New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-07-29
BIG Loss Br 4 SUNDAY FIRE.
Az OFFICE BUILDING ~ TWENTY THIRD
ST BADLY DAMAGED.
THE nfu.pING rs NEXT DOOR To- STERN BROS
DHYCooIs STORE. AHp = oWNfp
IY IllA1 IINN

A nve-story Office building IN West Twenty
thlrd-st wncrc IL is numbered - and 30. ana run
ming clear through the block To- West Twenty
sccond-s,.. wnerc II stands six stories high ana
is numbered - and Il. vas almost wrecked by
fire yesterday morning Scharlcs Bros toy
store ani Joaquin q 60. < French millinery show
rooms. which occupied the whole % tho ground
floor. were wipe! out and their loss. al led 10 tn"
losses %: the other occupants of the building. VIII
bring the total up to At least 5000 600 large
crowd gathered. and watched the Work oi the
nrcmen
The upper part of the building Is devoted en-
trely 10 studios and Offices. and when the fire
broke out the only occupant OF the structure was
the night watchman Thomas Kinney lie hah
been Oh duty all saturday night and was about
TO be relieved when he found the fire blazing III
the basement under the sidewalk. on the T~eniy 70
sccond-st. side of The building. Kinney accord
ing L. the story he told the nremen. mad been
through the building al hourly intervals. ana had
lust made his last tour when he smelIed IN"
smoke He changing his clothing at the
time and had only time to run out ana warn
Policeman OPP. Of the West Thirtieth-sL station
before the fire spread and his personal eHects
were lost
The officer turned n an alarm at Twenty
thrd-st. and Broadway. Battalion Chief Croker
with three engines at his command. was on me
spot two minutes later but already the nam
had spread along the ground floor to the Twch-
ty-third-st. end of the building. while on the
TWent -sccond-st. side they had crrpt up an open
elevator shaft and were bursting from every
window from garret 10 basement.
FOUR ALARMS TURNED IN
A second. third and fourth alarms we're turned
in I'm rapid succession. and half an hour after
the fire was discovered sixteen engines We're
playing the flames They already ext"ndeh
from end to end Of the big building. however.
and from the first 1t was seen To be Impossible
% "A
At first the efforts Of the fremen were solely
directed 10 keeping the flames from the great
drygoods store Of Stern Bros. which stands
next door To the wrecked building. Two solid
walls separate the buildings however. and that
work proved to be an easy task When the hre
had been confined It's gradual extinction stli
proved "A formidable undertaking. and It was =
o'clock before the engines could be safely
called away from the scene.
As soon as an examination could be- made, IN"
damage dore by tho flames was proved to he
even greater than had been at first expected
The stock of Scharles Bros. was total loss
and the millinery stock Of Joaquin CO. was
so damaged by fire and water To be almost
worthless The building. which Is owned by
Stern Bros was damaged To the amount of
500 900 On the Twenty-third-st. side the smaller
firms occupying the upper offices suffered almost
total losses. These Were: \. Lincoln. Stadler x
Co. tailors who occupied the second floor: 1sa-
belle Cassidy. manicure the Comstock Art
School and A. Collins. artist. on the third floor:
Little x OConnor. architects. and tie Gas Con-
sumers Association on the fourth floor. and the
Gilbert Truss Company and Offices Of the Wom-
ems Christian Temperance Union. on the top
floor.
THE PEOPLE WHO SUFFER
on the Twenty -second-st. side the damage was
slighter. The firms which suffered there a.
J. Mcintosh & Co. publishers: Samuel French
Son. theatrical publishers: II. V. Lynch. A. w
Grauleb and H. Edwards -PIckin. artists: f.
Harson. manufacturing jewelier: George vassar
Brazier a. Bedell architects. Most OF the losers
1t was said. were insured.