The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-04-26
FIVE WILL DIE.
AN AWFUL PANIC IN A BURNING
BUILDING.
Thirty Women Leap From the Win
dOyvs to Bruise and Maim Them
selves on the Roof BeIow-Crimi-
nal Negligence the Cause.

Montreal, April 25.-W. c. McDonald's
extensive tobacco factory, on Ontario
street, was partly destroyed by fire this
evening. The loss will reach half a mil
lion dollars, on which there is no insur-
ance.
There was not fire escape on the out
side nor any appliances on the inside of
the building for the fighting of the fire.
Even the windows were guarded by
heavy iron screens, presumably to pre-
vent theft. The fire started at o'clock
in the drying-room, and for awhile smoul-
dered. Then suddenly the flames burst
through and a most awful panic ensued.
There were 900 employees in the building,
and more than half this number were wo-
men and girls. The shrieks of the wo-
men as they beat against the iron screens
praying the crowd to do something to
save them, were most heartrending. AS
the flames burst through four firemen
We're on the roof. and for twenty minutes
ladders were found to bring them down.
They were badly burned.
Girls Were Frantic.
The girls were nearly all on the fourth
floor, and were frantic with fear. With
much trouble one of the iron lattices was
knocked on, when one of the girls jump
when she reached the roof of an adjoin-
ing warehouse. In a similar manner the
others followed to the number of thirty.
me ambulanceS were kept busy carrying
the women and girls TO the hospital and
some were driven in cabs to their homes.
so far only one is known to be dead, but
several are believed to be in the ruins.
1t was nearly midnight before the place
could be entered safely, and owing to the
darkness very little work can be done be-
fore morning.
The ASSOcia fed Pracc
terviewed several who escaped. They say
the scene on the fourth floor was beyond
description. When the first rush for the
stairway occurred the paSSage-way was
solidly packed and many tainted and fell
under the feet OF the crowd. Then a mad
rush was made to the Msdnows; but the
which guarded that means of escape.
Manned and Bruised.
Frantic women tore their hands, beating
irons were too strong for their feeble
blows. Death seemed inevitable until Ma
RE Gagnon found a window that yielded
to the determined blows of those who
could get their united efforts to bear This
window overlooked an extensive one-story
warehouse. Without a moments hesita-
ton the woman leaped into the air and
landed on the roof below. Encouraged by
her daring and impelled by the smoke
and flames which were making rapid pro-
gress in that part of the building, other
twenty manned and bruised forms were
piled UP on the warehouse roof. BY this
time the passageway had become suffi-
GENTLY cleared to permit a more rapid
clearing of the building. The work of res
cue by means of fire extension ladders
was soon in progress and many inani-
mate forms were carried out by the fire.
men.
On the third floor where the fire start
ed, the scenes were almost as heart-rend-
ing, but being warned sooner, the opera
there were able to escape quicker by the
stairways. Many were terribly crushed in
the mad rush, but the most serious caSu-
alties were confined to those on the top
floor.
Criminal CareIessness.
Great Indignation is expressed against
the officials whose duty 1t is to see that
the law is enforced in regard to the fire
escape appliances.
From inquiries at the hospitals at late
hour tonight concerning the condition of
the girls injured by jumping from the
windows of the burning building, it was
learned that but little hope is entertained
for the recovery of at least five.
Marie Gagnon, the first girl to make the
terrible leap from the fourth floor to the
warehouse roof, was picked up with her
back broken and cannot live many hours.