New-York tribune., 1891-05-02
FATAL FLAMES IN A FACTORY
FOUR YOUNG WOMEN LOSE THEIR LIVES.
KNOWS HOW THE FIRE srARTED-THE
PROPRIETOR SEVERELY BURNED.


lnion-ave., three young girls were burned TO
death and another girl badly burned that she
aisd a few hours afterward. The proprietor of
the factory also seriously burned. Follow
ing are the dead: Lille Hammond, nineteen
years old, living at No. Lila Westinghouse. :;
Mamie Lynch, seventeen years old No. 923
courtlandt-ave. Jennie Hartley, seventeen years
oN One-hundred-and-siXty-f and Wash
inrton-avc.; Lottie Horn, fourteen years old, No
o42 Washington.ave.
George Kraemer, forty years old, the owner of
,he factory living at No. 0O2 Union-ave, was
hadlv burned about the head, arms and body.
For two years Kraemer has been engaged in the
manufacturer of fireworks at No. 902 Union-avc.
He lives with his wife and family in a small two
story building fronting on the avenue, the lower
mart of the building being occupied as grocery
store by H. Ratz Il Brother. In the rear of the
dwelling and store stood cluster of three small
onestory wooden buildings, two being used as a
factory and store room for goods, and the tmrd,
in the extreme rear for stable. These three
buildings stood few feet apart the first being
distant from the grocery and dwelling about forty
feet In the first building the work of manu-
featuring was carried on. Ten girls, one young
man, the foreman. and two boys were employed
The workroom was about eighteen by twenty feet
in size
The proprietor Of the factory was found after
the explosion in his house lying in bed, sufern'
intensely from painful burns received iii trying
to rescue Lottie Horn, one of his employees. lie
talked with difficulty. but made the following
statement to the Tribune reporter:
This was my second year in the
business. / manufactured coored fire only
and used no gunpowder / had on hand large
ouantity of material for the manufacture OF red'
green and blue fire, and had about $500 worth
of completed goods. l employed ten girls' theH
ages ranging from fifteen to nineteen years lore
man, William Wakeling, and two boys. 1t was
about ten minutes before 3 o'clock, when l
was standing in the yard between the dwelling
and the factory. that l saw smoke pouring from
the rear window of the factory and heafa
screams of the girls inside l rushed INTO Vhe
building as quick as l could and found the room
filed with a dense and Sutfocating smoke ABOUT
two-thirds the way down the room found LO'ue
Horn. succeeded in getting her out through
window on the north side of the building, and put
her over fence into vacant lot. / sm0thered
the fire in her clothes as best could, and then
ran around to the front of the building The girls
were rushing out in all directions, all of them
terribly frightened. ! asked if there was any one
left in the building. and they said no. ! went
70 the door again and cried, Is any one there !?
There was no answer. and l thought all had
escaped.
Ny God" said Kraemer, as he rolled in pain,
if had known there was any one else in there |
would have gone after them. l had rather have
lost my own life than have had them burned.
What caused the fire ? | can't tell haven't
any idea. / can't conceive of any origin for it.
We used no fire in the shop in any form. and
none Of the materials were explosive. That no
explosion occurred | am positive.
This was ell Mr. Kraemer could say. and it would
have been torture to press him for further en-
planation, which it is doubtful if he could make.
William Wakelng, the foreman of the shop,
lives almost directly opposite the dwelling and
factory. lie is the son of Henry Wakeling,
florist, who does q large business in that neigh
borhood. He is nearly twenty-ODe years old, and
was in the shop at the time the fire broke out.
lie hurried from the building as possible,
according TO his story which follows in detail:
Il saw the fire start in the southeast corner
of the room heard no explosion, either before
or after the fire started. ran out into the yard
and in the rear of the building saw two small
children in baby-carriaee. They had come l
believe TO visit, with their mother, one of Mrs.
Kraemer's children / put the little over
the fence that runs along the place. The next l
knew l found LOttic Horn on the north side of
the building. She enveloped in flames. /
wrapped my coat about her and put out the
fire. She was badly burned. All the rest of the
girls and the boys escaped, except those that were
burned to death Lille Hammond and Mamie
L,9ch were working at q table at the end of
the building, nearly opposite where the fire
started. Jennie Hartley was at the next table"
Wakeling said that there was no fire of any
kind used in the building and that the materials
Sh nit of 81
and pyrites He thought a little gunpowder
was used. KTaemer, however, says there was no
powder in the shop.
Frank Gels, about nineteen years Old living in
the next house at some distance south of the scene
Of the tragedy was in the vacant lot separating
the houses when the fire broke out. His story
is more picturesque than credible lie says that
Immediately after the smoke appeared the roof
of the building blown into the air in frag-
ments. about $50 feet high. lie ran away as
East as he could, he says and declares that ne
heard behind him five other explosions in quick
succession.
An alarm of fire was sent from the nearest alarm
box three blocks away. and three engines arrived
ns promptly as possible. They were too late TO do
any good. and the buildings were entirely con
sumed. The fire is said to have lasted about only
twenty minutes, the dry wooden buildings burning
with great ralddnX.
AS soon as the fire was out search was made
among the ruins, and close together near the
rear of the workshop were found the bodies of
Lille Hammond, Mamie Lynch and Jennie Hart
ley. In the stable the burned bodies OF
two horses, one belonging TO KIaemer and one
70 tie proprietor of the grocery store.
The bodies Of the girls taken to the
MOnlsania Police Station and laid out under
coarse covering OF burlapS in the basement of the
building 10 await the action of the Coroncrs office.
kraemer refused o.be taken to q hospital, and
Lille Horn was also taken 10 her home, where
I Tho slta min "a
Lille Hammond was the daughter of Captain
William c. hammond, sea captain, who is now
away at sea- and is believed TO be at Barbados.
There are three other children in the family The
dead girls grandfather, Captain Edmund Ham
mOnd, an old seafaring man, lives in Washington
ave, near e-hundTed-and- d-sevcnty- y-second-st.
Jennie Iiastley'S father is a rewsdealer. lie is
said 10 be blind.
Mamie Lvnch was the only support Of her