The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-08
MANSIONS OF MANY MILLION
AIRES WERE THREATENED.
Heroic Efforts Made to Save the Lives
of the Victims-Mothers Perish
With Their Infants In Their Arms
Caused BY An Explosion of Gas
Wind Helps the Flames.

eQ between people OF uHubud1 Nedlln
and servants. The first spread so rap
idly that il gave nc chance of escape.
The amount of damage to property is
estimated at about 100000.
Following is a list of the dead, miss
ing and injured:
Dead.-Wallace c. Andrews, presi-
dent of the New York Steam Heating
company; Mrs. Wallace c. Andrews,
his wife; Mrs. Georgiana Boyden st.
John, wife of Mrs. Andrews brother,
Gamaliel c. st. John, an official of the
New York Steam Heating company:
Orson St John, aged Z years; Wallace
St. John, aged 3 years; Frederick St.
John, aged Is months; Nellie Boland,
servant; Mary Flanagan, servant; Eva
Peterson, servant; Kate Downing,
servant; Marie Roth, servant; Annie
Neary, servant.
In the Adams fire: Mrs. Mary
Laughlin, aged 50 years, housekeeper;
died from suffocation and burns.
Alice White, d cook, and Jenny
Burns a laundress, the only inmates of
the Andrews who escaped, are in the
hospital in serious condition.
The list of injured at the Adams fire
is: Mrs. Isabella Adams, wife Of AL
bert J. Adams, injured in the back,
burned. suffering from shock; Nellie
Quinn, servant, jumped from fourth
floor to AN extension, severe bruises;
Evelyn Adams, burns, shock; Minnie
Bogue, servant, sprained ankle and
bruises; Jerry Blazin, fireman engine
company, confusion Of back; Mary
Malloy, leg fractured, shock; W. a.
Stevenson, bruises and Commissions.
WHERE THE FIRE STARTED.
The fire originated at the corner of
Sixty seventh street and Fifth avenue,
in the house occupied by Wallace c.
Andrews. president of the New York
Steam Heating company. There were
in the house fourteen persons fast
asleep. How the fire originated is still
a mystery, though it seems to 5e GER
tain that an explosion of some kind &C.
CURED, but whatever was the cause,
the flames spread with such rapidity
that only two escaped from the build
ms. One Of these is so badly injured
that she has no chance of surviving.
The fire communicated to Sixty-ninth
street. and in the house of Albert j.
Adams a servant was burned 20 death,
thus bringing the total loss of life to
thirteen So thoroughly did the flames
do their work that when the Quilted
Adams house was searched the corpseS
We're 50 charred as to be almost beyond
positive Identification. The names of
the dead We're ascertained more from
certain knowledge of those who were in
of the living image that they retained.
The first fire was discovered about
a. m. A policeman was passing in front
of the Havemeyer residence. in East
SiXty-siXth street. when he heard an
explosion and saw a great flash OF light
in SiXty-seventh street. He ran thither
with all speed When he arrived, the
flames were shooting out of the upper
floors of the Andrews house. They
leaped half way across the street. The
policeman tried TO get into the house to
arouse the occupants. He was driven
back by the flames. He then turned in
an alarm and, returning, got the people
out of V. II. Rothschild's house, close
by.
MANSIONS WERE THREATENED.
Around the corner of Sixty-seventh
street and Fifth avenue are the homes
of some Of New YoriIs wealthiest men.
Next TO the Adams house, which was
handsome four-story brown-stone, is
the splendid home of II. o. Armour Of
the Chicago firm of packers. Next to
that is the home of Perry Belmont
Directly opposite this is the house OF
George J. Gould.
While some of the f1remen fought the
flames with hose and chemicals. others
rushed into the ROthschilds' house and
from there into the Andrews home by
were even then too late, for in the
middle room of the third floor the fire.
men stumbled over the bodies OF Mrs.
St. John and Wallace. her S-year-old
child.
The child was dead. but Mrs. st.
John was still just alive and casting
for breath A fireman picked her up
and staggered with her to the Roth
child's house. but she died as she was
being carried in.
Mrs. St John and her three children
were all on the third floor. Mr.. St.
John, who is the treasurer Of the New
York Steam Heating company, and a
brother of Mrs. Andrews, was not at
home. Mr. Andrews and his wife occu-
pied the middle room on the second
floor.
The servants of the Andrews We're on
the fourth. or top floor. Alice White,
the cook. leaDed from the window to
an extension which rose to the third
floor. She was found there unconscious
by a fireman. Jennie Burns another
servant, jumped from the same window
TO the extension. She crushed in her
skull. and is in a critical condition.
Nellie Boland, the kitchen maid Mary
Flanagan. Darlor maid; Annie Neary
and Eva Peterson. the four remaining
servants. We're later found dead on the
fourth floor.
After the firesnen had rescued Alice
White and Jennie Burns from the roof
of the extension just before the flames
reached that locality. another desDer-
ate effort was made to get into the
Andrews home but the coniagration
had gained an extraordinary hold, and
ii was impossible to force an entrance
The flames shot into the air to the
height Of over 100 feet.
a strong wind. blowing from the
south, swept the flames north. On the
north side Of SiXty-ninth street was
the handsome home of Albert J. Adams,
The millionaire sporting man, better
known as "Al' Adams. His family had
been aroused by the tumult. A servant
opened the front window
WIND HELPS THE FLAMES.
a gust of wind swept the fire in
through the open window The Adams
house began to blaze fiercely The in
mates were panic-stricken by this sud |
den outburst of flames. Nellie Quinn
and Mamie Vogel, servants, tried to
rush down the stairway. but that ave-
nue. of escape was already cut off The
two appeared at the front window.
Thence they jumped TO the roof of the
bow window d story below. They
crouched in terror there. The crowd be-
low shouted that help would soon come. |
The flames got hotter and nearer to
the women.
A policeman and several citizens ran
into the adjoining house and up to the
third floor Of that building. on a level
with the women. While the citizens
held the policeman, he leaned far out
of the window and. lifting the women
up one at a time, swung them up into
the room. They We're carried down to
the street. Spectators cheered wildly.
In an hour the fire in the Adams |