The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-18
Caused BY the Careless Dropping Of ,
Burning Match.
SCORE OF WOMEN SACRIFICED
Awful Scenes at Burning Of a
Troy Factory.

49, 80
fighting for life rs the hot flames chased
them with hungry tonguas--was the be-
ginning OF a fire last night Chat consumed
thousands OF dollars worth OF property and
caused the destruction OF iaany lives.
From the outside OF tho high building
the frs. notice OF impendirQ disaster was
the sight of a body Of girls us they rushed
out upon the flre-escapes from the win
dows, those who were more fortunate
crowding out the entrance. Following
them and wrapped about them wasa mass
OF smoke with flashes OF hot flame.
Then the mass OF frenzied humanity,
finding the expresses too small for instant
escape, began climbing over the sides oil
the escapes, and bundles Of clothing, filled
with writing humanity, dropped Mt the
feet of the horrifed passcrs-by. Within
20 minutes after the fire started, there
were three dead women laid upon the
floor OK an adjoiding store, and ut least a
dozen burned and MANNED girls and women
taken to the hospital or To their homes.
1t was just 30 minutes before closing
hour In Stettheimers a. Co.'S shirt waist
factory on River street, and the $50 girls
and women were working rapidly to finish
up. In the cutting-room on the fifth floor
the $50 girls were closing up their days
assignments and preparing to leave when
the whistle blew. Lille Kreigcr, who
was working near a machine, called to q
small boy To light tho gas over her work.
The boy struck a match and threw the
burning stub TO the floor. 1t struck a pile
OF oily rags, and In an instant the girl was
enveloped in flames.
With her clothes and hair burn ing, she
rushed To the window, and In an instant
the room became "a struggling, shricking
mass of humanity, filling the windows,
the f~ire-escapes and the only stairway.
tanning and pushing. tearing each
others clothes from their backs, turning
In narrow corridors to find a sister, or
mother, or friend, the number In the ex-
Its augmented every minute by those
from tho other floors, these girls and
women fought for their lives to get away
from the fiery flames that seemed to grow
70 monstrous size.
Farrell's Presence OF Mind.
Policeman Farrell, who was on tho
street, seeing that In the panic "a number
were liable to Jump, let down the awning
over the entra1ce. Barely was IL down
when two or three forms came flying
down from the fifth and sixth stories, and,
OOultinE W NV NV wi W ibJ
sidewalk. Lille Kreiger, over whose ma
chine the fire started, was one of these.
She struck tho awning, fell on her back
and bounced to her hands and knees on
the sidewalk. She got up and staggered
about until people helped her to her feet
again.
BY this time nearly every window had q
female form dangling from it, and when
xL> A~o,,op arr;v od thara xuac an hrcfla o.,
ret the ladders up. AT the center window
on the sixth floor n woman hanging by
her hands was forced out by the flames
licking her face. With a last shrek she
let 90 and came tumbling over and over
until she struck the pavement. When
picked up 1t was found that she was Mrs.
Herberscher. Her spinal coNlmn was
forced through into her brain.
Just below her on another window hung
. woman turning appealing glances to tho
crowd. The black smoke was pouring
from the window, but rs yet no flames
were visible, and the crowd yelled encour.
agingly to her to hold on, but q higher
red flame reached out just then and
licked her face, and in an instant her body
was rebounding from the pavement. She
was Mrs. Foley, a widow, and when
picked she was dead.
On the same floor, hanging from an
other window, was a woman, and saliva
ton In the shape OF n ladder was almost
within her grasp when her strength failed.
and she went whirling down to death.
She was Mrs. Zane.
The iremen and policemen worked like
heroes, and TO their energy was due n
great saving Of life. At least n dozen
--n--r and ,irto orrial ,ln,,x -.
ladders or dragged out OF the corridors.
the officers aud aremen going into the
midst of the flames.
The fire burned so fercely by this time
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
ITS or else overcome by smoke. 1t was
this fact that led to the rumors that there
were at least 20 women dead, and the story
sven now does not seem improbable.
Under Falling Walls.
The flames ate down through three
floors so quickly that the Western Union
Telegraph company, Jessup g. Coopener,
crockery company; Van Zandt g. Jacobs.
collar mandatory, had no time TO save
anything. One hour after the fire started
small buildings on the south caught.
About y o'clock the ilremcn heard shrieks
coming from the two-story building on
che south. They discovered an Italian
peddier named Joseph Rossi. who kept a
stand in front OF the building, pinioned
b. the legs under n heavy beam.
Three policemen started TO assist him,
and with n fireman worked for three
quarters OF an hour. They had Just about
gotten him loose when. with a roar. the
great south walls came crashing down,
and the Mortified spectators saw the brave
little group buried from view. When the
smoke and dust had cleared, there was a
rush of willing workers. and In u little
while the men were taken out. All were
injured and had to be removed TO the
hospital. TIL Italian will probably die,
but the policemen. while badly hurt, will
recover,
Superintendent nj Willard Of tie police
force says that he saw n number OF girls
at Windows who never came oGt, but fell
back into the flames.
One fireman. who was working from the
fca,. saw three girls with their arms