Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-02-28
DEATH IN A T ! I J
|eribIe Holocaust II q 8altf
more Residence,
Il WHOLE FAMILY ASPHYxsVVL
Cut OFF From Retreat. They Met death
In the smoke or Were Killed
by jumping.


Baltimore. Feb. 2s-seven people
were asphyxiated. one fatally hurt by
Jumping from window and five others
more or less injured by fire in the
residence of James r. Amiger, prom
inent jeweler ON Charles street. this
morning. The dead are:
James r. Armiger, aged So.
william B. Riley. his son-in-law, 80
years old.
William Riley, aged 4.
Marian Riley, daughter OF w. b.
Riley, aged ~ years.
Mrs. Marian Chaplin, daughter OF
James Armiger, aged 80.
James Chaplin, her son, aged 3.
Horace Manuel, aged Sc, of New
York; d s{sst.
The Fatally injured are: Alice Will
Hams, colored servant, skull fractured
and other serious injuries; Mrs. William
r. Riley, burned about the face and
arms; Mrs. James r. Armiger, aged 80,
slight burns and suffering from shock
and exposure; Miss Eleanor Armiger,
aged a. slightly burned; Miss Virginia
IArmiger, aged Is. ankle slightly sprain-
~ in jumping; Ida Whiting, colored
strvant, slightly burned.
The house in which the holocaust oc-
Cured is one of row of granite resi-
sdence belonging to the A. s. Abel es-
tate, on Charles street, just north of
{ Lafayette avenue. 1t is four stories in
height. and at the time of the fire was
Allied with costly furniture and much
Hrin op
which Armiger was an enthusiastic col
lector.
In the house were IS persons. OF
these 10 were members of the Armiger
household. two were servants and the
other. Mr.. Manuel, was a guest. All
Of these people were in their bedrooms,
on the upper floors, some of them being
partially dressed, when at $3.50 o'clock
this morning fire was discovered issu-
ing from a partition in the cellar. 1t
had ignited from an over-heated fur
mace fiue, and was first seen by Louis
Whiting, the colored man, who was
cleaning the front steps Whiting ran
to the adjacent corner and gave the
alarm to a policeman and hurried back
to the house, entered the front door,
closed 1t behind him and assembled to
the second floor, where Mr.. and Mrs.
Armiger had their bedroom.
The house by this time was filed with
dense, sitting smoke, and when the
negro and Mrs. Armiger attempted to
descend they found 1t impossible.
Whiting aided Mrs. Armiger to the
front window and helped her to reach
small balcony in front, upon which
he placer her, and returned to the aid
OF Mr.. Armiger. He found the latter
had gone, and came back to Mrs. Ar
niger, who, clad in nothing but her
night clothes. was shivering on the mar
row balcony and shrieking in agonized
tones for help.
Half dozen men who were passing
fastened to the power house of the
Charles street cable line, block below
and procured short ladder. Wher
they returned they found Deputy Fire
Chief McAfee, a noted life saver, who
quickly mounted the ladder 1t was
not long enough, but by standing on the
uppermost round, he could reach the
frightened woman.
AS he attempted to lift her from tn,
balcony her scanty clothing caugh
on an obstruction, and she fell forward
with her whole weight upon the out
stretched arms of the fireman.
Just then the ladder slipped and ev
cry one below expected to see both res
cuer and the woman dashed to dealt
on the pavement below. BY a tremen
dous effort, however, McAfee steadie,
himself, and holding Mrs. Armiger witt
one hand. grasped the balcony with tn
other. Hanging thus he slowly re
placed the ladder with his feet an
brought the fainting woman down Il
safety. and in the meantime the othe
inmates of the front rooms were crowd
ing to the windows making the mos
piteous appeals for help.
The people below shouted to them no
to jump, but Alice Williams disregard
ed their warnings, and with appallin
shrieks, sprang from the fourth-stor
window, struck the stone steps fin
upon her forehead, fracturing her sku
and sustaining other injuries fror
which she will die. An attempt wa
made to succor the other unfortunate
by means of a doorway on Charlie
street, but when the policemen burs
1t In they were met by such volumes {
smoke and flames that they were drive
back
In the rear room on the second fioo
were Eleanor and Virginia, unmarrie
daughters of Armiger, They were PAL
TALLY dressed. but so rapid was tn
spread of the flames that they had n
time to escape by the stairway. 1
their extremity they leaned far OF
of the rear window and cried for hell
A neighbor came to their aid and unde
his cool headed directions Virginia low
cred her younger sister with a shee
and throwing a mattress out of tn
window leaped to the yard below. Sh
alighted in safety and beyond the shoe
and slight injury to her ankle, es
capped unhurt.
BY this time the firemen had reache,
the scene and in a twinkling had reare,
long ladders up to the windows, botl
in the front and rear. UP these the.