The morning times., 1895-11-06
IN BLAZING TthEMENTs
Women and Children Narrowly
Saved in New York City.
HALF A BLOCK In RUINS
Were at Work on the Sixth Story.
All Escaped with Their Lives, But
Some Severely Hurt-Loss Three
Million Dollars.

New York, Nov. 5.-The most serious fire
with which the fire department of this
| city has had To cope for several years, was
discovered III the Duilding at the cUraer OF
bleecEer street and broadway shorty after
| o'clock this evening.
Within fifteen minutes one-half the block
between broadway and Crosby street was
afiane, and II second, tniru, IUurtn, andriful
alarm were sounueu. Must OF TIE uuiiuing;
which served ~ Iced the flaines We're uiu,
rattle-traps, and as tncy LOOK lire, oiie
aTTer the other, tne cvnIiaSrdllon seemed
TO get Deyonu tue control "a IA. iirt-1iShuuIs.
AT $40 the roof ana side waiis fell in
wlJn IL crash. In u few MINUTES int fiaIies
leapeu across the street To tie hidnnaL aL.in
batR bmIdmg. In tern minutes tnat DuIId-
ing was dbiaLe from cellar 10 rool, as was
also the buiidng Oh ILe corner oi IrCsDy,
opposite the building which first caught
hIc. IDls place Is occupied by Whites
Express.
When the rear wall of the building fell
there were four firenlen III the building
next To il. The stx-story building towers
above tins and when the wall fell they
started TO run, but they seemed 10 be TOO late
and were probably caught.
BY 10 O'Clock three-fourths of the
scene.
No. $40 broadway was totally wrecked.
Nos. 636 ana 63o ere badly burned but
not destroyed. These stores are occupied
by A. l.. SIMON n Co, Adler, the glove man,
and Goodrich, carriage BUILDER.
policeman was lola oil the fire by a
citizen. He Immediately sent in an alarm.
Fifteen minutes later IL woman ran scream
ing out of the back building at No. Oh
No hot
She could not stay IN her house.
There We're number of others in the
place who Were apparently afraid TO come
out, and about fifty firemen and police
Dien ran in and brought out eight men and
women Two OF the women had to be
forced to go.
1t was then learned that two children
were asleep on an upper floor. 4 police
man and citizen ran in Immediately
and found Ida and Sadie Wolf on the
upper floor. They were taken out safely.
The flames were so fiercely hot that the
fircmen could not get thin fifty feet OF
the Empire building. The whole build
ing was a seething mass of flames.
The eight floors OF the Manhattan Bank
Building, on the north side Of Bieecker street,
were ablaZe. Nothing could save the
Mi nhattan Building, SO the fireuen stopped
playing on it.
plosion in Adier's glove store, at 63S
Broadway, which adjoined the corner build
ing. Hot air blew out the front window
and carried it and the Framework clear
across Broadway. With the explosion
Flames shot up i'll the rear of the building,
ana it then looked as if The structure would
also be destroyed. The flames were no W
blazing skywaTd from the tall building on
the northeast corner of Broadway and
n1.ngL..ar 81 tyrha ba In In pa
Is Located.
Fight as they could, ii looked as If the
firemen would fail to save the structure.
SO far rs is known, no one was in the build
ing. Every person in all tue houses within
a Gozen doors of the Empire Bank Building
was ordered out of their rooms.
The surrounding streets were entirely
occupied with engines, horses, and people
The police had no easy matter in keeping
tue crowd III order
At $3.50 O'Clock the entire structure ex-
tending from broadway to Crosby street on
bicccscr was a solid mass of flames. The
corner wall at Crosby and Bieecker streets
gCoaned as tue Flames licked through.
There was dull, swapping noise, then a
clap like thunder, and the whole interior Of
the building cruuIbled in.
\ cry rent the air as the sound echoed
through the eager crowds watching the
cries were repeated as the corner wall
leaned slowly over.
beneath the tottering column stood the
crews of Hook and Ladder No. lS, with
Foreman Ahearn, and Engine Company,
No. II. They had streams of water play
ing on the building, and did not desert their
posts until a final warning crackie told them
it would be fOOlhardy to- remain an instant
longer.
Tho firanan now attacEad tho na ION dnors
of the old ban kbuildng. After twenty
minutes hard work the doors were bat
tered down and the firemen flooded the
interior with water. When the walls of
the Keep building fell in, the fircmen turned
streams on the other building opposite, at
the northeast corner of Broadway.
Deputy Chief Reilly and Battalion Chief
Lally led the crews OF several engine cvm-
pames into the building and up To the
sixth floor. As the building was deemed
firepfOuf the firemen took unusual hazards
in climbing up to reach the flames, which
had seized tue entire upper portion OF the
building.
While on the sixth floor the stairway
below them caught fire, and five minutes
later the stairway leading to the seventh
floor gave way and fell upon them. Some
Of the firemen were able to climb TO the
seventh floor out of danger. Chief Lally
was with them. Deputy Chief Reilly and
the rest of the fireinen were hemmed in SO
that they could neither 60 up nor down.
They shouted to the firemen in the streets
to run up ladders, which was quickly
done and the irnperiled firemen were soon
down to safety. Deputy Chief
Reilly was injured about the head and
shoulders. Firemen Lawler and Coleman
also sustained severe bruises and contusions.
Coleman was able to continue at work
however. Deputy Chief Reilly was so
disabled that he had to be taken to St
Vincents Hospital. Lawler was also
taken there.
No fire in this city for years caused SO
much excitement.
At this hour, / a. NJ, the fire is under
control. 1
The damage caused by the fire is esti-
mated to be $4,000, ,O0O. Both the Man.
10, n ro in ruipS