The sun., 1897-06-24
DJETZ BUILDING GUTTED.
sREENHIOH STREET FIRE DOES
nIMhGE AMOUNTING TO $3.50, 600.

me $50 Rnpioyoes Escapea Unhurt-Chiidren
In n Nearby school went out In Good
order-Tho Alarm Sent in by Thormostatio
.,rr.l-An the Losses Were Fuiiy Insured.
thermostatic signal was popped by fro on
tho third floor of tho Dietz building. on tho
northeast corner Of Laight and Greenwich
,treets, at "a o'clock yesterday afternoon, and
for tho next thirty minutes the Police and Fire
Dcpnrtmcnt wires wcro hot with alarms and
,pcc;al calls. Tho building fronts 100 feet on
Iaisht street and 60 feet on Greenwich, cover
inc 60 62 81, and SO IaRht and 429 431, and
Aa3 Greenwich street. 1t was seven stories tall,
and all tho upper floors. with the exception OF
part OF 60 Laight street. wcro occupied by the
r. E. Diotz Company, manufacturers OF lamps
and lanterns. Wright Ripley, maker of White
hall motors, used tho section in go not occupied
BY tho Dletz Company, and b. Dreyfus Co.,
dealers in California winos. occupied tho corner
store and tho basement. Fred Meesc, timc-
keeper for Diety, discovered the FIRE simultane-
ously with tho pop OF tho thermostatio signal
and no hustled out with another clerk and sent
in a regular alarm from a street box, which was
received fifty seconds after tho private alarm.
Detective O'Donohue OF the Leonard street
station, who was getting shaved In barber
shop near by, saw the men sending In tho alarm
and he rushed back to the building with them.
There were $50 employees at work In the build,
ing, twenty OF whom were girls. They werc
quickly apprised OF tho fire and escaped down
the iron and stonc stairways on tho Greenwich
and Lsight street sides OF tho building. One OF
the girls. Maggie OConnor, tainted and was
carried out by tho detective. Meese. in his
anxiety to SEQ that everybody got out, was
overcome and was helped out by Superintendent
Olin. The six lofts above the ground floor
ran tho entire length Of tho building without
any partitions or party walls, and the fire had
free headwny. 1t rot good start on the fire
men, and as they could fight 1t only from the
outside the flames soon ragged through all the
floors in the upper part Of tho building and
worked downward through the elevator shafts
The smoke and the dificulty of getting, at the
fre from the s,a rear slowed the flames s to steal
sblaze. and tho fire reached even to the cellar
After 1t was certain that there was no hope OF
ds %ho WAS in in charge Of the men IN the absence q
Chief bonner. decided TO flood the building
runs half way around the Dietz build nR
and from s tho , roofs , Of this the elevates
e on
wich street. streams from twenty:fye engines
poured tons % Of water s, into the building. Th, tn,
Wss we're called after the third alarm, pumped hun
dreds of gallons through four'inch lines of hose
water rolled out Of the lower floors and ou
over the corrugated rooted shed on L.aght stree
In a torrent.
Chief Bonner was on tour Of inspection ii
the Annexed District when the fire started, ant
be did not hear of 1t until 1t had been burning
couple OF hours. He reached tho scene at
o'clock. and the men seemed to become rein
vigorated Immediately. They hoped arount
when the Chief got to letting his voice loose ant
there seemed to be no danger of the fire spread
ing further. At 6 o clock II was under control
At the first alarm Of fire Capt. Cross and tn
reserves Of the Leonard street station go
around TO the scene. Capt. Cross sent a detail
around to Primary School IL. on Eestry street
diagonally in the rear OF the burning building
but tho services of the policemen were no
six teachers had put the pupils through the fir
drill at the first news of the fire, and they wer
ready to leave the building in one minute
Inspector Merwin and Prof. Briscoe, tn
music teacher, assured the teachers tina
there was no danger. and the pupils SAM
America" while anxious mothers gathere,
outside the school. The children were allowe.
to leave singly and in pairs In twenty min
utes the school building was empty, Their
the Greenwich stables, at ASS Greenwich street
when the fire started. Two citizens rushed int
the stables and helped the men cut the halter
and get the horses into the street.
The fire caused practical suspension of bus
ness in the vicinity The factories of D. Buch
ner & Co. James Pyle, and Van Horne, Griffe,
g. 90 were closed down for the day and the EN-
was owned BY r. E. Dietz and was built eieh
loss vii, reach $4,000. Tho Dietz Compan
stock was damaged $4,000 worth. Dreyfus
Co. lose $4,000. Wright Ripley's place wa
damaged $4,000 also. All are fully insured.