The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-03-15
STORIES OF Survivors,.
Experiences Which They Are Not Likely
soon to Forget.

STORIES OF Survivors,.
Experiences Which They Are Not Likely
soon to Forget.
George ". MoAl0r, bookkeeper at the
burned out store of Horace Partridge & Co.,
says: "As near as can recolleei i've minutes
elapsed between the cry fire and the arrival Of
the engines. yet in that time the whole build
ing seemed TO be in one seething mass
OF flames In the rush from the
building many employees were Knocked
down and trsmped upon. The pitiful appeals
of the young girls mingled with the shouts OF
the men as they strove TO pilot them to place
OF safety, was one Of the most exciting incl
dents in my life. hope never to 20 through
such one again. have no doubt that many
OF the firms employees. who were on the fifth
and sixth floors o. the building, have met with
serious injuries, If some of them are not now
dead"
Jumped Six Stories.
William S. RumilIe OF Dean, Chase & Co.,
says: II first saw a man with his hair literally
singed of his head rushing up the street to the
nearest fire alarm box. / sprang to the door
and saw spectacle that appalled, me. A tor
rent of fame was literally pouring out of the
OF the Ames building. The people inside we're
throwing books dtt of the windows. and men
aud boys from the stores were picking them up.
Very soon upon the parapet, way up above the
street, / saw four men and woman ciinging
to the stone work. There was no such
thing as getting ladder to them,
owing to the net work Of wires.
That is the worst corner for wires In the city of
Boston, and the whole street is in peril from
them. We watched the quartet as they clung
for a few minutes only, while the crowd in the
streets stood in breathless silence. Then the
four. one after another, jumped OF. Down
they came. a hight OF fully six stories, and
struck solidly on the frozen ground. 1t was
horrible. You should have heard the groan
that went up from the throng in the street.
Every one OF the four was unconscious when
reached. aud all must be terribly injured.
There could hardly be n whole bone in their
bodies. | saw two OF them rushed by on
shutter"
They All Jumped.
Francis Galloupe says: 81 was going down
Summers-st.. past the corner OF Lincolnst.. be-
tween 4:25 and 4:30. just as the fro started. l
looked down Linoolu'st and saw a sheet of
flame shooting out hall way across the street
from the sesoud story Of the building in which
the Woonsoeket rubber company is located
One steamer had just arrived in front OF the
building and the hose was being stretched.
men, women ana girls trying TO get out Of
tho upper stories. They were excited.
shouted to them: Don't jump. the ladders
will be here in a minute But they were too
badly frightened. One man jumped from the
second story aud caught Il wire. He hung
there till exhausted, then dropped.
| could not see whether the fall
killed him not / saw another man jump to
the telegraph pole near. lie slid down with
out injury. Several took horse blankets aud
called 10 the frenzied crowds at the windows to
drop and they would cato them. a good
many did this, and though bruised, the
blankets held by stout hands, broke the other.
wise fatal force OF their fall. One little girl,
too timid TO jump, was saved by "A man reach.
ing out for her on his way down the telegraph
pole. a long ladder was brought over
aud, standing on the top of 10,
the fTemsn reached up far they
could aud caught others on their arms.
In "a minute other apparatus came. and the
ladders were put up To save the rest. But they
we're not in time 20 save one man in the third
story. | saw him throwing out books. and he
must have either jumped after them himself
or have been overtaken by the flames. Before
the new apparatus could get TO work the entire
block all Of n sudden barst into flames from
every window. IL sudden that the
steamer which had been playing in front OF the
building had no time TO leave. IL must have
been destroyed, and with the engineer. Lin
colu-st at that place in an instant q roar
ing furnace.
Fireman's- Story.
Hoseman O'Connor of Engine stated to a
reporter that his engine was the fret at the
scene of the conhagration and no was sent to
81. al. A,,ff
save the employees Of the Horace Partridge
concern. Said he; II have been in many
tight place, but wha, have been through to-
night shall remember as long 40 | live.
When reached the second story and had en-
tered the room on the Lineoln-st side the sight
was most pitiful. Men. women and girls, fren.
zied with fear. were struggling 10 reach the
windows 10 throw themselves into the street.
Taking one at a time ! lowered them by
the hands as far / could and
then dropped them into the nets spread for
them below, ct the same time fighting the mad
crowd back from the windows. The cries OF
the frightened creatures were heGrirendinG,
while this men seemed to lose Gll presence of
mind and fought like demons. / think sue
oceded in lowering some twenty-five or thirty.
j should say that there must have been at east
thirty who never came out OF the burning
building alive, although Il Is impossible for
ing tonight"
Landed on His Head.
Mr.. J. c. Young. manager of the Lnriat
manufacturing company, said: I'VE saw one
man jump from the fourth door to the street,
landing on his head OF our employees Miss
Lillian Scott. Miss Alexis Miss Perrins, Miss
R!chard, Edward Lambley and boy are miss.
ING The first smoke came with n distinct puff,
like a flashed iire-eraeker. with hardly any re-
port; was dense. binding and sulocating aud
very hot. The rapid progress OF the flames was
the most marked feature. The smell might hs We
been that of burning rubber. There was no
smell o. gunpOwder." Mr.. Young and his
party escaped without injury beyond a few
scratches from falling glass.
Fourteen Were Killed.
BERLIN. March ia building in the Spru-
del sirasse, Carlsbad. collapsed today which
twenty men were reDairiuQ H. Fourteen we re