The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-08-27
FIRE ESCAPES NEEDED.
Very Few to be Found on
Buildings in This
City.
KINGUSSIE FLATSAM0DEL
If Structures Already Up Will Not
Support the Weight, the Future
Nay be Provided For.

A great many people and one or two
Aldermen do not think there are enough
arge office buildings and tenement
houses In the city TO warrant the passage
OF Alderman Salinger's fire escape ordln-
ance OF one like it. They argue that it
would put upon builders aud property
owners an unnecessary expense. and
would be exceedingly unjust. For the
purpose Of learning whether they were
right or wrong, / started out yesterday to
inspect number OF the largest buildings
in the lower section Of the city, which are
crowded with people day and night.
Before leaving the Weldon Building in
which the office of THE JERSEY CITY
NEWS is located I made a tour of the
structure. | saw no fire escapes any
where. From the roof l saw that the
roofs of the neighDorin2 structures were
thirty feet below--some Of them more In
the centre OF the building is an elevator
constructed in the usual fashion, with a
stairway winding around IT,
There are also stairways at the east and
west ends of the building. In the cellar
is an engine and boiler and an electr ric
light plant The wires run all through
the bullding Tne building is heated by
needed In any of tho offices. Ii is busy
hive of Industry by day, though almost
entirely desertei at night. There was
slight fire on the third story early in 1859.
NEAR THE FERRY.
Taylor's Hotel next attracted my atten-
tion. With the transient and regular
boarders and the help, about seventy peo-
pie can be found in this building at any
time, and frequently it shelters fye
times that number.
On the east end of the building, at the
second floor, an iron balcony extends
from the front to the rear Of the building.
The building is ave stories high and this
balcony is the only thing that represents
a fire escape. The building has number
of exits.
Adjoining Taylor's Hotel is Spitzer's
Home Made House. 1t has no fire escape.
1t is never occupied by less than fifty per-
sons.
Steup's Hotel is another building which
has no fire escape. The only rear exit is q
doorway on the first floor. In the rear OF
this block there are a number OF frame
buildings.
Then comes the City Hotel and the
First National Bank building. Both
buildings are devoid of fire escapes and
during the day it would not be hard
matter to find fifty or sixty persons in
each building. The bank building has
an elevator aud stone stairway leading
up the centre. but the structure has no
rear or side exit. 1t is regarded as abso-
lutely fireproof. however. The Jersey
City Hotel has one fire escape.
SOME HAVE, SOME HAVE NOT.
On the opposite corner stands the Full
er building with It's vast number of Of
fees. The owners of this building are
better prepared for fire than their neigh
bors, as there is fire escape in the rear
of the building leading 10 the yard.
- rol ahNVR knllAF
building, is without fire escapes. 1t night
ly shelter from seyenty-tive to one hun
SGefling's Building at Green and Mont
gomery streets, Is without nre escape
Across the street. diagonally. stands the
big Commercial Building. which has no
fire escapes.
The Second National Bank Building
and the Fleming Building. at the intersec-
ton OF Montgomery and Washington,
have no fire escapes. Each has one stair
vay with an exit on Washington street.
The Fleming Building mas already mad one
fire experience when the twenty tele-
phone girls on the top floor were rescued
with difficulty.
The Arlington flats. adjoining the
Academy of Music, has many tenants but
no fire escapes
MODEL FLATS.
Mr.. McKenziels Kingussie flats are pro-
escapes from every floor leading into a
court In the centre of the building,
from which it is easy to reach the street.
On Morris street. tho scene of the re-
cent conhagration, where so many lives
were saved only by the promptness OF the
firemen, stands the same old tenement
repaired. There are two hundred or more
people in the double house, and at the
Are there last January some persons
Jumped from the windows. while others
escaped with their lives. because police
men. unmindful of their own danger,
rushed in the suifcating halls and cluboed
the men back, so as to allow the women
and children to get out. One man was
suffocated. No fire escapes have been
placed on the building
There are hundreds of other buildings
that attention could be called to which
need fire escapes but have them not
There seems TO be excellent reason why
a practical, common sense hre escape
ordinance should be adopted in this city.