The times., 1899-04-08

get out the others alive if possible, or if
net, in such a condition that their bodies
could be identified. Lying near the win
dows in the rear room on that floor were
found the bodies of three persons. Ali
were horribly burned The fac IS of two
of them were completely burned away, AMI
those CT the others were in sucn conii-
tion as TO defy Identification. When these
bodies had been taken out a patrol wagon
was summoned from the East SiAty-sev-
enth Street police station and the bodies
were taken there.
The deluge of water had By this time
drowned out the flames and the fremen
were able 10 make a closer inspection of
every floor in their search for other bodies.
The interior of the building was a COM
plete wreck. Only the shell of the walls
was standing. The stairways were all
burned away. and great holes had been
burned through the floors.
The fremen managed to confine the
flames 10 the one building. The building
was connected by a glass alleyway with
the building at S54 Fifth Avenue, also
owned by Mr.. Andrews. 1t was thought at
first that this building was doomed, but
the efforts of the fremen prevailed. The
building was unoccupied save for the care
takers, Emma Banks and Andrew Foley.
the -NSbf- -hppEhoeu'
The house of Harmon o. Armour stands
on the south corner of Fifth Avenue and
Sixty-seventh Street, and George J. Gould S
residence is on the north corner. The in
mates of the Armour house began packing
up their belongings as soon as the fire
started and prepared to leave as soon as
the house caught fire. Streams of water
directed against the Armour house, how
ever, prevented the flames from reaching
there.
All the neighborhood was aroused by the
fire, and notwithstanding the early hour OF
the morning the street in front of where
the house stood was soon packed with peo-
pie The reserves were called from the
East Sixty-seventh Street police station to
see that the firemen were not impeded in
their work. Deputy Chief Purroy directed
the work of the firemen.
He said this morning that in all his ex-
perience he had never seen a fercer blaze
The flames, he said, seemed to jump from
all over the building at once. So rapid was
the spread of the fire that the inmates OF
the house had not even time to get to the
windows and scream for help. Those who
first saw the smoke say that at no time did
they see any persons in the windows.
1t was generally believed this morning
that the fire started on the parlor floor in
the front and that it was caused by lamp
setting fire to the curtains there. Another
theory was that crossed electric wires had
started the blaze, but this was not gener-
ally believed
Several OF the firemen were burned and
bruised, but only one was injured serious
ly. He was Irwin Blazius, of Engine Com
pany H. While trying to make his way
into a window on the second floor, he fell
and fractured several of his ribs. He was
removed to the PRESBYTERIAN Hospital.
The eleventh body was found On the top
floor soon after IL O'Clock. 1t was badly
burned, parts of the limbs being missing,
but Coroners Physician Williams was able
to determine that it was the body Of a man.
L. C. Bruce, of 1874 Madison Avenue, iden-
tilted the body as that of Mr.. Andrews.
He based his Identification on the filling of
the teeth. John 4. Logan. jr., also identi-
fed the body. Both Mr.. Logan and Mr..
Bruce are married 10 daughters of Clar-
ence Andrews, elder brother of Wallace c.
Andrews. About noon a part of a leg
which evidently belonged to Mr. An
drews' body was found.
Talk of an Incendiary.
One report that went around the scene
that the fire was the work of an incendi-
airy.
While Mr. Andrews and his family were
at their country home. near Tarrytown,
last summer there were several quarreis
among the servants, as the result of which
one of them was discharged.
Mary Flanagan recently received several
threatening letters. These letters were
shown TO Captain Donohue of the East
Sixty-seventh Street station.
He said this morning that the nature
Of the letters was not such as to lead him
10 believe that the writer would take such
revenge as setting a house on fire.
A woman who left a card on which was
the name Madame S. Arriage. called at the
station house about noon and identified one
OF the bodies as that of Marie Roth She
said she recognized the body by the teeth.
She said that Marie Roth was twenty-five
years old and that she was born in Ger
many.
DR.. Mitchell, of 7i7 Madison Avenue, said
today that he might be able TO identify
the body of Mrs. Andrews, as he had per-
formed an operation on her not long ago.
F. 4. Borden. of l64 West 1l6th Street,
learned that Mr.. 81. John was in Philadel-
phia today and he telegraphed him there.
Alice White was able 10 tell her story
OF the fire after she had been some hours
in the hospital. She said. Jennie Byrnes
and ! slept together on the top floor. |
was awakened by some kind of a noise and
spoke TO Jennie. Then we both smelled
smoke and she yelled: The house is OIL
fire,' We put on little clothing and
went to the rear window. l said we would
have TO jump, and she said she couldn't. /
told her again TO jump and then l tainted.
! must have fallen out of the window"
Was To Have Gone South Yesterday.
The Andrews family had intended to go
10 Hot Springs, Va, today. All We're TO go
except the baby. and he was 20 be left
here with the nurse. The members OF the
household spent all day yesterday In pack
ing up. For this reason they were all very
tired when they went to bed. This may
account for the fact that thcy were not
aroused by the fire at the start.
The scene in the rear OF the East Sixty
seventh Street police station this morning
was a sad one Lifetime friends of the
Andrews and st. John families were here
10 look at the dead. Many of them were
in tears About 10 O'Clock a hysterica.
woman rushed into the building sobbing
violently and wringing her hands. She
said she was a sister OF the Flanagan girl
The matron took her aside and tried to
soothe her. but she would not Re COM
forted She begged to be allowed 10 see
the bodies, but she was not permitted to do
So II was feared at one time that she
would go insane.
The firemen aired their old superstition
this morning. we have now had the
three one of them said. He referred 10
the old belief in the department that one
disastrous FIRE never occurs but that two
others follow il in very short time. The
Windsor Hotel fire was the first and the
Andrews fire the second, and the fatal ire
in a. j. Adams house this morning ccn.-
pieted the series.