Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-09-01
Metropolitan Opera House in New
York is Completely
Quilted.
Lady Dies Of Her Injuries, and
Five Persons Are in
Serious Condition.
Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars
LOst-AccOmt Of the Con-
fia9TatiOn.

New York, Aug. 27.-One person was
killed and five others more or less Sc
yerely injured in the METROPOLITAN
opera house fire today, and it is feared
the search of the ruins will add to the
death roll.
The killed and injured so far as
known are:
Mary Ellen Hanly, so badly burned
that she died shortly after; Morris
Stack, injured internally, will probably
die; W. D. Sperly, badly injured;
Mary Guinniso, burned about the head:
Jacob LeWesser, head badly injured by
falling wall.
The young women at work in the
building We're rescued with difficulty.
The cause of the fire is not known.
The damage as near as can be estimat-
ed, is S250.OOO on building and S15O.OOO
on contents. The heaviest losers are
Belt, Butler & Co, wool and fur mer-
chants.
New YORK, Al. -Four fire-sig-
nal alarms were sent out about $50
o'clock this morning for an outbreak
of fire at the Metropolitan opera house,
at Thirty-ninth street and Seventh
avenue.
1t is reported by telephone that the
whole of the Seventh avenue side of
the Metropolitan opera house is al
ready destroyed by fire. Five alarms
have been sent in.
The fire started in the rear part of
the opera house and that part of it will
probably be total loss. 1t is hoped
that the front part of the structure
will be saved. A call for an ambu-
lance has been sent out from the scene
of the fire.
LATER.-It is now learned that the
fire started poa: the stage in the Sew
enth avenue side and quickly spread
through the whole building. The
structure was completely Quilted and
will be total loss. One man, scene
painter, was badly hurt and removed
to the hospital.
The Metropolitan opera-house fire is
spreading to the Gedney house. There
is another large fire in a cloak-manu
featuring esta blishment at Prince and
Green streets
Four regular and several special
alarms have been sent out to cover the
opera-house. The fire is raging and
the entire building is in niger.
While the Metropolitan opera-house
was burning four alarms were sent out
for a fire at Spring and Wooster streets,
in the dry goods district. This fire, it
is now telephoned, is beyond control.
The loss can only be guessed at this
writing. It will not exceed $500, 200
and proba bly, a great deal less tnan
that. 1t depends on the extent of dam
age done in the wings to the right and
left of the stage, which are as yet OBJ
structed Whatever the loss it is COW
cred by sufficient insurance to protect
the company. Directly under the stage
the scenery vas stored. Of that, as OF
the stage itself, there is not Shred
left that could be burned.
1O:I5-Fifteen fremen are reported
killed by the falling of q wall at the
| fire at 1923 Wooster street.
Over one hundred persons were in
| the building when the fire broke out
| and many were injured in escaping.
Many are missing, but the number OF
dead cannot be learned until the firms
occupying the burned buildings call
| the rolls of their employees. There is
| little doubt. however, that a number
| of Young women were cut off from the
stairways by the rapid advance of the
flames and persisted.
! So fast did the fire spread and so in
adequate were the means of escape that
it is a wonder that half of the persons
caught in the building did not perish
| The building where the fire started
was an old one, the walls Of brick were
thin and came down with a crash as
soon as the fire gained good headway
| inside. One of the iremen was caught
under the first wall that fell and wa:
severely injured, and several other:
went down under mass of brick anC
mortar after the fire had been got I'm
der control. The latter have little
chance for life, if they are not already
dead.