Passaic City record., 1893-07-15
A WORLDS FAIR HORROR.
NEARLY A SCORE PERISH IN
A FIRE TRAP.

Tower Cut OF From Escape-They
Leaped to the Roof, Seventy Feet
Below, Only to Perish.
Amid a scene of horror and confusion on
the Worlds Fair Grounds at Chicago finn
silly constructed building erected by the Her
cules Iron Company, used as a cold storage
warehouse and ice skating rink, was burned
to the 81 ound between 2 and 8 o'clock in the
afternoon. As far as was known at midnight
eighteen men were killed and nineteen others
injured. At least eleven fremen, probably
two lemonade girls and four other persons
were killed and about forty persons were in
jured, many of them fatally.
Just how the fire started will probably
never be known. Fire showed itself in the
tower of the cold storage warehouse at
1.30 o'clock. The entire brigade of the
Worlds Fair Fire Department answered an
alarm. Reaching the scene of the blaze,
Chief Murphy ordered his men to the roof of
the building, whence score or more clam
bered up the ladders of the tower to the top
balcony, where, $50 feet above the earth, the
flames wers curling about the cupola.
The grounds were thronged with visitors.
The heavens were blue above. brisk north
wind swept over the park and the gaudy en-
gines and carts seemed but to add to the
holiday appearance of the scene,
"A line of hose was dragged up to the wait
ing iremen on the top balcony. A truck
Captain came to the edge of the roof and
shouted the signal for steamer to begin
pumping Before the order had been trans
mitted to the engineman the fire suddenly
burst through the white sides of the tower,
midway of its height.
The treacherous element had eaten its way
down the wooden siding between the iron
chimney and the exterior until the men on
the balcony were cut off. shout from the
,leI dc frId fhoT,N nf fhair dnn
ger. They had been watching the flames
above them, and discovered those below only
when it was too late.
Chief Murphy himself had led his men on
their perilous climb to the balcony, and when
the fire burst forth below he ordered them to
save themselves. They could not go down as
they had come up, for the interior OF the
tower was roaring crater.
The men of the hook and ladder trucks.
seeing the peril of their comrades, sprang to
their machines, and the big ladders were
slowly hoisted against the roof Meantime
the flames spread with incredible rapidity.
The men worked like troians, but it was al
most instantly apparent that the heavy lad
ders could not be drawn to the roof in time
to save the men in the tower. The poor fell
lows rushed to the south side OF the balcony
and swarmed down the line of hose. Five
men slipped down the smoking tube andthen
it gave way.
y
surged back to the north balcony. rope
was made fast to the chimney, and fireman
started to slip down to the roof, seventy-five
feet below Twelve feet from the balcony
the rope met the flames and snapped, dash
ing the poor fellows who clung to 1t to the
roof.
The calmness of despair settled on the
men still in the balcony. To remain where
they were meant cremation; to jump meant
to be dashed to pieces. Silent and grim the
little band hung over the side of their death
trap, and watched their fellows struggling
hopelessly to raise the ladders. Over under,
and all about them, surged the fire. Not
man lost his head. None shranl back. None
cried out
When every vestige of hope was gone, one
by one they dropped through the sea OF
flames that surrounded them to- the roof be-
low. Strong men in the crowd siclened and
turned away as the blue-clothed forms shot
through the air.
Women tainted as the mangled bodies
bounded up after striking the root. Sixteen
men jumped from the burning balcony, and
as the last one sprang out, the tower,
completely enveloped in flames, tottered and
fell with a crash The burning mass smashed
through the roof, carrying with it the dead
and wounded who had not been dragged to
place of safety.
But tie horror did not end here. Two
minutes after the fall of the tower the entire
roof was ablaze. One hundred men were on
it. So quickly did the fire spread that the
ladders on the east and south sides
of the building were cut off The
only way of escape for the gallant
hundred was down single ladder at the
north end of the building. The deeds of
heroism, of self-sacrifce and courage per-
formed in the few minutes that it took to
clear the roof will never be told.
The able-bodied men rushed to save their
hoI0 fell @,n 1ar al w
broken bodies, the result of the leap from
the tower Every one who was not buried in
the burning debris was lowered tothe ground
by ropes or in strong arms Then the bis
tered heroes sought the north ladder.
About them surged the fire. Flames curied
around their legs, stabbed at their faces and
licked off their moustaches and eyebrows.
But here, as in the tower, there was no out
cry no struggle for precedence. no coward
ice. Down the ladder they swarmed, by
twos and threes and on both sides. The last
man had scarcely left the roof when it fell
with q roar. s
The work of the hospital corps, the Coium.
bian Guard, and the Worlds Fair officials
was admirable When it became apparent
that the fire would be serious, Colonel
Rice established fire lines, and, calling
out the full force of guards, placed Gordon
about the building to hold back the crowds.
The United States regulars, the French ma
rines and the sailors from the Spanish cara
vels were also called into service.
Twenty thousand people saw the horror.
When the tower fell on the unfortunates on
the roof the groan that went up seemed to
shake the skies. Army officers. whose faces
never blanched in the face OF death, covered
their eyes. turned away. and shuddered-
Bearded men cried out. Women swooned,
and children stood transfxed with horror.
The fire was an intense hot one. Firemen,
guards, and workmen about the building
were prostrated by the heat. When the fire
had been burning an hour the Worlds FAN
stables, to the south of the cold storage ware
house. caught fire. Both buildings were COM
pletely destroyed
By 4 O'Clock the fire was under control,
and at 5 the melancholy work of searching
the ruins for the bodies of the brave men
who were lost was commenced.
The cold storage warehouse was not in
any way a part of the Exposition. 1t was
far from all the main buildings in the south
western corner of the grounds, and was
several rods below the Sixty-third street en-
trance
The cold storage building had a capacity
for 600 car loads of perishable provis-
ions. with an Reproducing plant, cap
able of freezing 40 tons each day, be-