Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-10-31
SEVEN SUFFOcATEp.
Thrilling Scenes at q Fatal New York Fir,
-SmOthercd to Death by SMOKE

-Smothercd to Death by smoke.
NEW YORK, Oct. 3l.-Seven people
were smothcrcd to death by smoke in n
tenement house fire at ZIG West Thirty.
second street. Another woman iumped
from thiri-story window and will die.
The fire came suddenly and cut off all es-
cape by the stairways In the excitement
everybody looked only to his or her own
safety, and rushed down the fire ESCAPE.
The following perishcd in the building:
ueorge Friedman, aged years; Levy
friedman, years; Annie Applelat, %
years; Lena Mitchell, 24 years; Mrs Mar
garct killian 20 years; Jacob Killian, her
son, 10 years; George Levy, Mrs Killian's
grandson, 20 years. Lena Friedman,
mother OF the dead children, jumped from
the third d-story window She was badly
crushed and mangled and will die
Seven Families in the House.
The house is a five-story brick tenement,
the ground floors being occupied by n gro
Gerry end the upper stories being arranged
with front and rear apartments. There
were seven families in the house. The
only means of exit for the people is by
| means of stairway, narrow and dark,
|
OF the building. On either side of the
| tenement are houses that tower a story
! above the house which was burned In
the rear of the burned house is little
yard twenty feet square, completely
hemmcd in by the tall tenements. The
| fire was discovered Mt 3 o'clock by passers-
by. When policeman came up the door
| OF the tenement was opened and on the
inside the fire glOwed like torch. He
could see that the stairway was being
rapidly burned away. Still there was not
a sign of life from the people in the tenc-
mcnt
The Inmates Aroused.
To enter the house meant death. The
only hope for those within was in arous-
ing them by shouts in which the police
man was aided by those who had been
attracted by the fire. Suddenly to the
noise of the flames as they burned away
the stairway there was added an awful
cry. One of the tenants in the upper part
of the house had been aroused and stood
at the window of the fifth floor. 1t wa.
Mrs Eberwein, who lives alone on that
floor In another minute there was not q
window in the front of the house that did
not contain the wild and frightened facI
of some man, woman or child, each o
them appealing for aid. The faces in the
windows We're framed in smoke, which
poured forth in volumes.
| Spectators Were Po,verIess.
In the absence of the fircmen, who hat
not yet arrived, the spectators Were power
less TO assist those in the building furthc
than to remind them of the fire es
capcs BY these first one woman and theI
others of the tenants to the number o
twenty reached the ground, descending l.
midst of flame and smoke before the lad
der trucks arrived The flames, which
started in the cellar. did scarcely any dam
age to the ground or second floors, but OF
the third story they spread over the entir
rear portion. There lived the family o
| Nathan Friedman his wife Lena an,
three young children. There were ais
two bourdcrs, Annie Applcat, aged ~ ant
Lena Mitchell, aged 81. Nathan Fried
man was first aroused by the smoke an,
| noise. The room in which he. his wifi
and baby slept, was already filled wit
smoke. Clutching the baby in his arm
and forgetting all else me sprang to tn,
window and descended by the fire escape
I.eaped from the Window.
Mrs. Friedman, too had rushed to
window, but not where the fire escap
was. The escape was but two feet fror
her. but fright deprived her of her reason
Behind her were the flames, twenty -fiv
feet below her was the yard. She lcape
from the window and fell into the rca
basement area and was badly injured
She was conscious. however, and erie
wildly fer her children who We're still i
the burning rooms. The fire was extiI
, | guished soon after the hose Were turne
. | on and though the work of rescue wa
prosecuted with zeal from the instant til
f;rcmcn arrived on the scene, they wer
too late. The Friedman children and til
| two boarders slept in an inner apartment
| The fire had not reached them, but til
= smoke had filled the room and at leus
l three of the occupants had suffocate
n without having awakened to their peril.
= Their Death Was Easy.
o George and Levy Friedman and Len
: Mitchell Were still in bed when foun,
: and the peaceful expression of their fac,
showed they had no knowledge of I'll
death that came to them SO suddenl,
Anna Applcblat was lying dead on I'll
floor. Her face was black. She had h'
dress and shoes on. Evidently she ha
}. been aroused and had stopped to don h
= clothing and had died before she had fiji
|, ished her task. On the fourth floor al.
in the rear were found the remaining vi
tins of the fire. There Mrs. killian,
widow, aged 20 years, lived with her sc
G and George Levy, her grandson. Nh
= Killain and her son We're dead i'll be-
The grandson was on the floor, half W;
to the rear window. Mrs. Friedman WI
conveyed to the hospital. 1t was thougl
she would live but II short time. III
damage to the house will not excc'
5000.
Outlaws Captured.
WAGoxEE, l. r., Oct. 3l.-Capta
Charles Book. commanding squad