The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-02-24
LIVES LOST IN THE PANIC.
VERDICT OF THE CORONER AS TO THE
SURGICAL INSTITUTE FIRE.
He Finds the Ofacers of the Concern Careful
and Attentive to acknowledgements
Were Taken Against Accid snts, but There
Were Some Violations of Law.


Breeder. Irma Payne, Minnie Arnold,
William Ramstack, Mrs. Charles Z. Earl.
Maggie Earl, Mrs. Samuel lazarus, Lottie
| Lazarus, Stells Spiece, George NJ. Ellis.
Kate Strawn, Kate Burns Frank Burns,
Martie Declow and Arthur Bavles. Be-
ginning the Goth of January the hearing
of testimony closed Feb. >, and the coro-
ner and his deputy, Isaac Dunn, spent
twelve days in obtaining evidence and
examining the ruins. The coroner thus
states in his verdict:
have issued many subpenas and caused
| them to be served upon persons named
therein, such persons as | had reason to be-
| lieve might have some personal knowledge of
| information which would aid me in arriving at
/ fair and impartial verde. in these cases.
/ Knowing the extent of the disaster and the
widespread interest that would likely be given
/ to this inquest and the general desire of the
! public to know and have kept in tangible
shape all information possible, took the pre-
caution to obtain from the county commissioners
/ authority to employ stenographer to take
/ down the testimony given during the inquest
and have testimony written out in long hand,
so that any person who felt so disposed might
read the same and thus have an opportunity of
/ examining the basis of my conclusions herein.
| Besides the persons subpRnaed | have exam
| ined every person who came forward and asked
| to DE heard, and In addition to eye witnesses
l have examined experts as to the building aud
| facilities for exit therefrom.
| Owing to the many rumors and chargesin
| the public press have given this investigation
wider scope than my strict official duties re-
| quiFe. but thought during the investigation,
and still think, my course proper and right
/ under the circumstances. The loss OF life is
unprecedented in the history of our city and
| determined that every avenue of light as TO
/ causes and responsibility in connection with
| the disaster should be opened to the public
/ view without favor or partially. Every can
| did mind who will take the trouble to read and
| study the evidence in the record In this cause
\ will, l think, admit that no effort or pains on
my part have been spared to get all possible
/ light upon the subject matter of the inquiry,
and confidently submit thar my conclusions
are fair and impartial deductions from the evil
dence.
The national surgical institute, owned and
managed by Horace r. Allen and
| Charles L. Wilson. occupied
threse.stOry brick building fronting
the corner OF illinois and Georgia. and a three
! story building on lllinOis-st., and in addition
| some one and twO-stOry buildings back of
/ those buildings. On the night of the 21st of
January, 1892, about twenty-five minutes of II
| o'clock a fire was discovered on the first floor
of the Georgia st. building in what.was known
| as the circular ROOM" This room was about
| fourteen by sixteen feet aud contained shelving
| upon one side and one end upon which were
pamphlets, circulars end other stationery. etc,
used by the prOprietors Of the institute.
| The fire, after its discovery, spread
rapidly through the front and upper part
of the Georgia-st building and thence
to the west end and finally before il was ex.
tinguished destroying the roof and rooms upon
the upper floor of the fOur-story building stu
ated at the corner of Georgia and Illinois-sts.
The building on Georgia-st. and the four-story
building on Illinois and GeOrgie-sts. were con-
nected over or across the alley separating the
two buildlngs) by two bridges which were built
of wood and covered over. That the FIRE burned
rapidly and soon enveloped the front and all
the floors of the Georgia-st. building, and from
that communicated to the corner building
principally by leGpng across the alley is readily
seen by the fact that the roof OF the corner
building was the first TO catch and was com.
pletely destroyed while all the floors in the
corner building remain firm. That some fire and
smoke passed through one, the south bridge, is
clearly apparent from the evidence and an in.
spection of the building At the time of the
fire there were lodged said buildings pa
1 tients and nurses TO the number of $50 or 800.
The patients occupied the third floor of the
| Georgia-st. building. and the second, third and
| fourth floors of the corner building. Most of
| the adult patients were able to get about with
| out assistance, bu. a few were not. The first
| floor of the corner building was occupied as
business rooms, and the first floor of the
| Georgia-st building was occupied by Offices
| drug rooms, lecture room, operating room and
treatment room. The balls upon all the floors
occupied as sleeping apartments in the corner
| building are straight and sufficiently wide to
accommodate guests upon such floors, and
have means OF exit at or near each end of the
halls. The halls in the Georgia-st. build.
| ing were wide. and had large stairway near
the center leading down to the first floor
n all fha Rid - L..
corner building. There was on the Georgia
st. building front at the end of the hall an iron
| fire escape on the outside of the building
reaching from the roof to the top OF the first
story. and at the back end of the hall on the
third floor were two rope FIRE escapes attached
| 10 the ceiling and just above the window
| situated at the end of the hall. In addition
| there were rope fire escapes in each room on
| the third floor of the GeOrgia-st. building. On
| the outside of the corner building there were
| two iron fire escapes extending from the top of
the first floor to the roof of the building, one of
| which was located on Illinos-st. at the ends of
all the halls running east and west in that build
| ing, ana another near the center OF that build
| ing and on Georgia-st. In addition rope fire
| escapes were in all the sleeping rooms upon
| the fourth floors and the front rooms on the
| third floor. Back of the corner building are
| two-story buildings with gradually slanting
| gravel roofs, which roofs are easily accessible
| from many of the windows in the back part of
II
upon the outside leading to the ground in rear
| of buildings.
| At the back part of the Georgia-st building
there is large skylight in a roof some twelve
| or thirteen feet below the third-story windows,
and over these skylights was placed wire
netting Near the front part of the Georgia-st.
/ building, about four feet below one of the win
| dows, is a roof upon which exit from that part
of the building can be easily made. From the
| buildings embraced In the fire there are eight
| exits by stairways, in addition TO the exits by
roofs of adjoining buildings. At the time of
the fire there employed at the institute
about sixty persons in the capacity of officers,
attendants and servants all of whom appear 10
! be, and think were, sober, intelligent and
| well informed as TO their duties In the
i secretarys office, the first floor of the
| Georgiast. building was at the time of the fire
| and had been for several years q watchman's
electric detective clock. This clock had con-
nections in the end of each hall in each build
| ing occupied by lodging rooms, and ct such
stations was an alarm bell that when the key
was inserted rang sufficiently loud to be heard
| distinctly in all Of the rooms on that floor
| Among other employees of the institute was
night Waterman, who was duty from 8
o'clock in the evening until 6 o'clock in the
morning, whose duty II was to make the rounds
of the building every half hour and ring the
registered ia the secretary's Office. This clock
| was examined every morning by the secretary.
aud it appears from the evidence in the record
that such clock showed that the present
Waterman has for a period of over seven
1 It. \ =. r -