The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-02-06
COULD NOT SAVE TEEN
Evidence at Inquest Shows
No One to Blame for the
Schroeder Family's
Death.
RESCUERs DRIVEN BACK
Smoke and Flames Prevented Po-
licemen and Firemen from En-
tsring the Burning
Building.

An inquest into the death of Mrs. Nellie
Schroeder and her five children, who were
suffocated in their beds at No. AZ New.
ark street, Hoboken, in the disastrous
fire last Saturday night was begun by
Coroner Greenleaf in Holstein's Hall last
night. Only half the testimony was taken.
At ten o'clock the Coroner announced
that the inquest would be continued next
Thursday evening.
The jurors -were:-Ernst Schmidt, fore
man; James Talon, Joseph Braubach,
Washington Staab, Fred Eggers and Henry
thinner.
As has been heretofore stated in 1.-THE
News" some persons are of the opinion
that the lives of the unfortunate family
We're lost through the negligence on the
part of the authorities in not searching
the rooms. but this statement was not
proven by the testimony last night. Only
one witness testified that the police and
firemen had been negligent. This was Cor
neius Fitzpatrick, a young man living at
No 26 Willow venue Fitzpatrick was
locked up on the night of the fire byaPo-
Hceman Beatty on a charge of being drunk
and d~lsorderly. He is now serving aaterm
of fifteen days imprisonment in the Coun-
ty Jail. Keeper Lynch took him to the in
quest last night to testify and after he had
finished he was taken back to the Jail.
The police believe hat part of young
Fitzpatriek's testimony was actuated by
spite because he had been placed under
arrest.
He said:."I had been to a wake on the
night of the fire and was just returning
home when I saw the building on fire. I
ran over to 1T. but before I got there the
hremen came along. None of the fremen
made an effort to get in the building at all.
Afterwards while I was standing at the
corner of Newark and Adams streets, they
said I was drunk and had me arrested. No
ladders were put up or anything. / heard
nothing about people being in the building.
! tried to get in the house, though, but I
was pushed way by the fremen and po-
lice"
DC you hin you could have gotten in
to the burning building?" asked Coroner
G~reenleaf-
Yes" replied Fitzpatrick.
Did you ever have trouble with the
police before?" inquired the, Coroner.
Yes, one time replied Fitzpatrick, 81
was arrested by Detective Fenton."
What did Recorder McDonough say to
you when you were arrested?'
81 told the Recorder I was there at the.
fire and he gave me credit for it. He gave
me fifteen days too"
Wa there a blaze in the hall when you
wanted to get in?"
Yes"
And you would have gotten in through
that blazer" asked one of the jurors.
Yes. That blaze wouldn't interfere with
me. 1 tried to get in but I was pushed
away by the police. After that I didn't
see anybody try to get in. I saw Mrs.
Schroeder when she was carried out dead"
The first witness called was Policeman
Thomas Peters, who rang the alarm for
the fire.
Il was on Newark street, he said,
when a man rushed up to me and said
there was a fire in the b~lacksmith's shop
at No. ALP. I turned in an alarm. from the
box at the corner of Newark and Jeffer=
son streets and then ran to the building.
! went into the hallway but was unable to
get upstairs, the moke was so dense. i
tried again and then came out. No. 2truck
was standing in front of the door and a
ladder was put up in front Of the house.
Firemen Cannon and Logan went up the
ladder and broke in the window. The smoke
came out so thick that you couldn't see
The men on the ladder. When / went in
the building first I could only go up one
flight" {
Chief Apologize testified that when he
got to the fire the lower part of the uifd-
4ng was in flames. Il
II met Fireman Stanton said he, ssand
! X him If he had been In the build
dng. He said it was impossible to get in.
I asked If adj the families were out and
ne said he thought they were. Several men
tried to get in through the windows from
the ladder but were unable to do so.1
Fireman Fred Wettig of Chemical En-
CINE No. 4 said that when he reached the
fire, three and one-haf minutes after the
alarm was sounded, smoke was pouring out
OF the doors and windows. II went up a
ladder" he continued, "but couldn't get
into any of the windows ON account of the
smoke. The stairs were also in flames"
William c.. Stanton, Captain of Truck
No 2, was unable to get UP the stairs also
on account of the smoke.
Il followed Fireman Cannon up the lad
DER he said Cannon broke in the win
dow with his fire hat. We couldn't get in
on account of the smoke. We didn't know
there were any families in the house. We
were told they were all safe"
Fireman Patrick Cannon of Truck No. 2,
said as soon as he got there he was order
ed to put the first ladder up.
went up" he said, sfbut the heat and
smoke was intense, and I could not get in
through any of the windows. l didn't hear
anybody say there was a family upstairs.
The first / knew Of 1t was when the bodies
were found"
John Green of No. 8 Engine said hesput
the first line of hose on the building,
and when he opened the doorsssof the
blacksmith shop, the interior of the build-
Ding was all in flames.
Samuel Donohue, Captain of Mo-. 4 En-
CINE, testified that he tried to get upstairs
but was beaten back by the flames. He
heard nobody say there was anybody In
the rooms. He helped to take the bodies
out after the fire.
The first person ITO get to the fire was
Policeman Kelly of the Webster avenue