The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-11-23
HORRORS OF A FIRE TRAP
Several Fircmen Are Killed at q
Chicago Blaze.
PANIC AMONG FACTORY GIRLS
They Endcayor to Throw Themselves
from High Windows but Arc Re.
straincd--ThriIiine Experience y
OF Louis Fctnc.

Chicago, Nov. GA fire disastrous to
| life an. property, swept through the
| dry "oods and wooden exchange build
| carried through floor and buried un-
| der tons Of ,wreckage from the five
floors above. Four of the men lie dead
but tie fifth was not seriously injured
One girl fell from q window and re-
ceived injuries from which she died. A
dozen other men, women and girls were
hurt or overcome by smoke and many
were rescued from imminent death.
The noperty loss to the building at
215-17. Van Buren, street, and 276-S
Franklin street and contents Is esti-
mated at 100000.
List OF Dead aud Injured.
The dead are: Patrick ]. O'Donnell
lieutenant of engine company, No. 9;
Thomas j. Prenaergast, pipeman; Mar
tin Sherreck, pipeman; John Downs
pipeman; Kate Landgraff, employed In
A. Stern. & company's garter factory.
Among the injured were: Daniel Nc
Nally. ripernan; Olga -,eller, Harry
O'Neil, Nellie Turner, Jonn Bruenhei-
mer.
The. others who were injured were
girls and sp- ctators who were overcome
by smoke but they soon recovered after
medical treatment at hospitals or at
their homes
All the dead and injured hremen were
members Of engine company, No. g
Their captain, Louis Feline. escaped the
awful plunge to death only by hanging
to the sill of the window on the second
floor until released from his perilous po-
sition by firemen on a ladder.
The owners of the burned building are
Kuhn. Nathan Fischer, the cloth
inr firm whose 70 br,,
is at Van Buren, and Franklin streets,
opposite the scene Of death and destruc-
ton. Besides the clothing firm a num-
ber of other firms were burned out in
the IL" shaped building, which was
one of the most fireproof and Ornamen-
tai in the wholesale business district.
The loss on the building is 500. 900,
mostly by insurance. The aggregate
loss of the many tenants is placed at
100000. the heaviest individual loser
being Stern & Beirs, $4,000 wholesale
clothiers.
When the Fire Startad.
The fire started at 9.15 o'clock on the
fourth floor of the seven-story building,
in the garter factory of Stein & Co..
where many girls were at work. They
ran screaming and fainting from fright
from the windows on the Van Buren
street sue Oi t.lt <tii was ~
element and confusion In moment
and the rapidly increasing crowd of
spectators stood gazing upward at
what seemed the impending doom of
scores of working girls. Engines. hose
carts and ladders came to the rescue
with brave flremen, who soon had
scrambled I'D the Are escapes or put
the extension ladders In position to
bring the panic stricken people to the
ground.
The frantic girls were determined In
their half-crazed mental condition to
hurl themselves to the stone tagging.
but were partly restrained by the shouts
the citizens on the street anG the quick
of the citizens on the street and the
quick work of the firemen. One small
extension ladder was run UP under
where the girls We're standing In fear of
double death. A fireman mounted 1t.
But when his feet touched the rungs
of the second section either his weight
or some defect caused the ladder to
slide back to it's original position, bring
ing its top four or five feet below the sill
or the fourth story window.
Terrible Fall Of Two Girls.
Nellie Turner, Kitty Landgraff and
Harry O'Neill made an attempt to lower
themselves so they could touch the
ladder. In doing this they slipped and
fell headlong to the pavement. Cap
tain Hermanson tried to grasp the
dress of Kitty Landgraff as her body
flew past him. but he failed and she
struck the sidewalk with sickening
sound. A few seconds later Nellie Tur-
ner struck the same spot. Three other
girls succeeded in reaching the ladder
by dropping from the window sill.
The flames had now taken possession
of the four upper stories of the building
and at window stood Olga Keller and
Harry O'Neill hemmed in on three sides
by flame and smoke. The frightened girl
stood OH the narrow window ledge,
holding to the sash with one hand. She
was almost suffocated by smoke and
had braced herself as If to make u
leap of q forlorn hope.
Don't jump, climb down to me-
shouted Captain Hermanson from his
perch on the upper part of the ladder
but the girl frantic from terror did not
hear his voice. She was seen to drop
and fortunately her body came within
reaching distance Of the captain. He
seized one of her ankles as her body
turned in the air and the heroic act al
most threw him from the swaying lad
der. Before he was forced to loosen his
hold or be carried down himself. two
flremen below him seized the girl and
carried her down the ladder amid the
plaudits Of the thousands, who were
watching every move In the tragic
scene.
Ernest Stern, Of Stern & company,
said there was plenty of time for all
his employees to reach the street py
the stiarways and elevators. The IAN
itor of the building spoke to the thirty
girls employed in the rooms Of Stern
& Biers. telling them to accompany him
down the main stairway and many did
so. Those who rushed to the windows
Jared badly.
10 Second Tragedy.
Shortly after I o'clock came the Sec
ond tragedy of the fire. The flames
had been practically extinguished and
the firemen Of engine company, No. 2,
were ordered to the fourth floor, in the
rear. to put out any incipient blaze
that might be found. Captain Feline
went to the window on the north side
and was IN the act OF shouting to shut
Off the water when the fatal crash
came. From the top floor came
an avalanche Of timber. flreproof tiling.
ETC., on the heads and on all sides of
the firemen, who put duty before safety.
An immense hole was made in the rear
end of the second floor from the roof
down, greet masses of debris hanging
on the edges OF the opening. A cry OF
horror arose from civilians and fire.
men, mingled with the artillery-like
roar of the collapse.
Captain Fienc clung to the window
sill until rescued and then bravely
Joined the small band Of rcscuers,
whom Chief Swence sent to the debris.
Only one faint voice was heard, that
OF McNally. All the others had prob
ably been killed instantly. After half