The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-01-03
SIX DIE IN FLAMES
All But Two of the Reich
Family Perish in An
Early Morning
Fire.
DIED TRYING TO SAVE His WIFE
Chief Conway Falls Through a
Floor and Is Injured -Firemen
Uujusily Accused Of
CoWardice.

| the heart of Hudson City early yesterday
morning. Six members of the, family are
dead, horribly roasted, a seventh is in
the City Hospital suffering from injuries,
which may yet prove fatal, and the
eighth is likely to lose his reason as
result of the terrible mental anguish
which he has gone through because OF
the death of all his immediate relatives.
The family which suffered so from the
ravages of the fire fiend was that of
Adolph Reich, of No. SIT Germania ave
nue.. The dead are:-
Adolph Reich, forty-two years old.
Emma Reich, his wife, OF the same age.
Tillie Reich, step daughter, twenty
four years old.
Ida, fifteen years old
Albert, fourteen years old.
Gustav, eight years old.
Sigmund, the eldest son, is in the CITY
Hospital Ut was reported at flrst that
he could not possibly recover so badly was
he burned, but this morning it was re-
ported that his condition had improved
and that he will recover.
member Of the family, was also burned
about the face and hands, but not SO bad
ly that he could not get around and VISIT
his brother in the hospital. The mental
strain he has undergone has been terrible
and his friends fear he may lose his rea-
son. In his anguish yesterday after the
of neglecting their duty and leaving his
parents to perish in the flames when they
could have saved them.
The fire was a peculiar one. No one
knows how it originated, although it is
supposed to have resulted from defec-
tive f1ue or from spark from the parlor
stove. The Reich family lived in a two
story and a half frame house which the
father, a real estate dealer, owned. The
basement contained kitchen and din
ing room. On. the second floor were the
hon or-lrr
was divided into four bed rooms. Mr.. and
Mrs. Reich occupied the front bed room.
The two girls occupied one of the other
rooms; still another was occupied by Sig
mund and Gustav, and the fourth was
used by Henry and Albert. A broad stair
case led from the front door to the top
floor.
In the rear of the hall was a narrower
stairway leading to the basement. Mrs.
Reich and her daughters had received
calls all New Years Day. They retired
the family, with the exception of Henry
and Sigmund, who were making New
Years calls. They returned at one O'Clock
in the morning. The story of how the
fire occurred is told in fragmentary and
unsatisfactory way by Henry, the only
person who went through the scenes who
is able to talk intelligently. His account
throws but little light on the dreadful oc-
currence of yesterday morning. He and
Sigmund. according to his story, went to
bed shortly after reaching home. All the
tired. He was awakened by the
cries of one of the children.
He smelled smoke and started down
stairs. At this time, he says, there was
nobody in the bedrooms On reaching the
bottom of the stairs he stumbled over
body, which he believes was his fathers.
His father was lying partly on an over
thrown bicycle, which had been standing
back of the hall door. The hall was filled
with dense smoke and flames were COM
ing UP through the floor at the rear end.
erirr
an alarm, and he followed it. On the way
to Hutton street and the Boulevard,
where fire box 81 is, he met Gustave 10th
and 10th pulled the p9 box stoad henry dtside re
shivering in his scant clothing and bare
feet. He says that while he still stood
there he asked fireman to go in and
go in and save him yourself" the fire
man replied, according to Henry's state
ment.
Sigmund, according to his story, must
have gone down stairs before Henry. He
stumbled when half way down and fell
on top of his father on the hall floor.
The father apparently had just fallen. He
may have stumbled over the bicycle He
and his father ran out to the street, but
in few minutes Sigmund returned. He
had got as far as the foot of the stairs
when he was met by a volume of flame
and driven back. He dropped on his
hands and knees and crawled out to the
stoop. He was nearly unconscious and
body carried him into a neighbor's house,
and he was kept there until an ambulance
arrived and took him to the hospital.
His father returned to the house, again
and met his death. He evidently did not
get further than the hall; Slgmund has
not been made aware of the fact that his
relatives are dead: He h asked anxiously
warned visitors not to give him any in
fornia ton
Engines 7, Il, 12 and u and Truck 3 re
I'D tloo ,Ira Of frn
agement of the fire was in charge of Chief
Conway and Battalion Chief Kearn.
Neither the firemen nor the police sus-
killed or injured. Afterward the interior
of the house was SO filled with smoke and
names that it could not be entered It was
not until the flames were under control
that the bodies were discovered. The
bodies of the father and his sons were dis
covered first, and shortly afterward those
of the mother and daughters were found
About Ais O'clock Chief Conway was
cropping. his way through the parlor floor
hall followed by Firemen Miller of Truck
3, both carrying lanterns.
"Open one of those windows, Miller
said the Chief, ''and let some of the smoke
out.
Miller had just opened. the window when
he heard a cry and turning around saw
the Chief and his lantern disappearing
through the back parlor floor. The hole
through which he dropped was directly
over the place where the stove had been
standing before it fell through.
The fire did not do much damage to any
part of the building except the hallway
and the kitchen. The bedrooms were
practically untouched by the flames.
Henry Reich and his employer, George
Prigge, who keeps a grocery at Germania
avenue and Zabriskie, informed several re-
porters and others who were in the store
that most of the firemen and some of the
policemen were under the influence of
LIQUOR This statement is emphaticaIly de-
MED by the firemen and policemen and
nobody hut Reich and Prigge could be
found to verify it.
The lives of all the victims were insured,
as was also the house. Sigmund was en-
Moved in his fathers real estate and in
surance Office. Miss Tillie worked for Ju-
lius Berger furrier and halter at Bow
erss street and Central avenue. She was
daughter of Mrs. Reich by a former hus-
band. but she was not aware, that Reich
was not her father until she became
twenty-one years old.
One of the most wretched features of
the calamity is the common talk that
members of both fire and police depart
meflts were drunk when they reported for
duty. but while many people in the neigh
the house where Adofph Reich
their lives, eriticise the slow work of the
fire department great praise is accorded
Chief Conway for his courageous attempt
at saving the lives Of the inmates, which
attempt neariy cost him his own life.
The Chiefsnow lies at his home, No& 679
Sumnait avenue, suffering from his in