Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-08-28
CURRENT AFFAIRS.
THE NEWS IN BRIEF.
Horrible Disaster in New York.

Horrible Disaster in New York.
The Taylor Building In Park Place COL
lapses without Warning and a Fire
Springs Up in the Ruins---JO to so
People Crushed or Burned to Death.
The most terrible disaster in the vicinity
of New York since the burning of the
Brooklyn theatre in ID, cember, 1876, was
that which befell the Tay or building in
Park place last Saturday afternoon. 1t is
not positively known how many people
persisted, but the number is thought to be
from 30 to so. The people were either
crushed to death in the debris, or burned
to death in the fierce fire which followed
the collapse of the building.
The building was five stories high and
had frontage of $50 feet on Park place
and of b feet on Greenwich street The
two upper floors were occupied by the Lie
bier Il Mas engraving establishment, and
on them were eight large Hoe presses and
seven other large presses for litho. raphers
work. There was much other heavy ma
chinery and material in the establishment.
including heavy stones, tons of paper and
great masses of type, plates, etc. The
building was fiimsily constructed and was
condemned Ii years ago. On one of the
upper floors was the L II lsay type foundry,
and on the other floors book binding es-
adjustments, bronze factory, etc. On
the street floor was a drug store and res
taurant.
The building collapsed at 12:3O, at an
hour when the street was filled with hurry
ing men and when the restaurant was
crowded. Many of the employees of the
building, to whom Saturday was half holi-
day, were preparing to leave the building.
First a small, white vaporish cloud burst
from the first floor, then there was a deep.
sullen roar, like thunder, and without fur
ther warning the whole front of the build
ing collapsed, and the street was filled with
mass of bricks, beams, Orders, window
glass and other debris. Almost instantly
the flames burst out and i'm few moments
the space occupied by the building was a
fiery furnace, which seethed and burned
with appalling fury. At least 80 men who
had climbed upon the ruins, hoping to res
cue some unfortunate person, were driven
back. Owing to the crowded condition of
the streets the fire department were slow
in getting to work.
1t was an hour before the flames were
under control and the search for the bodies
began. Intense excitement prevailed, thou
sands hurried toward the scene. and it was
with difficulty that the police kept the
crowd back.
Those who saw the building collapse say
that as the walls began to fall many peo-
pie tried to jump from the windows, but
the walls crushed down upon them.
There was wild rush among those in
that part of the building that remained
standing when the rumble and roar and
crash of the falling walls sounded in their
ears. They did not wait to see what had
happened. Intuitively they knew that some
awful catastrophe was at hand and the
knowledge created panic among them.
Some ran for the stairway, only to be caught
and killed outright, as were those on the
lower floors. There were tire-escapes on
the Greenwich-street front of the building
The first to reach these were Is employees
of the art department of Liebler & Mas
AS they clambered out on the fire-escapes
H. w. Detzler, head of the department,
saw several girls at the windows above them
the windows of the fourth story. ''Hold
on he cried to the others, "help those
girls to get down." Some of the men heed
ed him. They were the brave ones. Others
did not. They were the ones whom terror
had overcome. They scrambled down to
the first floor, crawled along the window
sills, thence to the water sheds, thence to
the elevated railroad structure, thence to
the street. And when they reached the
street they ran away in every direction.
They knew they had been close to a terrible
death, and they wanted to get away quickly.
Those that stayed-the brave ones-called |
to the girls who were employees in Lind
says type foundry to get out on the fire
escape and hurry down. Some of them |
were already on slim ladders There were
eight of them. Three of them tainted |
when they reached the third story and were
caught by the men who were waiting there |
for them. The rest were sObbing hysteri- |
cally. The limp ones were carried down to |
the first story; the others were helped |
down, and from there they were all helped |
down to the firemen who had by that time |
arrived. 1t is thought that in all so per-
sons escaped from the building.
Many pathetic incidents are related in |
connection with the disaster, and on Sun
day the morgue was crowded with people |
in search for missing friends.
1t is stated by those who were nearby |
that at the time of the collapse there was |
an explosion of some kind, but it is gener- |
ally believed that the real cause of the dis |
aster was ramshackle of building, filled |
on the top floors with heavy material.
A similar disaster took place II years |
ago in Barclay street, when IS persons lost |
their lives.