The evening world., 1894-05-01
SAVED BY A FIREMAN
Foreman Reilly Takes Mrs. Wright
from q Burning Building.
Claim that the Flames Started in
an Ice-B0x.
May Seem Ridiculous, but II Is the
Fire Fighters Statement.

There was a fire early this morning In
the three-story brick tenement at Pl
West street. 1t caused great excitement
in the neighborhood, CAV an opportunity
to a fireman to prove himself a hero
and DID $1,000 damage. The fremen insist
that the flames started in an ice-box In
the s..loon of John j.. keenan, on the
ground floor.
The place was closed at 1890 O'Clock
this morning. Just thirty-six minutes
after that the fire was discovered by Po-
liceman Owen Burns. The flames were
OF that peculiar blue that arises from
burning alcohol. There was but little
smoke, the flames darting in a thousand
little tongues from every part of the
store.
Burns turned in an alarm and then
started 70 wake up the tenants. The first
floor IL occupied by two families, James
Powers. a %truckman, with his wife. and
Michael Heating, a car driver. with his
wife and two children. The policeman
was forced to break in the door of Keat-
lng's rooms.
1t took SO long to rot the people
that the flames had burned through
into the hallway and filled the house
Wv SiiicihN NioiS 'iNs "NhS AN"'y ~
flee.
When Heating started down the
stairs with one OF his children In his
arms, the rest followed like a flock of
sheep.
Terrified by flames and smolie. they
got blocked on the stairs. and IL 1t had
not been for the firemen they might
have been Suffocatcd.
IN the top fioor Policeman Burns had
even more trouble than he had OF the
other. There are also two families
there.Patrick Fcency. with his wife and
two children. and Dennis Wright, with
his wife and one child. Both men work
| 'lOngshorc.
When the policeman broke into
Feeney's room Mrs. Feeney. thought he
was a burglar; She uttered a pierclns
shrek. and clutched her husband by this
hair. Feeney broke away from his
wife. jumped from his bed. and reached
ner of the room. The policeman rar
into the hall with Feeney after him
The policeman yelled "Fire!' once
Feeney saw the smoke and understood
the situation.
The wild cries of the Feeney family
nwoke Wright. Soon the Feencys ant
Mrights were scurrying DOWNSTAIRS II
Mrs. Wright, who is III. had been for
gotten. Wright wanted to return to hi.
rooms, but was prevented by, the fire
a aien This ih tgm en' s1I ahl Lo che sm pulse'n pon wei
- Nhiif h-hiN "hi ''es thAh'fhN l''2t ~
from the first-story windows, and tn,
flames were eating their way from thu
ground floor upward.
The front of the building was lost t
sight by reason of the smoke. Suddenl,
n gust of wind swept 1t clear for n!
instant. Then Mrs. Wright was seel
standing before a window OF the thir'
floor.
Foreman Reilly. who had arrived witt
the first truck, ordered a thirty-five
foot ladder put up to the window, a
the same time yelling to the womal
Lines had been run into the building
The alarm had also called the two fire
at the foot of Charles street, and thei
When the ladder had been raised. an,
before it was fairly placed, Foren,a'
Reilly was on 1t. Up, he went, tw
rungs at a time. until he was opposlt
the window at which Mrs. Wright stood
Mrs. Wright is a large woman, an
was not only Ill. but very much fright
ened. h wanted to argue with tn
fireman. But Reilly had no time to talk
He graspcd the woman about the walls
lifted her bodily from the window OF
onto the ladder and descended through
the curling smoke.
In half an hour the flames were eS
tlnGuished. When the firemen reache
the building they found the flames burr
ing flercest near keenan's ice box in tn
rear Of his place. From that the
judged the fire had started there.