The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-02-25
Bodies Charred Almost Be
yond Recognition.
Seventy Lives Lost in q Nova
ScOtian Coal Mine.
The River at Cincinnati Getting
Dangerously High.
4 Steamers Crew Lost in the English
Channel.

NEW YORK, Feb. 2l.-A disastrous fire
in the cellar of Brooklyn tenement house
occurred tonight and resulted in the death
OF six persons. The house was the five
story brick fiat house Nos. 129 and 13l
Sands-st. The building was occupied by
thirty-two families, who are left destitute
by the destruction Of their homes.
The fire started about p. III. from some
unknown cause in the cellar of No. l29.
Before the flames were discovered they
had reached the dumb waiter shaft in the
middle of No. 129 and almost Immediately
rose TO the roof Three alarms OF fire
were at once sent out, but before an
entrance could be made to the build
ing the fire had cut off all escape
to the ground by means of the staircase.
The whole front OF the building was COW
cred with fire escapes, and most OF the
tenants came out upon them and were
taken down on the ladders which the fire
men raised TO the iron balconies. The fire
did not extend to the second building I'M
ill the upper floors were reached, and
none of the tenants in that hall of the
double fiat lost anything more than their
goods.
Each half had eight apartments on
each floor besides the stories on the
ground floor. Among the tenants on the
fourth floor was John L. Dorney, a
printer. With him lived his wife, Mar
garet Dorney, their four children, his
wiie's sister Julia Griffin and her aunt,
o11
Downey was away, but all the rest of
the family were at home. When they
found that they could not make their es-
cape down the stairs, they rushed TO No.
l29 in spite OF the fact that the flames were
coming up all around them. On the way
up Miss Griffin said to Julia Griffin,
who had two of the children, that
she would turn back to help Mrs
Dorney, who, with the two others
was behind. She did so and was not seen
again until her dead body was found, to-
gether with that OF Mrs. Dorney and one
of the children at the foot of the stair
case leading to the roof Julia Griffin
and the two other children reached
the roof in safety, and by crossing
over they went down through the scuttle
of No. I3I. One OF the children that as
with Mrs. Dorney escaped to the roof but
was so badly burned that his little lieless
body was found stretched on the skylight
on the roof.
On the third floor lived Carl Benedict
and his wife and elghteen-months old
child. and Jacob Benedict, the father of
Carl They, too, attempted to escape by
the roof, but the grandfather and his lit
tie grandchild were overcome at the foot
OF the fatal stairway, and were found be-
side the two women and the child. The
names OF the killed are as follows:
EDWARD BENEDICT.
lis grandson. eighteen months old.
MARGARET GRIFFIN. sixty years old
Mrs. MARGARET DOWNEY, twenty-five
years old.
DANIEL DOWNEY, eight years old
The boy found on the roof
MINNIE pOHNEI. four years old.
All the bodies were taken TO the
morgue. Some of them were burned al
most hevond recognition. All the in
mates except those mentioned were got
ten on. in safety. As soon as the firemen
arrived truck No. 8 was put
up AMI Charles Rickett, John Silk
and Robert McNirnan climbed
the ladder and brought down many of the
tenants, who had crowded to the fire es-
capes at the front OF the building. 1t is
probable that there were more than two
hundred people in the houses The
building was tenement house better than
the average in that part of the city.
The roofs of both buildings were entirely
burned away, and the upper three floors
OF No. l29 were completely ruined. The
loss is estimated at 5000. The people
who were turned out of their homes were
provided for as hest they could be by the
neighbors, who did all in their power to
relieve their distress.