The Dickinson press., 1895-01-05
NOTED HOTEL BURNED
THE DELAvAN HOUSE IN ALBANY,
N. T., IN ASHES.
Several People jump From the win.
dows and Are Fatally Injured, and
1t IL Feared That . Namber OR
Guests Are In the Ruins.

Albany, n. Y, Jan. 1.-The Della
van house, that famous hostelry
known from Maine to California, the
mecca of politicians and the center of
all big state political events for forty
years. was completely destroyed by
fire last night. 1t was $40, and the
political headquarters of both Mr..
Fish and Mr.. Malby, candidates for
speaker of the assembly, were filled
with politicians and newspaper men.
State Factory Inspector Connolly, who
had been IN tho lobby with number
OF peGple, started to come up the ele-
vator. He remarked that he smelled
smoke, and suggested an Investigation.
Before it could lie begun there were
cries of fire from different parts of
the house simultaneously. The out.
burst Of flames before al. alarm could
be given to arouse the inmates of tue
rooms was something appalling. Up
the elevator shaft there shot a solid
column OF flame, up the staircase near
this shot another column. As the
mass Of white-hot fame reached each
OF the five doors 1t brancl,ed out into
tongues Of leaping destruction and it
seemed as though the whole interior
OF the structure was seething mass
Fortunately the guest list was not
very large and the majority of those
registered were politicians and were
down on the second floor where Mr..
Fish and Mr.. Malby had headquarters.
There was a rush for the stairs in
the front and tho servants stairs in
the back where the flames had not yet
reached, anl in u few minutes there
was q tumbling mass Of humanity
coming down. Those on the two upper
floors could not avail themselves Of
the stairs for the flames were rushing
through corridors, and people on the
streets who had noticed the flames,
heard the crash Of glass and saw
figures come tumbling out Of the win
dows. Mrs. H. A. Foakcs of Cleve-
land and B. 4. Heilman jumped from
the windows and were fatally injured.
Several others were badly burned.
The department with nine streams
of water pouring into the building,
could do absolutely nothing at all to
stop the onslaught of the flames, and
the only work was to save the sur
rounding property. The hotel takes in
the entire block, about 10 by 45O feet,
and this was in fifteen minutes q
seething cauldron only bound by the
four walls. The wires of the electric
light company were destroyed and a
section Of the city was In darkness,
save for the light of the fire. OF tho
100 or more guests of the hotel not one
is known to have saved more than the
clothes on their person.
The Delavan house was fifty years
old and was one Of the mast famous
hotels III the country. 1t is a part of
the estate of Edward G. Deluvan.
Hurry & Moore, the proprietors, paid
$4,000 year rental, and lately had
made vast improvements in expecta-
tions Of big winter season. The to-
tai loss is estimated at $5O0,QO0, with
an IL surance of $3OO,O 600.
There are rilmOrs that there are
bodies in the ruins and that quite a
number of people did not escape. The
clerk says that he is positive all the
guests escaped, but does not feel 80
sure about the help, of which there
was gi1at number. There Is no way
Of fir ding out positively whether the
rumors are true or not, and it will take
a day or two to determine.