New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-07-26
MEN AND HORSES BURNED
THREE FIREMEN AND OVER 200 HORSES
LOSE THEIR LIVES.
THE STABLES AND WAREHOUSE OF THE KNOX
EXPRESS COMPANY IN WASHINGTON DE-

THE STABLES AND WAREHOUSE OF THE KNOX
EXPRESS COMPANY IN WASHINGTON DE-
sTRoYED IN a FEW HOURS
va.n,rs,on rnlv 25-The warehouse and stables
n, tho George W. Knox Express Company. occupy
ing over a quarter OF block. at Second ana Is s's'
n W. were destroyed by fire early this hoI''"s
Three fremen lost their lives.
over 200 heavy draught horses nearly all OF the
commands express wagons and the contents OF the
large storage building were burned Inc ADAMS
Express Company's stables. ADJOINING 'ne NnoN
building to the north. also nearly consumed
About $50 horses were in the Adams Express NoNi-
panv's stables but all were taken out py 'he MAI
est kind Of work the part OF the ci'zehs anu
poicemen Eight two-story houses In Inc ahe!
north OF the Knox building, and two sman lr"i'e
houses hack of the Adams stables, were desuoyeu'
Six or eight other houses were more or less dam
aged - Ao,.a
Tho boaies Of the following named fremen nave
been recovered: Samuel e. Mastin. Michael feh'o"
and Dennis Donohue -Four hremen were BABY IN
iured and had TO be taken to the Emergehc! h0S
initial One Of the Knox stable employees was burned
and may die Fully a dozen fremen and policemen
were overcome by heat and had TO be carreu u
places of safety.
The fire was noticed at 2:2O O'CLOCK. y Hu'D''
Of men who were sleeping in the Knox puildhs
ao awakened nv smoke They found the entire
rear of the second floor OF the building IN hames'
and had hardly time to escape with their ives
Five minutes later general alarm was turned H.
and in five minutes more the entire flre Depa'F
ment OF the city was on hand
The horses Of the Knox Company could not be
reached There were POS OF them. and they were
on the second story of the building. which was a
seething mass OF flames from the very start Most
of them must have persisted from the terrihc hea'
and from the dense smoke before the flames redcheu
them
The Knox building was four-story structure Vi
first
Of the concern: on the second floor the horses; on
the third and fourth floors hay IN large quantities
and merchandise OF all kinds which had beeh
stored with the company. Another four-stoTy oui!d;;
ing Of the Knox Company, facing in Secondst- ana
connected with the stables separated on1y ny - a
thin. brick wall. used entirely Tor storage PIX
poses II packed from basement 10 I9o. WI
furniture and merchandise Fam,nes mao c S,or
their entire household belongings heie ILL., las US
had left carloads OF supplies mere ana the f,h,
load after load Of incoming ana o occurfe
Shortly before 3 a. the most terrible incident 1I
hose into the burning warehouse through one 90 ,d
large rear doors. This door was ned up Dy WtsB,.ru
When the ropes burned through and the heavy
wooden door fell penning them IN me VIZ VI and
was all but finished when the floors above len WIN
a crash. The immense weight burst 3u, tne 1bps
others were with difficulty dragged out OF the wreck
age alive In about ye minutes sne p1r gave way
filling the wide alleyway but inuring no ong me
DOORWAY almost clear In this clearing lying on
his face his head and right arm exposed Jay as as,
slstant Foreman Mastn. twelve,nch pfaih
across his shoulders had crushed out ms NE aiu
now held him pinned 10 the ground. Ths was apout
30 and it was not until all the topping walls walls
around had fallen hour later. that MS oody coud
he extricated The great beam had 70 De choppe,u
away from over the body before it could be removed
The bodies of Fenton and DOnOhue. the two hrenrh
inou,n ~ he killed were not recovered for hours
II is feared there may be still other bodies IN ue
ruins 1T, -. ,,o ,aarly
gao 900 They are divided Chiefly among the hhoS
Comnanv and the persons who had furniture stored
On The Warehouses The dwellings, destroyed were not
OF great value The Knox Company had an ihsui
ence for about $1,000 but II is believed there was
iittle insurance on the goods storage the rates
charged for the building being unusually hish DIS II
was not considered a safe FISK -, ,rs,.
John o. Knox. one Of the owners Of the nunn i S
Vas thrown from his buggy this morning Whl'e Oh
nc uav 70 the fire and severely injured
60 far as known the heaviest insured loser IN stor
see was Rentanin T. Gable who was insured !or
si5ooo The heaviest so far as KNOWN Is MIS-
ctanlev Matthews widow Of the late Chlef Justice
Who wa insured for $4,000 household furniture