The Oskaloosa herald., 1896-12-31
RED RUIN.
Fire IN New York Destroys Prop
erty Worth $1,000, 900.
FOUR BIG BUILDINGS ARE BURNED.
They Include a Piano a Hos-
pItaI, = Factory and = Tenement
Many Sleeping Persons Req
cued by Police.

New York, Dec. 25.-An early Christ.
mas morning fire on East Thirty-third
street destroyed property valued at
nearly 81, 900 and rendered 100 peo-
pie homeless. Four buildings, includ-
ing Sohmer's piano warehouse and the
New York polyclinic hospital, were de-
stroyed. The destroyed buildings also
include a large 6ye-story brick tene-
ment al 200 East Thirty-third street
and a large age-story brick factory
building. The piano warehouse occu-
pied a fourth of the block and the Poly
clinic was q four-story building with
q front of so feet on East Thirty-third
street.
The fire began al 1905 o'clock on the
second floor of Pinare's snuff factory
ct 221 East Thirty-fourth street. When
the first engines arrived on the scene
the fire had already communicated with
the piano factory adjoining on the east.
Several large streams of water were
poured in the burning building, but
without apparent effect, and third and
fourth alarms for engines were sent In.
Rescued from Great Peril
The police, under Sergt. Pagan,
aroused the sleeping tenants of the
building on the west of the burning fac
tory. There was a panic when the
tenants found smoke pouring in their
rooms, and in the excitement and de-
moraIization which followed, several OF
the tenants escaped narrowly with their
lives. With the aid Of the police, IS
families, consisting of rs people, were
dragged and carried from the building.
Sturdy police carrying small children
In their arms were cheered by the large
crowds as they brought them down the
stairs and out on the street. Several
girls only partially dressed opened the
windows of their rooms on the Attn
floor and stepped on the fire escape in
front of the building. One of them was
about to jump to the street when I po-
liceman, who had entered the room,
dragged her back end carried her to
the street.
Panic In q Hospital
At eight o'clock the piano warehouse
owned by Sebastian Sohmer was on
fire from cellar to roof. Fifteen min
utes later the root fell in. The fire had
by that time assumed such enOr.
nous proportions that the hospital in
the rear of the warehouse, and fronting
on Thirty-fourth street, Mas in immi-
nent danger. There were 5S patients
in the building, and when they were
aroused there was another panic,
Patients whose condition had been very
serious leaped from their beds and ran
towards the stairs. The nurses and EN-
ployes of the hospital assured them that
there was no danger and the panic was
temporarily quelled. One by one the
patients were carried from the build,
ing until ell of them had been removed.
Hastily improvised stretchers bore the
patients to a nearby hotel, where they
were placed in beds. The flames com
municated with the roof of the hospital
at 80, and in several minutes the up
per floor was belching forth huge waves
of smoke and fire. The firemen who
were inside the building were ordered
to leave the structure, and several lines
of hose poured water on it from the
elevated railroad tracks on Thirty.
fourth street.
Other Buildings Destroyed.
The tenement house at zoe, from
which the tenants had been rescued BY
the policemen, had been considered
safe by the firemen until s:35, when a
strong wind blew the flames over it.
In a short time the roof caught the hea
of the factory fire, and ten min.
utes afterward the interior was ablaze.
Several streams of water had no ap-
parent effect, and in a short time the
roof fell in with a deafening roaT. The
front wall of the fifth door followed o
short time afteaward, and her the fire
men turned their attention to the tene-
ment on the west The roof of the
building at No. Eli fell In at 8:45 and
carried with it to the ground the four
floors. The piano warehouse wall,
which was almost solid and nearly zoe
feet long and go feet high, collapsed
shortly afterward. Apart ofitfellon the
roof of the East River hotel, at 223, and
damaged the building to a great extent,
The firemen poured several steams OF
water on the hotel, hut fire started i'll
the real Of the top floor shortly after
the wall fell upon it.
The Losses.
The fires in the factory, warehouse
and tenements were under control al
ten o'clock, but only after everything
in them had been destroyed. Nothing
remained of the three buildings ex.
cept. parts of the outer walls and q
blazing mass of lumber and woodwork
in the interiors. The building in which
the fire started was occupied on the first,
second and third floors by j. F. Kalden.
berg, a manufacturer Of pipes and
smokers materials. The loss is about
$4,000.
Finare's snuff factory occupied q part
Of the second Hoor and the fourth and
fifth floors Of the building. The losl
&c the SNUFF manufacturer will not be
leRs than $4,000. The loss to the build
Ing will mount TO nearly $4,000 part
ly covered by insurance.
The Sohmer piano warehouse is q
total loss. The loss to Sohmer in stock
and machinery will reach 100000 OF
$4OO, 600, and the loss on the building
S2O0,OO0.
The tenement at POO East Thirty
third street was damaged to the extent
Of $4,000. The damage done to fur
niture and personal property of the
tenants Is several thousand dollars
The damage done to the Polytechnic hos.
pital viii amount 10 at least $4,000
There were 80 children among the pa
tents, and all of them were carried gu