The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-02-18
Fire i'm a Great Shirt Waist
Factory at Troy.
A RUSH FROM THE ToP FLOORS.
Three Hundred Girls and Women
Struggle TO Get Down.
| ihrse Jump and Are Instantly Killed.
several Others Are sever ely Burned
and There Are Bodies I'm the Ruins
-P.tifuf Things That the Helpless
Crowd Ia the street Saw.

N*Ne e~"%A4f@ = kAseAtA4A AsAA+ a b ~ 3AAt
waste. a mass Of flames. - girls and
women frenziea wltA frlghi. fighting for
lEs as the hot flames chased them With
hungry tongues. marked the beginning
q q lire tonight that consumed thousands
OF dollars sarfh Of property and caused
the destruction OF many lives. From the
outside Of the hirh building the nrst no
lice OK impending disaster was the sight
Of body of girls as they rushed out on
the IRE escapes from ine windows. those
who wese more fortunate crowding out OF
the entrance. Following them ~as a mass
OF smoke. with flashes of not fame in Iur-
"a afFeaks Then the mass OF frenzied hu-
naaniiy, finding the egresses tOo small for
instant escape began cIimhing over the
SIDES OF the escapes, aud bundles OF cloth
ing hiled with writing humanity dropped
al the feet Of horrt.ed passers-by
Within twenty minutes after the FIRE
started there were three dead women laid
upon the floor OF an adjoining store. and
at least dozen burned and manned girls
and women taken TO the hospital or TO
Their homes OF the So girls and women
IN the building il IS presumed that at
least half dozen are Ia the ruins. for it
+ impossible 60 locate all. and there may
possibly be a score Of dead
1t was just thirty minutes before the
closing hour in Stettheimer Il Co.'S shirt
Ffe-eFA A-AAA@tA 1Af SktfEAS =AkEtAs ana TIE
80 girls and women we're working rapid
~ 70 finish up In-the cutting room on
the fifth floor the l5e girls we're closing MP
their days work, and preparing TO leave
when the whistle blew. Lille kreiger
who was working near a machine. called
10 small boy to light the gas over her
work, The boy struck match and threw
the burning stub 10 the fioor liz struck
a pile Of oily rags. and in an instant the
rrH 81 rNFs-rs al
clothes and hair burning. she rushed TO
the window. and al once the room became
d struggling mass Of humanity. filling the
windows, the fire escapes and the only
stairway
Jamming and pushing. tearing each 9TH
er's clothes from their backs, turning in
marrow corridors 10 find a sister mother
or friend. the number In the exits augment
- every minute by those from the other
floors. these girls and women fought for
their lives 10 gel away from the flames
that seemed 70 BE- growing to a monstrous
size. With rare presence Of ind Policeman
Farrell, who sas on the street, seeing that
IL the panic "A number were liable 10 jump.
let dCwn the awning over the entrance
Barely was IL dowG when two or three
forms came diving down from the fifih ana
sixth stories and. bouncing from the avn
ing, feil C the sidewalk. Lille Krieger
wv NtAhHF tttti+AtAttE faiF Mst star tttls " d.
one Of these. She struck the awning
fel on her back. and bounced 10
her hands and knees on the walk
She got up and staggered about and
falling until people helped her 20 her
fcef again Ply this time nearly every win
dow had female form dangling from IL.
and when the hremen arrived there was
hustle 10 get the ladders up
At the center window on the sixth floor
-.
our by the flames licking her face with
a last shrek she LEI 60 and came tumbiing
over and over until she struck the pave
meat When picked up /; was found that
she was Mrs. Margaret Carroll. Her spinal
column vas forced through into her brain
JUST below her. In another window. hung
woman turning appealing glances 10 the
crowd The black smoke was pouring
fr0m-he window. but yet no flames were
visible. and the crowd yelled encourage
rncnt 10 her 20 hold on. when a high red
fame reached out jast Then and licked her
face, and in an iBStauf her body was re-
bounding from the pavement She was
Ms. Foley, a widow, and when picked an
WAS 1eai. ON the same floor. hanging
from another window. was another wo-
man. aud salvation in the shape Of a lad
der Was almost within her grasp when her
strength failed aud she went tWirline down
10 death She was Mrs Kane The FIRE
snen and police worked like heroes. and to
their energy was due great saving OF life.
At least dozen Of the women and girls
were carried down The ladders or dragged
out Of TIE corridors the officers and fire.
men going into the midst ~ the smoke.
The IRE burned so aercely 5y this time
that no detailed search Of the building
could be made. ari from what can be
learned there were ma8y girls and women
on the three upper stories either lying
in faintine dts OF overcome by smoke II
was this fact that led 10 the rsinors that
there were at least twenty women dead
and the story. even az this writing. does
uet seem Improbable. The flames ate
6oWa through fhree floors so quickly that
the Western Union Telegraph Compaov
the Jeszuo y Goppuer Crockery Company
and the Van Iandt s. Jacobs collar manu-
factory ha1 n0 time TO save anything
After the FIRE had started an adjoining
house caught ffam me falling cf a nor
tsoa 30 the room and from it the small
buildings ou the south caught
Ahou5 O'Clock the firemen heard shr3Pks
coming from the topmost story on the
south They discovered an Italian peadIar
named Frank Rossi Who kept stand on
the front of the building ptuio8ef I,s ;he
legs uater . heavy heaw Three policemen
started to assist him AMI with a fire.
man worked for thgee-quGrtcrs cf an hour.
They had just about Rottea him loose
when with rear. rhe great iron, walls
cauas crashing down AMI the harria.a srec-
tatars saw the Brave utGa grouu au--44
from view When the smoke ard Iusf
ha4 Cleared fhere was q rush of "a wlifr..
workers. and ga a little while the men
were taken aut Al wers injured and has
"a be renewed 81 che hospital Tn, Ftalia7
rsu probably die. aut she brave ral-4rr.o
while badly surt vii recover Capt. WI
lard II tha police force. SAYS he ssa a
Tursaer ~ girls A. windows. who never
came nlsf hat faii aark into th- Har-aa
one fireman who was working from .r.
rea~. saw three girls wtth thts- arms
vxoa~a .lghtty ah7at each ether tv-- in
thsl~ frefxy and {gun back inf9 the Ta-oes
Sorae of the women who escaped ten of
stumbling over prastrate bodies. ar9 ara
s,-sEtEva thar ~e8re 20 girls 1erfSNe-7
The e4gEs wna ai4 escape iive .a vR-lors
sl,h,srss. 50 thaf urtU sae ~aii tx .slfA4
&. me ssoralag. the exact nunhe- of -rsss-
-f~e Rlt not he krc9u
,.sse ans Nellie Hall sisters r~aa-...t
e,ss ether siehf8y av tha bands ars r-s-.s.f
.seo.w fao stairs from rhe slxth story A.
-. rsrslez az the hfth floor thsv sr..-.r-
t.r.-s a xau % nAuse aad srnak. Narta
t.a "a anfv her corset ana sk -ss hs,f,v
49,, rsaEsnx neF toftef- F.ofs4f a.e v...
- atss, erik narffsiiE dressed. .s-eu hs~
,s..mss .sssr Negl8e.s FACE, ana Together r4,av-
.,..-s snra.szss BE saEoes. I-ottie-s "a p ~
50 completely az ara Rhe7 ssa
- tae sssewAls $e}ii= was h.-r4s
.,.,gss ssaslst sser fars arms. Tasv Esre taken
~-ss less by are Is So ss" 20 ssssaa u4,h