Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-08
APPALLING FIRE AT READING
Hosiery Mill Burns Resulting in Two Deaths
and Sixty People Injured,
EMPLOYEES BECOME PANIC STRICKEN
six Hundred Persons Employed I'm the
building Make Dash for Fire
Escapes and windows when
Flames Are Discovered.

READING, Pa, Dec. One of the most
appalling fires that has ever visited this city
occurred today when the extensive hosiery
mill Of Nelds q Horstkamp took fire, de-
stroying the plant, resulting in the death OF
two and possibly three persons, and injuring
about sixty other employees Of the company
1t was ascertained tonight that what was
supposed to he two charred bodies were
really the separated parts Of one body Il
Is also positively known that but one life
was lost, all now being accounted for, except
Miss Louisa Clay. aged As. OF the nifty
seven persons injured the following thirty
are the most seriously hurt:
Hesther Mowbray, shoulder dislocated.
Mamie Ritter, ankle fractured and other
wise badly hurt.
Salle Chrsman, arm broken.
Emma Lance, nose broken. hip dislocatcd.
Annie Baer ankle broken, serious in
juries internally.
Winnie Baer, leg broken.
Annie Drummer, ankle broken and other
wise badly injured.
sallie Bausher, leg broken.
Katie Boyer, face disfgured, arms and
legs hurt
Louisa Barron, severely injured legs.
Annie Bowman, internally injured
Sallie Clay, knee fractured.
Katie Dapler, internally injured.
Ella Kinkle, internally injured.
Miss Iback, internally injured.
Miss Karbarcher, internally injured.
Mamie Kramer, internally injured.
Katherine Kelly, internally injured.
Mamie Lachman, leg broken.
Frances Luden, back severely injured,
Emma Lorah, both legs broken.
Catherine Luppold, internally injured.
Annie Mahoney, leg broken,
Bessie Schaeffer, thigh dislocated.
Minnie Schwartz, leg broken.
Salio Sherman. internally injured.
Gertrude Seifert. leg broken.
Jennie Warner, both legs reported broken
Maggie Whitmeyer, leg broken.
Leila Hendershaw. both thighs fractured.
Mary Reich. compound fracture of arm;
otherwise seriously injured.
The remainder of the fifty-seven had
hands or face burned, limbs bruised or
otherwise injured.
The hosiery building was n large four
story structure and nearly 500 persons were
employed, most of them being women and
girls.
Girls Panic Stricken.
The fire was discovered about II o'clock
and in few moments the girls were panic
stricken. They made dash for the nre
escape and the stairs, but found that the
latter means of escape would not carry all
of them down at the same time. Several
hundred OF the girls then made a rush for
the windows and appealed to those in the
street to save them. Ladders were brought
into use and many of the girls were taken
from the burning building safely. Most of
them however, jumped and were seriously
injured.
For few minutes from every window on
the second and third floors girls leaped one
after the other. Some lodged in the arms
Of those below, but many struck the ground.
They were picked up and rapidly removed to
the hospitals or their homes, Many of the
girls who escaped by the stairways and fire
escapes were badly burned, but none OF
them was, it is believed, seriously injured.
The fire travelled with great rapidity,
owing to the infammable stock in the build
ing. BY those who saw the progress of the
fire it is considered miraculous that there
was such a small loss of life. There is
much criticism among the employees because
of the fact that the screens in the windows,
except those at the fire escapes, were Sc
curely nailed to the window sills. The girls
had to break the screens before they could
get out to leap to the ground. Some of the
employees say the doors were locked as a
rule after the employees were in the build
ing.
The fire was caused by the explosion OF
gasoline in the singeng room. The less Is
at about $275, 600, on which there
is an insurance of $150,O0O