The herald., 1896-02-18
And Threw the Blazing Match
Behind Him
TERROR AND DEATH RESULT
While Three Hundred Frenzied Women
Fight for Life
A Score Of People Dead or Injured and
Another Score Is Not Ae.
counted for

Associated Press Special Wire.
Troy, n. Y, Feb. ia small boy
carelessly throwing match into pile of
waste, a mass of flames, 800 girls and
women frenzied with fright, fighting for
life as the flames chased them with hungry
tongues, was the beginning of fire to-
night that consumed thousands of dollars
worth of property and caused the destruc.
tion of many lives.
From tho outside of the high building the
first notice of impending disaster was the
sight Of body of girls as they rushed out
on the fire escapes from the windows,
those who were more fortunate crowding
out of the entrance. Following them was
mass of smoke with flashes of hot flames
il lurid streaks. Then the mass of
frenzied humanity, finding the egress 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 Mortified passers.by.
Within twenty minutes after the fire
started there we're 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 $50 girls and women in the build
ing it ia presumed that at least half
dozen are in tho ruins, for it is impossible
to locate all, and there may possibly be
score of dead.
1t was just thirty minutes before the
closing hour in Stettheimer e. Company's
shirt waist factory on River street and $50
girls and women were working rapidly to
finish up. In the cutting room OH the
fifth floor the $50 girls were closing up
their days work and preparing to leave
when the whistle blew. Lille Kreiger, VINO
was working near machine, called 10
boy to light the gas over her work. The
boy struck match and threw the burning
stump to the floor. 1t struck pile of oily
rags and in an instant the girl was envel
oped in flames. With her clothes and hair
burning she rushed to the window, and at
once the room became struggling. shrek
ing mass of humanity, filling the windows,
.Namming and pushing. tearing each others
clothes from their backs, turning in mar.
Iow corridors to find a sister, or mother, or
friend, the number in the exits Augmented
very minute by those from the other
1oors, the girls and women fought for their
ives to get away from the flames that
Seemed to be growing to monstrous size.
With rare presence of mind Policeman
-arreli, who was on the street, seeing that
he panic number were liable to jump,
ct down the awning over the entrance and
rarely was it let down when two or three
orms came flying down from the fifth and
iixth stories and, bounding from the avn
ing, fell to the sidewalk.
Tilly Kreiger, over whose machine the
fire started, was one of these. She struck
the awning on her back and bounded to
her hands and knees on the walk. She got
up and staggered about until people
helped her to her feet agani. By this time
nearly every window had female form
dangling from it and when the firemen ar
rived there was hustle to get the ladders
up.
At ths center window on the sixth floor
a woman, hanging by her hands, was
forced out by the flames licking her face.
With last shrek she let go and came
When picked up it was found that she was
Mrs. Margaret Carroll. Her spinal column
was forced through her brain.
just below her, on another window, hung
woman turning appealing glances to the
crowd. The black smoke was pouring
from the window, but yet no flames were
visible, and the crowd called encourage
ment to her to hold on, but high red flame
reached out just then and licked her face
and in an instant her body was rebouudng
from the pavement. She was Mrs. Foley,
widow.
When picked up she was dead.
On The Same floor, hanging from aRother
window was another woman ard salvation
in the shape of ladder was almost within
her grasp when her strength failed and she
went whrling down to death. She was
Mrs. Kane.
The firemen and police worked like
heroes. and to their energy was due a
great saving of life. AT least dozen
women and girls were carried down the
ladders or dragged out of the corridors, the
officers and firemen going into the midst
of the smoke. The fire burned so fiercely
by this time that no detailed search of the
building could be made, and from what
can be learned there were many girls and
women on the three upper stories, either
lying in fainting fits or overcome by
smoke.
1t was this fact that led to the rumors
that there we're at least twenty women
dead in the building, and even at this
writing 1t does not seem improbable.
The flames ate down through three floors
SO quickly that the Western Union Tele-
pany and the Van Zandt & Jacobs collar
factory had no time to save anything.
After the fire had started au adjoining
house caught from the falling of q portion
OF the roof, and from it small buildings on
the south caught. About o'clock the fire.
men heard crIss coming from the topmost
story on the south. They discovered all
Italian peddler named Frank Rossi. who
kept stand In front of the building, pin
ioned by the legs under a heavy beam.
Three policemen started to assist him, and
with a fireman worked for three-uuarters
of an hour. They had just about gotten
him loose, when with a roar the great south
wall came crashing down. and the Mortified
spectators saw the little group buried from
view. When the smoke and dust had
cleared there was rush of willing workers,
and in a little while the men were taken
out. All were injured and had to be re-
moved to the hospital. The Italian will
probably die, but the brave officers, while
badly hurt, will recover.
Captain Willard Of the police force says
he saw number of girls at the windows
who never came out, but fell back into the
flames.
One fireman, who was working from the
rear, saw three girls with their arms wound
tightly about each other turn in their
frenzy and jump back into the flames.
Some of the women who escaped tell of
stumbling over PROSTATE bodies and are
positive that score of girls perished. The
girls who did escape live in various suburbs
and hurried away. so that until the roll is
called in the morning the exact number OF
missing will not be known.
Lottie and Nellie Hull. sisters, grasped
each other tightly by the hands and started
down the stairs from the sixth story. At