office at
New York Destroyed.
Narrow Escape Of Restaurant Employees
From Frlghtiul Fate-The Service
Badly DiSarranged.
Special Dispatches to The MoRSINs CALL

Epecial Dispatches to THE MoRNISs CALL
New YORK, July Is. - The Western
Union Telegraph building caught fire at 7
o'clock this morning. The distributing
room on the fifth floor, the operating-room
on the floor above, the Associated Press
rooms and the restaurant on the ninth
floor are completely destroyed. Seven lives
we're miraculonsly saved. A few minutes
before o'clock the operators began to ar
rive to go to work, and about fifty men and
young women had reached the operating
room. A messenger-bOy saw puff of
smoke under a table in the distributing
room, the floor below the operating-room.
He scarcely had time to investigate the
cause when the wooden table was in flames
and the fire spread with lightning rapidtv.
As soon as the smoke was noticed Night
Manager Tobin cried "Firev and in
moment all the men in the room jumped
for the hand-grenades which hung about
the walls. Those they began to throw
down the hole where the flames we're. The
contents spiashed cut when broken, and
the liquid sputtered little as it met fire.
That was all the visible effect.
BRAVE OPERATORS.
Hand grenades could not fight fire like
this, and Tobin called a mesSenger-boy to
go down and sound an alarm. As soon as
the boy started downstairs the operators
unrolled a big hose from a wheel, which
was ke pit at the south side of the floor,
always. ready for an emergency of this
kind. They unrolled the hose and Tobin
turned the water on.
1t was pretty good stream, and it looked
at first rs if it would beat the waves of
flame out of existence. But it did not, not
& bit The only effect it seemed TO have
was to make the fire shoot up higner, and
it was noticed the smoke came rolling out Of
the big hole in greater volumes than be-
fore. These operators worked the hose
until the smoke became so thick that they
could not sPe where the fire was.
Three ladies OF the day force who had ar
rived kept cool and the operators worked
like beavers. They soon found, however,
that their efforts were useless. The elevator
man had brought the elevator up to the
fifth floor and the women went in the ears
with some of the men. They began to
realize by this time that the fire was going
10 be more serious affair than was at first
thought
GLAD TO GET OUT.
When the last few men crowded into the
last car they were just little bit fright
ened. As they passed the floor below a hot
wave rolled over them, which made their
throats dry and parched, and rs the car
proceeded down a frebrand fell upon them
anu burned their clothing. When the car
reached the bottom they were all glad
enough to get out. Not until then did these |
meu realize that escape had almost been cut |
of, and II is not on record where men |
worked so hard under such fearful circum-
stances and against Such odds as did these
thirty men.
BY this time the flames had reached the
ceiling Of the distTibuting-roOm and were
eating their way through TO the operating
room, where the instruments that connect
with the wires that distribute the news
throughout the country were located. In
less time than il takes to tell it this entire
floor was abaze and the flames extending
10 the floor above on which the Western
Union COmpany's restaurant was located.
HELPLESS ON THE ROOF.
Here were four men and three women
cooks and walters in the restaurant who
had been forgotten in the excitement. All
exit had by this time been cut off whereby
these persons could escape. They were not
aware OF their peril until the smoke rushed
up tile stairway leading from the operat-
iug-To0m in volumes. One OF the men,
finding no possible means of escape
downward, rushed for the scuttle-hole In
the roof, where the tTap-dOor was pushed
of, and the prisoners climbed TO the roof.
FldlLeS were SNOOtiuB CUT Ol Iilt lTuuL VIII
dOwS, and volumes OF smoke pulled heaY-
onward. When the great crowds in the
streets saw the men and women rush out
on the roof cry of horror Went up, for it
did not seem possible they could be res
cued. The women screamed and wruug
their hands, and men yelled: For Gods
sake do something to save u.s." A long
ladder was placed against the rear of tie
burning building. 1t did not reach within
fifty feet of the roof. Undaunted, how
ever, two tiremen scaled the ladder and
threw rope up. 1t was caught and tied by
one of the brave girls.
The fremen then pulled themselves up
hand over hand until they reached the top,
and amid the cheers from thousands below
they let the seven down in places of safety.
1t was accomplished just in time, for the
flames Immediately burst up through the
cOrnice and soon enveloped the roof and
the tower of the building was caught up by
the flames. The entire upper part of the
building was gutted, and every instrument
and wire rendered useless. How the ire
originated no one seemed to know posi-
lively, but it is suTmised that two elec C.
light wires became crossed and set the floor
ing On fire.
MANY LIVES MIGHT HAVE BEEN LOST.
Had the fire broken out an hour later the
loss Of life might have been enormous.
Fully 200 girls and men are employed on
these two floors. The offices OF the Asso-
ciated Press suffered rather more than any
OF the others in the great building. The
ruin OF the operatiug-room rendered every
Western Union wire on Manhattan Island
useless, so the Associated Press opened
headquarters in Jersey City, and every
facility Is being afforded them by officials
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company,
and before the fire was under control the
various circuits of the Associated Press
were in active operation. No exact figures
can yet be given in regard to the loss, but II
will be heavy.
DThe building of the Western Union had
been for many years one of the great and
imposing landmarks of lower Broadway.
The building is nlled With offices on the five
lower floors, which are occupied by 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
private offices of Jay Gould, Sidney Dillon,
DR.. Noryin Green and others who are
famous through the length and breadth Of
the land.
VALUABLE RECORDS DESTROYED.
All 1OUrs above the sixth were destroyed.
The fifth and other floors below were
age rooms occupied the sixth floor, the op-
erating-room the seventh. the Associated |
Press and part of the bookkeeping depart |
ment the eighth. and on the ninth were the |
Western Union flies. The Associated Press |
loses instruments, type-writers, furniture, |
and all its books, papers and records, dat
ing from 1S45, and valuable reference |
library. The loss is rerarable All of |
the material for the history Of the growth |
Of the press in America, contained in let |
textbooks and filed, was destroyed, and can |
never be replaced. The money value is es-
timated at $3.50, 600; no insurance.
Hon. William Henry Smith, General |
Manager, is personally heavy loser by the |
destruction of rare books and papers, many !
OF which cannot be duplicated. Among !
these were hundreds OF rare pamphlets col |
lected in Europe, which Smith supposed Sc |
cure in this fre-pr0of building. An exten-
sive correspondence of great value was also |
consumed
THE NEW HEADQUARTERS.
survey has been made of the upper !
L L. &