The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-02-24
SEVEN PERSONS PERISHED
HoRRIBLE SCENES AT AN EARLY
 FIRE IN BALTIMORE.

Bounded to the Pavement-He Heroic and
 CooIheaded Work of Fireman.
 Baltimore, Feb. 23.-A fire this morn ing in the fashionable district of north Baltimore was the cause of seven deaths and sent a feeling of horror into hundreds of homes in the city where most of the victims were well known and highly respected.
 Not many inmates of, the residences on North Charles street, between La fayette and North avenues, were awake until fire engines came dashing up and down the fashionable thoroughfare shortly after 8 o'clock. The firemen had been summoned because flames were seen breaking from the basement of 1906 North Charles street, the resi- dence of James R. Armiger A large crowd quickly gathered in front of the burning building, at the windows of which the inmates soon appeared, one after the other, in their night robes.
 A colored servant employed next door to the Armiger residence first discov- cred the flames, and gaining an en- trance over the rear fence he dashed through the building, arousing the in- mates, most of whom were still in their beds; but quick as was his action, the flames were more rapid, and egress by the staircase was shut off before half of the sixteen occupants of the dwelling had left their rooms. With all possi- bility of escape by the stairs cut off, rit,er fn t1n Ha, I1s sal, filled the passage, MT. Armiger and other members of the family rushed to the windows of their apartments.
 The servants on the fourth floor has, tened down stairs, but could not get any lower than the second story where they were driven into the sleeping rooms of the other inmates. With closed doors behind them to keep out the flames and smoke, the servants, too, rushed to the windows, crying pitt eously for help. Two maids who were in the kitchen escaped by the rear door.
 There were then penned in the build ing fourteen persons clamoring for as sistance. When the fire department ar rived nets were stretched beneath the windows and the firemen called to the terror stricken persons at the windows to jump. The crowd in the street not realizing the extent of the fire and smoke within yelled don't jump" The bewildered inmates held back and some of them disappeared from the windows, apparently going back for clothing or perhaps for some valued possession. It was a fatal move and ill most in- stances cost a life.
 Two policemen in an attempt to res cue those in danger broke in the front door. This only gave the fire, which had begun in the basement, the draught it needed and it roared through the halI- ways and up the stairs with greater fierceness.
 The policemen could not reach the ina- perilled people, for the stairs were in flames and the smoke was binding. The firemen had by this time thrown up ladders in front of the house, and Dis trict Chief McAfee climbed to the sec ond story window, where Mrs. Armiger was crying for help. The ladder did not quite reach the window and there was the widest excitement in the crowd as McAfee stood on the upper round of the ladder and grabbed the window-sill for support. He encouraged Mrs. Ar niger to swing herself out of the win dow As the chief grasped her with one arm he steadied himself and had taken one step down, when the ladder slipped and McAfee, with the woman on one arm and with the other holding to the window frame, dangled in the air. A cry of horror went up from the crowd. Fortunately McAfee caught the top round of the ladder on his toe, and pull ing it back into place, released his hold upon the window and quickly descend ed with the woman to the sidewalk. A great cheer went up from the crowd. Soon afterwards at third-story win dow appeared the face of 8 man wear ing a look of agony. He raised the window. and, reaching out his hands, shouted to the multitude It sent him back an encouraging shout and he moment later, before a ladder could be run up, disappeared.
 Alice J. Williams, one of the colored servants, suddenly appeared at fourth story window shrieking like mad. She threw up the window and leaned far out.
 Don't jump." yelled the multitude.
 She stepped back wringing her hands. Then she leaned out again and appear ed trying to call something to those be- low. Again the cry went up, Don't iump." The terrorized woman, how ever. with shriek, sprang out of the window. Her body turned over several times and finally struck the marble steps of the residence, rebounded and rolled to the pavement.
 A score of men rushed to the spot. The woman was moaning pitifully, her hands clinching and unclinching in ag- ony She was carried to doctors of flee and subsequently, was removed to the hospital, where she is lingering be- tween life and death.
 Mary White, colored, was rescued from a window by fireman in semi conscious condition.
 In the meantime MT. Armiger's two daughters, Virginia, aged twenty-five, and Eleanora, aged fourteen, who oc- cupied the second story back room had made rope of their bed linen and with this Eleanora was lowered to the ground. Fearing to trust her weight upon this cord Miss Virginia threw mattress to the ground twenty feet be- low. She then jumped and landed thereon uninjured, with the exception of a slight shock
 Mrs. Letitia Riley. another daughter