The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-03-02
BIG BUILDINGS FALL.
Showing Flimsy Construction
of New York Tenements.
ONE WAS OLD. The OTHER NEW


New York March 1.-TWO buildings. 0nts
IN course Of construction and one III
course OF desnolition. collapsed In this
city today ard killed four men and fatally
injured or msfmesi or bruised nineteen
Others The first accident occurred about
SD A. N. A house at the corner OF Forty
third street and Tenth avenue. which was
being torn down by some forty labcrers.
feli with q crash. carrying several work
men 10 the basement below, wber they
we're most completely covered by tons
of brick. dry mortar and beams. The
dead are: Hugh Cullen. Anglo Vicar.
John o'connor. John Maiioy. Injured;
Pat Curran. Thomas Acconnon. Edward
Meaney. ~. f. Kelley. Louis Stein. Felix
Moran, Charles Robson The building.
which h an ola one had been used as a
malt house by Nj. h A. E. Schweinfurth
for the asst thirty years. hut II has not
been occupied for more than two years.
The building was eight stories high.
and ran back about sixty-sive feet on
West Forty street. Men were tear
ing down the old structure under dsrec-
fion OF Contractors Hoke and Keegan.
The work had gone on successfully Aun-
III this morning when they had gone as
far as the third floor There were about
eighteen men on the floor at the time
mentioned when suddenly there was
rumbIing noise and the building rocked
as II shaken by an earthquake. In
moment the floor gave way aud fell with
Its human freight 10 the basement carry
ing the other floors with IL. In an i'm
slant every person In the neighborhood.
which Ii filled with tenement houses. felt
that something awful had occurred, and
men. women and children ran distractedly
In al directions. Some OF the cooler
heads turned in the fire alarm and am
bulance calls, which were quickly re-
sponded 10. Assisted by some iaborers
who had escaped and many willing citi-
zens. the firemen began the work of
rescue. Ii was hard and very danger
Gus task as the wallis were totterfng and
the remaining flooring and beams over
head threatened To topple down every
moment. Besides the rescuers had to be
very cautious, fearing that the slightest
careIessncss on their part might end the
lives of some of the injured. whose groans
and cries fer help came from all direc-
tons from underneath the debris. from
which heads. arms and legs projected. AT
O'Clock John OConnor was brought
out. but he died In the ambulance on the
way 10 the Roosevelt hospital. Half an
hour later the dead bodies OF Cullen and
Nicor were found. The rescuers worked
desperately and by / o'clock every one
of the men had been accounted for. Con-
tractors George Keefe and Patrick Kee-
gan were placed under arrest, but were
i4er admitted to ball by the coroner.
4 The second accident occurred at 3.35 this
he aif1
Ing to thafifty men that work near IL. the
central wall 10 the four double tenement
houses being erected at Isl to Isl Orchard
street. crumbied and fell. With the wall
went portions OF four floors. leaving a
great rent fifty feet long and thirty feet
wide In the center OF the building. II was
like pit, at the bottom OF which was a
mass of tangled iron and broken wood
that covered many men. From that
heap In an hour had been taken out ane
man dead and twelve injured. The fire.
men came soon. to be followed by the re-
serves from the Eidridge street police sta
ticn. There were fifty men working on
the four buildings. Most of the men were
on the fourth floor of house No. ISL Be
tween the front and rear OF the house
was a big parti wall. along the side OF
which ran a narrow shaft. Ii was the
parti wall that crumbied In heap the
men went down with the falling floor.
The cries of imprisoned men could be
heard on every side when the firemen
caused alarms to be sent for additional
firemen 10 begin removing the timbers
Ten of the twelve men who were rescued
were gotten out with little trouble.
The contractors. John Cooms and Peter
| Cloves. and the owner. William Lannan
were all arrested. Capt. Cartwright said
| he had made "A careful examination OF tho
building, and said IL was a surprise To him
that the house had stood as long % n
! Gid. The mortar. he said. had been ex.
| anysned by an expert and pronounced
/! worthless. Il was also said that tbs
| bricks were OF poor quality: that the
| beams Were not properly supported. ana
/ that the iron girders were not OF
| stones in the walls as they should be
/ AZ the station. hall for the arrested mor
! was refused, The police tried Ia vass
| to and Building Inspector Timothy j
/ ormsby to learn from him why he has
NOT reported che fiinAsy character of III,
building,