Crawford avalanche., 1896-02-27
TWENTY DIE BY FIRE
GREAT FACTORY IN TROY. N. r..
BURNS DOWN.
Girls aud Women the Victims of the
EnsuinR Panic-Careiess Boy with
Lighted Match the Cause Many
Jump to Death from Windows.
Property Entirely Destroyed.

NltnOut IL WOru OF warning lHe great
building of Mrs. Burdett. AT Troy, n. l.,
became enveloped in flames about $50
O'clock on Monday afternoon. and within
ten minutes Il score of women and girls
were burned TO death and many more are
reported missing.
Superintendent Of Police Willard said
at midnight:
'''rhe returns from the various precincts
show AT least fifteen persons missing.
These. with the five already known 10 be
missing. will make twenty lost in the
ruins. | fear there are many more 1t
seems to me impossible that all the girls
in that building should have escaped. Be-
sides, "A great many persons would not
report to the police at all.
The Dead.
Mrs. Margaret Carroll. jumped from
window.
Mrs. Annie Foley, widow, No. 1OlS
Fifth avenue. jumped from window.
Mrs. Herbster, Scotch Hill, South Troy,
fell from window
Mrs. Robert Kane, No. 195 Fourth
street, jumped from window.
Missing and Probably Dead.
Mamie Danks.
Katie O'Connor.
Mary O'Neill
Fatally Injured.
Mrs. johnson, Lansingburg, badly burn
cd; will die.
Miss Lloyd, badly burned; will die.
Miss Lloyd. sister of foregoing, badly
burned: will die.
James Quinn. under wall, will die.
Joseph Rossi. under wall; will die.
The Injured.
Policeman Burke bruised 10y falling
walls.
Mamie Day, jumped. and badly hurt.
Annette Harrington. badly burned.
Lottie Hull. severely bruised.
Nellie Hull, badly bruised
Lillian Kreigier, badly burned and
bruised.
Fireman Mct;uire bruised by falling
walls.
Lillian Oathout. burned.
Mamie Rourkc. burned.
Policeman Watson, bruised by failing
walls.
Cause of the Fire.
1t was just thirty minutes before clos
ing hours in Stetthemer n Co.'S shirt
waist factory in River street and the 800
girls and women were working rapidly 10
finish up. In the cutting room on the
fifth floor the 100 girls were closing mp
their days assignments and preparing
To leave when the whistle blew. Lille
Kreigier. who was working near ma
chine. called To small boy To light the
gas over her work. The boy struck a
match and threw the burning stub to
the floor. 1t struck pile of oily rags,
and in an instant the girl was enveloped
in flames. With her clothes and hair
burning she rushed TO the window and
in an instant the room became strug-
Cling. shrieking mass of humanity. filling
the windows. the fire escapes and the
only stairway.
Panic Is Instant.
,Jamming and pushing. tearing each
others clothes from their backs. turning
i'm narrow corridors to find sister ar
mother or friend. the number in the
exits augmented every minute by those
from the other floors, these girls and
women fought for their lives to get away
from the fiery flames that grew to mon
strous size.
From the outside of the high building
the first notice of impending disaster
was the sight of body of girls NJ they
rushed out upon the fire escapes from the
windows. those who were more fortunate
crowding out through the entrance. Fol
lowing them was mass of smoke with
flashes of hot flame through the smoke.
Then the mass of frenzed humanity.
finding the egresses too small for instant
escape. began climbing over the sides of
the escapes. and bundles of clothing
filled with writhing humanity dropped
at the feet of the Mortified passers-by.
Within twenty minutes after the fire
started there were three dead women
laid upon the floor of an adjoining store
and nj least u dozen burned and manned
girls and women taken TO the hospital or
to their homes.
OF the $50 women and girls in the
building it is presumed that at least a
half dozen were buried in the ruins.
Drop to the Pavement.
Policeman Farrell. who was on the
street, seeing that i'm the panic a number
were liable TO jump, let down the awning
over the entrance. Hardly was ii down
when two or three forms came flying
down from the fifth and sixth stories. an'l
bouncing from the awning fell to the
sidewalk.
Lilly Kriegier was one of these. She
struck the awning, fell Oh her back. aud
bounced to her hands and knees on the
walk. She got up and staggered about
until people helped her to her feet again.
BY this time nearly every window had
female form dangling from il. and
when the tiremcn arrived there was n
struggle TO get the ladders up.
shriekcd and Dropped.
At window on the sixth fioor Mrs.
Margaret Carroll hanging 10y her hands.
was forced out by the flames licking her
face. With last shrek she lei go aud
came tumbling over and over antil she
struck the pavement She was picked up
dead.
Just below her. in another window.
hung Mrs. Foley. turning appealing
glances to the crowd. The black smoke
was pouring from the window. hut no
flames were visible. and the crowd yelled
encouragingly TO her to hold Oh. hut n
high red flame reached out just then
and licked her face, and in an instant
her body was rebounding from the pave
ment. She was picked up dead.
On the same hoor. hanging from an
other window. was Mrs. Kane. and sal
vation in the shape of a ladder was al
most in her grasp when her strength
failed, and she went whirling down to
death.
The firemen and police worked like he
roes and to their energy was due great