The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-01-02
Thomas Appleton, Jr.; Fanny G. Appleton,
4 Alice Leayitt, Edward silsby, George silsby'
LODGING HOUSE FIRE IN BUFFALO,
Two Persons Burned TO Death--Many
Nsxi

\ BUFFALO, N. Y, Jan. 2, 1894-The cheap
lodging house on Swan street. between Main
and Washington. kept by Lizzie Hackett, was
destroyed by fire at three o'clock this morn
ing. OF the score or more of dodgers two
perished and all of the others were more or
less seriously burned and injured. The dead
are:-Isaac Bradley, lodger; unknown
woman, lodger, burned beyond recognition.
All the injured are at the hospitals.
The fire was discovered at half past two
O'Clock, when flames were seen bursting
from the windows The firemen were
speedily on hand, but the building was a
rool1ery and burned like tinder. Ladders
were raised to the windows and the
firemen bent all their efforts to saving
the inmates The second fisor of the
building was partitioned off into compart-
ments much in the same manner as horse
stalls, and each stall held its quota of
dodgers packed in together like sardines,
some say twenty, some say eighty, In all.
There was no register Straw shavings and
other rubbish formed the bedding, and this
furnished the necessary fuel with which the
fire completed its dearly work 1t
was regular cubby- and the inmates
were caught like rats in a trap. A number
rushed down the stairway towards the rear,
when warned by the smoke and heat, and
were badly burned before rescued by the
fremen. Others, not SO fortunate, or per-
haps stupefied with drink, were paralyzed
with fear when confronted with the sudden
danger, and had to be carried out through
the windows. The firemen did heroic work,
fearlessly entering the blazing rooms
and rescuing those unable to move
themselves Four people were taken out
in this condition, one of whom died before
he reached the ground, and the others seri-
ously burned.
When the flames had been fairly well sub
dued more thorough search was made
through the stalls and the woman victim
was found, SO badly burned that she cannot
be identified. The loss on the building is
about $4,000.
FIRST PERSON TO SEE THE FIRE
The first person to discover the fire was the
woman cook in the kitchen of the Queen
City Lunch Room, which backs on the alley
to the west of the lodging house. She says the
way upward, cutting off all avenues of
escape by the ground floor. Three minutes
from the time she first saw the fire the flames
were leaping from the windows of the second
story Within could be heard the cries OF
men, presumably lost in the smoke and try
ing to grope their way to a window. Suddenly
window burst out, and down into the alley
leaped the figure of a man. He had on only
his rnderclothing, and on one arm carried
the rest of his clothes He was picked up
with his head terribly gashed.
This was Charles Edwards. He was soon
followed by two others, Avery and Russell
Then ladders were raised, and the other in
mates were saved from jumping.
George Wright, a bartender, slept over
the kitchen He says he was avaked, by the
smoke and jumped out of bed, and
pounding on Mrs Hacket's door, awoke her.
He then dragged her out, overcome by
fright, breaking pane of glass with his
hands, and dropped her out of window.
Wright also got out the same way. Both
were severely burned.
W. c. Earl, a waiter, escaped without in
jury He was asleep on the third floor and
was awakened by the noise of shouting
mingled with the cracking of glass in the
windows. He stopped in his flight to
awaken the sleepers on the second floor and
then got out by the rear.
At the hospital at noon the condition of
several of the injured was considered criti-
cal Anderson, Ward, Cross, Van Ever and
Edwards are the worst cases and the physi-
clans have little hope of their recovery. The
others, while being severely burned are not
considered dangerous.