New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-04-16
KEROSENE ON THE STAIRS.
A CLEARLY INCENDIARY FIRE IN WEST
NINETEENTH-ST
THE FIRE SCARE IN THE UPPER WEST SIDE
POLICE THINK THE FLAMES HAVE BEEN
STARTED BY LUNATICs-ARREsT
OF THREE SUSPICIOUS


STARTED BY LUNATICs-ARREsT
OF THREE SUSPICIOUS
CHARACTERS
The Fire Marshal and the police VINO nave pee"
making n careful investigation OF the suppoSeu III
ccnd,arv fires which have occurred so lreaue"''s
In the upper West Side OF the CITY nave "'ou'
come TO the conclusion that some iunauc mas p'e"
resnonsble for the fire plague. They remember "
,r,,s ~ nres which occurred several years ago III
the hosp,tal Of the New-York Society for the henei
OF me Ruptured and Crippled at heNhs'o''
and Forty -second-st. and the discovery 'hai d IA.
,,o cr,pplcd girl had started the fires. When iary
caught she admitted that she had started 'he '''S
,,caues eha wanted to sec the hre-erSncs come
still later there were several fires In tenement
house in Ffrst-ave. and the ponce caught s
hoy who admitted that he, too, had ehJoyc' ''i'
fun OF witnessing the arrival or the engines IL -
nrobabe the police declare that some child or othor
person whose mind is perverted has been setting
fire N the houses merely for amusement Thry
argue that there must be a motive for every such
crime and they declare that there mas been 'ounu
no proof of plot to steal or to s"ndie the III
sur.,c. commands Detective Sergeant McCuskey.
who has been directing the affairs OF inc De'ecu'c
Bureau lately. said yesterday:
Detective Sergcants Titus. Evanhoe and Valley
have visited all the nathouses which were on nre,
and have made n careful investigation. Ih'y aiSg
have conferred with the iircmen any nave cohCIuueI
that no combusibles had been used IN starting 'Ge
rnbbcr,es that are SAID 10 have been committed while
the nres were in PROCESS ana ing IN" one 'n report
OF robbery has been made at this bureau. me
ppehiy investigated the reports also and have heen
unable learn that there were any roneercs some come
fusion. but found them again.
Acting Captain Cooncy on Sunday instructed all
his patrolmcn be specially vigiant. ana Try an
dxrs their posts. number OF ceHar d"prs OF
nathouses were found open. ard were secured late
at night.
The residents of Columbus-avc. between Nine
ueth and One-hundrcd- and -hfhst.. werc scared by
a fro in Yee Lees laundry. No. e21 ColumhusaVe.'
ut l:i5 a. M yesterday but the police thought that
| Are was accidental Acting Captain Cooncy traced
the cause OF the flames 10 an overhea'ed stove IN
the rear OF the laundry. which set fire 70 guam
| tity OF waste paper which was piled against IL.
| The arrest OF three suspicious men In To VI
| entity OF the fires. the polio" think. VIII Ie"'
10 soma important discovery. and tho policemen on
| tho post have received orders 20 arrest any one
| who IA seen to act suspciously or is unable 10
| give a satisfactory account OF himself.
| Thomas Fitzpatrick. John Ryan and John Mur-
phy the three young men who "'r" arrested on
| suspicon on Sunday afternoon IN the nciShb"r-
hood OF tho recent supposed incendiary fires. were
arraigned before Justice Wcl1c In the Harlem TO-
| lice Court yesterday morning.
Fi,zpatrick was found At a. m. on sunday
| morning In the hallway ~ the large apartment
| house on the southwest corner Of Nin"ty-iith-sr
| md
| one Of the tenants he refused TO co. but hnaIly
| rushed out pursued by the tenant and H. f. Daly'
I who owns the building and occupies one OF tho
| apartments The fugitive ran through Ninety
| afth-s, and would have escaped II he had not
| been intercepted by Policeman Rockwell VINO was
na,rorg Columbus-ave. At the police station
| Fitzpatrick said that he was twenty years old'
| and that he lived in one hundrcd-and-sec-
| ond-st. but he aferward stated that ne
| lived in North Second-st. Williamsburg wen
| arraigncd In court yesterday morning ne
| maintained logged silence. and Justice Welde
| ,ordod him Detect Sergeant Valley took
| charge % him and led him of to Police Headquar-
! ,ers. Nothing could be learned from the police
| men and from the rather mysterious manner III
| which tho prisoner was handled 1t was believed
| that the police had connected him ana Il number
| OF confedcrates with the hres.
About G o'clock Sunday morning fohcemah
| Million saw RYAN and Murphy try the basement
doors OF several private houses In Ninety hith-s'''
| bet ween Columbus and Amsterdam avcs'' ana nj
| rested them. They told the officer that they nau
| appied at the basement doors for something 20
cat At the police station they said that they were
| drivers for Mr. Kerrgan. a contractor. ana slept
in his stable No. 2o West Ninety sixth-st An ON
Ger saw Mr. Kerrlgan who said that the men ana no,
work him but that they belonged to bs s1n5 Of
| borhood Of his stable and were troublesome, ,
he In ,v sGng at No HyiS s E %sG hTe
phy who Is nineteen years old. persisted IN SNiihs
nosmrmIied The pri.oners without bail for examna
lion today and directed the officer to make thor
'@ The fire plague after doigIng to the East SIDE
on Sun s G hgn early ycserday morning In
this howeyer hite hys''ofy hn meme
Of of the flames and the nremen as soon as they
arrived found vnmstakablc srgns or hrcpus oP
aratons on the stairs and in the two rooms on the
ton Hnnr where the fire broke out there were pools
Of blazing kerosene and the rmaes nan bforc
4 O'Clock when all the tenants were asleep. mri1
FIVE f1 1nhn yns an ine op ana me
ments o. Kelly family. Above them On the ,cc 0IS
and and his family ON the third floor are Mr. sarah
DAVIS her daughter ana son. ,s ' on5 hi. Wife
All the tenants are co0red a., o s ubcr
p1 he nis, lone Of the West Twentieh-st sta
ion who had seen flames bursting from the win
Get out quickly down the stairs the house Is or p,
at the qp o the o peopG in s an Srm at tn
nearest irebox The hremen were quickly on ,r tn,
ana soon had tns gan nGT into b house
/ however was a pool OF Kerosene root square baH
nre " was ont more traces OF kerosene were founC
all the way up the stairway, and In Adams's NAT
had evidently been sprinkied ali over the rooms
The door of the hat had been locked but sna,
was open. showing how the incendiary had got "
After putting out the lames which did only $40
damage. the lremen found a beer can which ma ma
house II was a gallon can. and instead OF beer. IL
| last contents had been kerosene. They handed th
can to the police. and II p now In the West Tween
tieth-st. station being kep, there as valuable
| piece OF evidence for the Fire Marshal ,
This IL not the first time the house has been IN
subject of the attentions OF the firemen At Christ
mas there was a fire among the fuel bins In I'M
cellar which the engines had to be called out u
extlngush Four days later Are discovered u
the hallway late at night but 1t was discovered u
the tenants before any damage had been done
, Both these fires were regarded OF incendiar!
origin. but the motives q tae ncenl.ary was
mystery 10 the tenants. They are all poor people
| and none OF them 50 far could be learned. hav
any insurance on their possessions. The house u
insured The agent who looks after leasing Ut, th