The evening world., 1893-11-04
IS JAKOB A FIREBUC?
Two Fires Started in His Rooms
in a Tenement House.
Occupants Driven to the Roof bt
Smoke Threaten Him.
Janitor O'Conuor Sides with the
Accused, but lilo Is Arrested.

The fvc-storv tenement 2Oao Second
avenue was twice on fire last night.
Adolph Iakob. one of the tenants, was
arrested. charged with causing the
fire, and locked up in the East
One Hundred and Fourth street sta
ton.
Fou' teen families live in the tenement.
Both fires occurred in Jakob's rooms.
He Is a cement-worker, twenty-three
years old. and unmarried. He has lived
in the house since last April. Until two
months ago he had on of his sisters
living with him, but since she went
away he bNs lived alone. his only COM
panions being a poll parrot and four
Jakob is . Pollsh-Hebrew and speaks
very little English. Most of the other
tenants are liish, and he never asso-
clated with any of them. When the
second fire, occurred there were loud
threats made against him., and he would
h hay ia Jared badly If the other tenants
on J1k 9oo occupies Irbs rear rooms in the SEQ.
10 o'clock last night; At that hour
or Michael O'Connor, the janltor. who !
lives in the front tenement or the same I
floor, k was crying Boss! Boss!
O'Connor ran back and found that ,
n hanging lamp had fallen on to a marble
top table and exploded, setting fire to the
quickly extinguished with a few paile
of water and only slight damage was
done. a
,%,Janitor o'Connor went to bed at II
o'clock. When ne went upstairs he left
Jakoh standing ut the street door. Atf
midnight the house was again thrown
INTO commotlon by the cries of fire.
.Jakob in his night clothes came run.
ming from his rooms carrying his. poll
parrot cage H. banged on the janitor's
jumped out of bed and ran into the hall
to see what was the matter. Heavy
smoke was pouring from Jakob's rooms.
There was much excitement among the
tenants. The smoke prevented them COM
go up, to the roof. where men, women
and children stood shivering in the cold
for some time.
When it became known that the fire
Of violence were made:
Bring him here, the men cried. land
we'll fling him off the roof"
1t was well for Jakob that he kept out
Of the way. The firemen put out thr
flames. 1t was found that the second fir I
originated behind n bureau. A can Off
tubs in the room. Jakoh's Canaries were
suffocated bv the smoke. The police
after making, an investigation, arrested
Jakob on a charge Of arson. The police
claim that some of the furniture was
/ soaked with kerosene.
Assistant Fire Marshal Frank conducted
an investigation during the night. 1t
was learned that the prisoner Is insured.
for $500 in the Home Insurance Company
The police say they have a witness who
saw .Iakob walking around the room
with the kerosene can in his hand shortly
beH1re the second fire broke Dat. =
The prisoner denies that he started tn 4
fire. He said the first fire was caused.
BY the lamp eX3loding. He went to bed
about II o'clock, he says, and waf
awakened an hour later by the screecNa,
ing of his parrot. Getting up. he -four
the rooms full Of smoke. He barely hi
time to get out, carrying the parrot ee
his cage y
.Janitor O'Connor and his wife civ y
Jakob a good reputation. and say the =
do not believe that he was responsible.
for the fires. O'Connor says he smelle,.
no kerosene when he was in Jakob's
rooms after the second fire was put out,
and he believed that a spark from the
first fire. which was improperly put out,
started the second blaze.
Jakub was arraigned on the charge OF
arson before Justice Feitner, in the Har-
lem Police Court. to-day. and at the re-
quest OF Fire Marshal Mitchell. who re-
duired additional time for closer in
vestiga ton, he was remanded back to
the station-house.