New-York tribune., 1896-12-26
FIRE DRIVES OUT PATIENTS.
FLAMES BREAK OUT IN A FACTORY Be
HIND THE POLYCLINIC HOS. iTAL.

AND HELPLESS INMATES ARE CARRIED
OUT ON TRETCHERs-sEvERAI
BUILDINGS IN THTRTY-THIRD-
ST. DEsTROYED-THE
LOSSES s35oooo.
All the patients in the Polytechnic Hospital. at
Nos. pa and 216 East Thirty -fourth-st., had
10 be moved out hastily in the bitter cold yes
terday morning on account of a fire which de-
stroyed several buildings in Thrty-third-st..
and threatened to destroy the hospital The
fire started about 1:3O a. m in the six-story
factory building No 211 East Thirty st.
and spread quickly to the larger connecting
buildings. No. 2l3 to 229 and those buildings,
with the 1athouse at No 200 East Thirty-third-
It, were entirely consumed Failing walls Of
the large factory building partly wrecked the
building Nos. 231 and 233 East Thirty thrd-st..
which was damaged also by fire and wafer
The rnansard roof Of the four-story hospital
building was burned partly away. and the build
ing was damaged considerably. while the flames
also damaged the adjoining building. No 2ls
Fast Thirty-fourth-st. The fire caused losses
amounting to S3J0.0O0.
Many exciting and distressing scenes were
witnessed during the fire The spread of the
flames in the large factory buildings was so
rapid that before the Are engines could be
buildings were in danger Frozen hydrants and
snow in the streets impeded the fremen in their
work In a few minutes the factory puhdlhss'
old tinder-boxes with wooden floors loaded down
with lumber for pianos were like roaring FUR
naces The flames shot out OF all the WIN
dows and mounted high above the roofs SEND
tng forth dense clouds of smoke and showers OF
burning Goals. Between the burning Lulldihgs
, and Third-aye was a row OF hathouses. and to
tho east of the flames was the big double tene-
nent-house which has been converted into
Raines law hotel by William Schuller
CARRYING OUT THE PATIENTS.
BEFORE the hremen could do much work in
the attempt to check the progress or the IRE
their aid was required by number or women
and children who were trying to escape from
the f'atbouses and from Schulers East RIVER
Hotel When the inmates of those houses had
been eided in escaping. some beiA& taken uo"h
from front windows on ladders. tNe danger TO
the hosptal building seen TO be great.
There was only a narrow space between the
..ear walls of the burning factory buildings ana
the rear wall OF the hospital Captain Martens
and other policemen from the East lhr'E-
Afth-st station went to the rescue or the nos
pital inmates The fremen turned streams oi
water ON the outside Of the hospital in the ef-
fort 10 keep out the flames, While the ponce
aided in removing the helpless patients. Dr'
John Gum the superintendent or the hospital
was away at the time but DR.. Pryor ana III
Williams, of the medical stan were '"''e ~
direct the work Of rescue.
There were ffty-fve patients in the hospital.
cevera, Of them recently had undergone opera
,ions and were helpless In two of the wards
fbere were twelve children. There were
also about dozen nurses in the building, and
about half OF them were on duty when the
alarm was given They were the day nurses
who had lust relieved the night attendants.
The first signal Of danger was given when the
smoke began to blow into the hospital through
bathroom window one Of the nurses looked
from the window to see where it came from and
saw the flames in the factory. She hurried TO
DR. Pryor and told him Of the danger that threat
ened the inmates He held consultation with
his associates and then the word was gwen 10
have all the patients taken out OF me pui!o.ns s
as quickly as possible. When the police entered
the hospital they were followed by number oi
citizens. The women nurses We're alarmed nnt
they stood bravey at their posts ana alued 'ne
doctors in giving directions.
BEDS GIVEN Up TO INVALIDS
The patients who were helpless were the first
10 receive attention. They were prepared for the
cold air by the doctors and nurses and were
carried from the building by the citizens and
policemen. Some of them were removed on beds
and stretchers Then the infants. warmly
bundled up were horne from the wards AT first
the patients were carried TO the Delaware Hotel,
at Third ave. and Thirtyfour where ac-
commodations had been procured for them
Every room in the hotel was made ready for the
reception of the patients Late sleepers deserted
their beds In order to surrender them TO the in
valids. Everything possible was done in order to
make the patients as comfortable as possible un,
der the circumstances. and the doctors and
nurses from the hospital gave them constant at
tention In order TO prevent any ill effects on ac-
count Of their transit through the cold.
About o'clock the flames reached the hos
ptal The mansard roof caught fire and the
building was in great danger. The firemen then
turned their attention almost entirely to the hos
pta the factor? was beginning to crumblc
into ruins. The nathouse at No. 200 East
Thirty third st was blazing before the patients
were rescued from the hospital. and the hremcn
had all they could do TO save the adjoining flat
houses. Soon after o'clock The floors Of the
burning factory buildings fell with mighty
crashes. carrying down the walls. Part Of the
east wall fell over. and crushed the roof Of
Schuller's Hotel, and the old building was on fire
In a minute.
PUTTING OUT THE FLAMES
The falling OF the factory walls, however al
lowed the fremen TO work with more advan-
tage. and they put out the flames in the
Raines law hotel and stopped the fire from
spreading in the nathouses. They were also
able stop the spread of the fire in the hospital
after the top story had been burned out The
tcnement-house No. .lS East Thirty-fourth-
st. had caught frc also. and IL nearly
wrecked before the flames in it could he put
under control. Engines had been called by four
alarms before the fire subdued. Sev-
eral engines remained until late in the after
noon to pour water on the ruins Of the factory
buildings
Soon after the fire was under control the pa
tents who had been removed from the Poly
clinic Hospital were transferred to Bellevue or
to other hospitals in ambulances. Several Of
them were suffering from the effects OF fright
and the physicians said that a few OF them
might not recover.
The factory buildings which were destroyed
ko,o bo Kald Ma ing