New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-08-23
Talks WITH EYE WITNESSES.
STORIES OF THRILLING ESCAPES.
HOW SOME OF THE FORTUNATE, ONES MANAGfp
TO GET OUT OF THE RUINS.

DouoinieL BirIey, cook who employer III
| the kitchen Of PeterseI's restaurant at No. "a
park Place. escaped from the ruins, dressed only
in his undershirt and trousers. lie said There
wore five of us in the kitchen, and we were al
husy at work when there was great crash lU
soered as # the building fell all about US, but we
wore not hurt There was a door from the base
ment into No &c, but it was closed. knocked
IL down and the other cooks followed me out
At the sidewalk we had TO crawl through an open
inc in the wall which had partly fallen"
Blrkey was not able TO give the names OF ti'e
other cooks who escaped
policeman Joseph Back. of the Second Precinct
was at West-st. and Park Place when
the explosion occurred. He ran to the scene to
find the building wrecked and burning ierceIy'
lie said Il saw that nothing could be done
from the front on Park Place, and with Fireman
vredenberg. of the Hook and Ladder 10, went
through a basement on Greenwich-st. we maze
our way to the wall of the wrecked building
with hooks. bars. and axes and made a
hole through the wall through which we TOOK
three of the employees from the kitchen OF the
restaurant We could see others fast In the rulu
but we could not assist them as smoke ana nalle
soon enveloped them"
HE SAW MANY IN THE BUILDING
Jacob Schlesinger employed in the bulldlne OIL
the opposite side of Park Place, said that Iilele
must have been at least 90 persons IN the oulio
ing when the explosion occurred lie sd" hl'een
or sixteen girls at the windows OF heDler
Maasss offices on the third floor just as the Duiu
ing fell His impression that the explosion
occurred in Rosenfelds store.
A. II Jones of No AS Park Place. said that
he was standing at College Place ard Park Place
when he heard the explosion. IL appeared TO nun
like an earthquake Down the street the air was
filled with dust. He could see nothing II was So
dense.
Michael Cranin president of the Volunteer Fire
mems Association, was standing at College flace
He said that the dust was so thick after the eN-
poson that he could not see through it, lie saw
afterward that all of the electric wires had oeen
broken in two and that horses received shocks
One man he saw running from the scene OF the
wreck came in contact with live wire and was
knocked down.
SOME FELL FROM THE WINDOWS.
Frank Burns, of the Photo-Engraving Company,
said that he was in upper window Just opposite
the scene of disaster and that he heard rumDhns
sound. He saw through the dust q colored man es-
cape from the building He also saw number Of
people fall from the upper windows. ana ne
describes it as if they had been blown from the
were the falling walls which fell upon and buried
tho people. He saw two other men beside the
colored man escape, one of whom staggered and
fell. II. c. STALL who formerly was employed by
Liebler & Mass, saw the crash. He said; Il
knew most of the men employed there ana L
recognized one of them as he fell into the street
with the front wall He is Louis Bernard. l saw
him drop with the shower OF bricks from the
fourth story. He fell on the ruins in the street,
scrambled to his feet and got away. lie was
badly hurt and his head was cut They took HIM
TO the hospital Bernard was stOne-grinder
saw some other persons go down in the ruins when
the front fell, but did not recognize their faces.
They are dead beyond Question"
GALLANT RESCUE:
John W. Kelly, OF HOboken, walking up
the north side of Park Place at IL 80 p. m. when
he heard fearful crash. When the dust partly
| cleared away, he saw a man hanging to the part
| of the ruined wall of the building which was
still standing Kelly rushed across the street In
spite of of the cries of the crowd urging MIN 10
keep back, as the walls were falling, and at the
imminent risk of his life and entirely unaided, he
pulled the man, NJ f. Barnard, out of the ruins
and carried him to place of safety. The heroic
man with his burden had not reached the opposite
CuTDbJOHc WHeu u lhIBc palO Va uA@ "NAA 49, 80
| the spot which he had just left
GETTING OUT OF THE PLUMBING sHor.
Frank and William Keagney were the plumb
ers in the basement of No &c. William said that
he and his brother were the only ones IN their
shop at the time Of the explosion, as their men
were all away at work. The Heagneys escaped
without a scratch. They could not tell how the
explosion occurred and were so dazed that all they
20
In regard to the number of customers in Peter
sons restaurant at the time of the explosion, a
letter-carrer said that he in the eating house
three minutes before the crash came, and it was
filed with customers. There were also three wait
ers and cashier In the restaurant and two cooks
and two dishwashers in the basement. The last
four and one of the walters are known 30 be safe.
THEY FLED DOWN TIE FIRE-EScAPE.
F. s. Lindsay of the A. w. Lindsay type
foundry, who was seen for few moments, said
that all the men in his establishment GOT out by
the Greenwich-st. are-escapc.
A MIXED AND MANGLED MASS.
Henry Hoppe, of No. 35 Park-ave., Hoboken,
was passing the building on the north side Of
Park Place when the explosion occurred. lie
said: Il heard loud report, and looking up
l saw the top story of the building on the south
| side come crashing out into the street, quickly
| Followed OS Che otheIs' Amuhg INC hylhs oflchS
| the bodies of men, young girls and boys could
| be clearly seen, all in one mass, pitching and
| twisting, with arms and legs outstretched into
the street. whore all fell In one MIXED and
! mGngled mass
There was passing at the time, Mr.. Hoppe
| said an elderly woman dressed entirely in black.
| When the front of the building came tumbling
| into the street, the poor woman caught by
| the and was with difficulty rescued by some
passerS-by. Mr. Hoppe also said that he noticed
| one man strike the stones in the street Oh his
head, and saw his skull split open, then the body
was buried by the bricks and tmbers from the
| falling building.
Michael Crane, of the Crane Electpotyping
| Company, of College and Park Places, was passing
| through Park Place just west OF College Place,
| when he saw men on the fire-escapes Of his
| building flirting with young women on the doomed
| building. He saw Joseph Werle, who had been
in his employ for twenty years, standing in front
of the restaurant in the middle of the blocl,
| with a glass of beer in his hand taunting his
L11acr 1.ith a