The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1892-02-18
4 HOTEL BURNED.
A FATAL FIRE IN THE HEART OF NEW
YORK CITY.

Several People Perish In tho Flames and
Many Others Iniured-Leaves His Wife
to Her Fate.-NIanv HeartrendIng
Scenes.
NEW YORK, Feb. IA disaster, ap-
palling in horror, bringing to mind the
terrible occurrences in Park Place, still
fresh in the public mind, occurred in
this city early this morning. The Ilo-
tel Royal, that well-known landmark
which has stood for more than quar-.
ter of a century at the southeast cor
ner of 18th avenue and doth streets, was
burnedtO the ground and large number
ofpeople burned, Suffocated or crushed
in the ruins. At the time of the disaster
there were nearly one hundred and lif-
ty guests in the hotel. The hotel en-
ployees all told numbered lifty-live. OF
this number of people fifteen thus far
have been found dead, six are in the
hospital and sixty-three have been re-
ported alive. One hundred are still
missing. The number of dead will
probably not exceed, at a late estimate,
thirty persons.
The scenes were heartrending andap-
paled even firemen and policemen,
who are used to terrible events Soon
after the fire broke out ambulances ar
rived from various hospitals. Many
physicians, who reside III the neighb0r-
hood. were quickly on the scene and
did all they could TO relieve the injured
Nearly every one OF the one hundred
and twenty four rooms, which che hotel
mas on the five floors, were occupied last
night Dy guests, many OF them tran
silent. In fact all the rooms, save four,
hld been taken at O'CLOCK this morn
ing when Richard MearS, the pr0prle-
tor, went to bed.
When the flames burst forth from
some unknown cause, near the elevator
shaft, the entire building was ins,a ant
~ enveloped in flames. AT 3:05 O'Clock
Mrs. Isabella MeareS, wife of the pro
prletor OF the hotel, awakened her hus
band, telling him the house was on fire.
She heard the CT :ckling of flames
through the creViceS of their door. Mr.
MeareS had only retired at o'clock and
was aroused with difficulty. lie sprang
out of bed and ran into the hallway
Volumes of smoke filled the halls and
the flames were making their way rap.
idly up the elevator shaft. Their apart
ments were on the third floor and forty
lttI from Cn6 stairway.
One glance at the situation was
enough to tell him the story. lie ran
back to his wlfeS room and shouted
Nov you follow me-" snatched up a
coat and again ran into the hall.
way. He fought his way straight to
the staircase, suppOsing that his wife
was close behind him. The passage
was choked with dense smoke which
almost Strangled him. Then throwing
his overcoat over his head to prevent
sufrocation, he bent his head low and
CROPPED his way to the bannistcr, on
which he placed his left hand. The
flames were shooting up from below
His hand which was on the railing was
burned and his hair was singed.
His situation was perilons. To rul
down stairs for two flights meant death
and so he swung himself over hand rail
dropped twenty feet to the grount
floor. He landed on his feet without
broken bone and made his way to th
street. Mr.. Meares was among the frs
to leave the burning building, and wheI
he made his exit he did it before the ar
rival of the first engine.
But even in those few minutes tn
flames had gotten their grip on tn,
fated structure, and the fire was shoot
ing from all the windows of the uppe
floors. When Meares reached safety il
the street then he realized that his wife
was not with him. At that moment
hook and ladder truck arrived. by ail
OF ladders Mrs. Meares and another lad,
were saved with slight injuries.
Before the company arrived, one man
whose name isnOt known, sprang from
a three-tory window and was dashed tC
death on the ground below. People
turned their faces away Mortified at the
sight. This was on the 9Th avenue
side of the building. a moment later
another man leaped from a window on
the 4th street side and was instantly
killed. Shortly afterward Two women
jumped from the windows on the 9Th
avenue side and were dead when pick
ed up. Their dead bodies were taken
to the 30th street station house, and af-
terwards, being unidentified, were re.
moved to the morgue. People dropped
from the windows, or slid down the
ropes, with which every room in the
hotel was provided, and others with
their wits about them used the escapes
to good advantage.
a considerable number of those who
escaped by these means from the upper
stories were badly Scorched by the
flames bursting from the lower will
doWs. One young lady lost a fine head
OF hair in this way, but escaped serious
harm. One young man, who is some
thing of an athelet, let himself down
from window to window, and suffered
nothing worse than a few burns. When
the walls fell people were seen at sew
eral windows on the top floor CRYING
Tor help, but they fell back and were
soon buried in The ruins.
Many incidents Of narrow escapes are
recorded. One man, Mr.. Klein, of IIaZ-
Teton, Ia, an old customer of the hotel,
was aroused in time to get out upon a
lire escape, when the smoke soon com
PEELED him to start downward. The
flames cut off his descent Smoke and
flames prevented his going up the lad
der. His position was critical. Hap
PLY fireman discovered him as he was
almost suffocated, and quickly, though
not without difficulty and danger help
ed him to place safety.
w. II. Sykes, of the Chelsea Apart
ment House, Of this city, prominent
and wealthy man, stopping at the Roy
al, was reused by the flames, and ESSAY
ed to escape from, his room on the third
iloor to the Bryant Park Hotel adjoin-
ING. The 6istonpa hot,poa,, 49, -,