Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-10-14
FIRE IN A JAIL.
Exciting scenes in Baitimore-'rhe
City in Darkness

Exciting Scenes in -Baitimore-'rhe
City in Darkness.
At $50 O'Clock last night Baltimore was
shrouded in comparative darkness. The
Brush electric works. Monument and Con-
stitution streets. had stopped running The
gaslights were still burning, bat the rays
which came from them seemed to thicken
rather than tighten the darkness A shor,
interval elapsed and then the city was H.
Illuminated with a glare so bright that a
newspaper could be read on the streets
The Brush electric works were on fire and
the wind was blowing a gale.
The Illumination overspread the sky 90
rapidly, so alarmingly, that nearly every
body who was out Drawing the storm forgot
nud and ran toward the. scene of the fire.
Ihen came great clashipg along the
streets. as engines and hook and ladder
companies dashed by at full speed.
The fire at the electric works sent up
showers of sparks, which flew In every drec-
ton and produced a panic among the people
who live in the vicinity. They were all at
work getting thei- goods in order for a hur-
rfed stampede as soon as necessary.
Not far from the electric works are the
city jail and the state penitentiary. Nobody
thought they were in danger at first, but
when the wind began to blow great showers
of burning fragments In the direction of the
jail CONSERVATION seemed to reign. Sudden
~ shout went up. The jail is on fire, the
jail is on fire. The building had become
ignited and frantic efforts were made to put
out the flames, but In vain. The fire went
from point to point quickly, and soon one
wing was so ove-spread by the flames that
its destruction was sure.
Then came the worst of all. Smoke filled
the corridors and cells. prisoners begged
piteously to be released. deputy wardens
rushed from place to place unlocking the
iron doors and trying to keep the prisoners
together so that none could escape. The
smoke was so dense that 1t was binding
and sunocating. The poor creatures who
had not been reached by the wardens who
were unlocking the doors screamed in ter
ror. Some tore their hair out by the roots,
some battered their heads against the walls
Of the cells. some fell upon the floor in a
faint, while others-notably the colored pris-
oners-lost their wits and began to shout
and laugh and sing. When their doors were
unlocked they were taken out and carried
to the lawn on Buren, street front. where
they were laid upon the grass and attended
by Drs. Hill, Geer, Wood and other physi-
clans. Those of the prisoners who could
stand were in groups on the lawn talking
incoherently and looking as II they Were
crazed or else stealthily moving about look
ing for a chance to escape. The injured
were afterward taken to the hospitals in
patrol wagons.
Many of the prisoners in their mad frenzy
jumped from the tiers to the cement floor Of
the basement and received painful injuries
To the spectators the officers of the jail ap-
peared unequal to the emergency and stood
helplessly in the main corridor. Fortunate
ly for the prisoners Police Marshals Frey
and Farnan arrived to assist Warden Con-
stantine's men. Pat-olmen were stationed
along the walls of the jail to prevent the
prisoners from escaping. When the doors
were opened the terrified prisoners made a
break for the front gate. They We're held in
check by a squad of patrolmen and deputy
wardens and made to stay alongside the
Buren, street wall.
On account of the fire at the electric
works the fire department was slow in get
ting to work on the Jail fire, and the entire
roof of the south wing was ablaze before
they had water on 1t. In the meantime the
entire Jail building had been filled with
smoke and the prisoners in the north wing
shrieked for help so loudly that their voices
could be heard above the roar of the flames,
which were consuming the south wing.
Strenuous efforts were made to relieve them.
but 1t was 1890 O'Clock, one and three
quarter hours after the. fire started, before
the last man was carried out
The prisoners on the lower tiers were re-
leased without much difficulty. The upper
tiers. however, were filled with dense smoke,
alike dangerous to prisoners and rescue-s.
Assistant Chief w. NJ. Dunn and Capt.
Shipiey of No. truck company braved the
DANGER ana opened nearly all the cells on
the top tiers, at the risk Of their lives. As
sistant Chief Dunn was overcome by smoke
and sank to the floor before half the cells
on the upper tier could be opened, and be-
fore he could be carried out of the building
Capt. Shirley fell across him.
Caused by Crossed Wires.
The fire was caused by the crossing and
coming into contact with each other of the
electric wires, blown together by the storm
that was raging at the time. AS stated, the
upper part of the works was of wood, and
1t was here the wires came out of the tower.
Coming together the wires ignited and then
set fire to the woodwork.