The evening world., 1894-07-30
ROASTED ON A ROOF.
Nicholas Ennis's Clothes Set on
Fire by an Electric Wire.
Mortified Crowd Looked HeipIessIy
On from the Street.
Finally Rescued by DIR. Hugh Kid
der, of the Ophthalmic Hospital.

Michael Ennis a tin roofer, OF 800 East
Fifty-tifth street, narrowly escaped being
shocked and burned to death by con-
tact with a live electric light wire this
morning.
Ennis was repairing the roof over the
private entrance to the New York Oph-
thalmic Hospital, at Twenty-third street
and Third avenue, when suddenly the
crowd of curious on-lookers saw his
body stiffen out after a convulsive shud-
der. Smoke Issued from his clothing at
almost the same instant
The widest excitement was caused.
and a crowd of at least one thousand
quickly gathered and ran aimlessly
about. shouting, gesticulatlng. but max
ing no effort to rescue the man whose
life was being rapidly Slapped by the
deadly current.
DIR. Hugh liidder. who Is connected
with the hospital, threw up the window
directly over the cornice roof to ascer-
tain the cause for all the excitement.
He had scarcely got his head out before
his eyes, following the curling lines of
smoke ascending from below, saw the
body of Ennis, whose shirt was fairly
ablaze, and the flesh on his chest and
left arms was beginning to sizzle.
The doctor drew back from the win
dow as II to call for some one to assist
him in dragging the unconscious man
from the network OF wires.
Hugh Kelly, one of the men in the
crowd below, divIning the doctors pur-
pose, rushed up the steps, three at a
time: He is strappins young fellow,
and in his excitement seemed to be pos
sessed or giant strength.
Kelly leaned out OF the window and
touched the rigid PROSTATE body of En-
mis-. He jerked mis- hand away with the
rapidity of one who had unconsciousIy
touched with his finger tips a red-hot
iron.
Then DR.. Kidder reacned down and
Kelly also took hold, and together they
dragged the nearly dead man through
the window.
While this scene was being enacted
some one had turned in fire alarm
but before the apparatus arrived all was
over. save the telling and retelling OF
the story to new arrivals by those who
One of the spectators told an Even
ing World" reporter that Ennis was
first shocked to death and then almost
were SO badly shocked by touching
Ennis's flesh that they were nearly rem
dered UNCONSCIOUS.
Both Kelly and DR.. Kidder felt slight
shocks, but they suffered no Ill effects.
The ambulance surgeon from Bellevue
who attended Ennis stat ted before taking
him to the hospital that he thought he
might recover.
At one end of the little roof there Is a
switch and a network of wires The
current was turned on and one of them
had been stripped of it's insulation. En-
mis-, In leaning over, touched his throat
to this wire and was instantly rendered
helpless. 1t is believed that he must
have received a shock of 500 or 800 volts
as he stiffened out instantly, and would
have fallen to the sidewalk, but for a
proje citing sign which saved him from
slipping off. He is ffty-five years old.
his LETT arm, throat and breast were
badly burned, and his shirt was nearly
destroyed.
The lneman who was sent to in
spect the wires after the accident, re
fused TO make any statement.