The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-19
BUTTE NEWS.
IN THE WINDSOR FIRE
Billy Love Had a Terrible Ex-
perience.
HE HAD A CLOSE CALL
Caught on the Eighth Floor-Tvyo Women
Were Dashed to Pieces Before
HIS Eyes-His Own Mar
row Escape.
HE HAD A CLOSE CALL

W. F. Love. or Billy Love" as the
hotel and the legion of travelling men
whose faces aud names he never for
gets. prefer to call him out of affec-
tfonate regard, tells a story of his ex-
periences in the Windsor hotel fire in
New York last March, which would
make most thrilling chapter in any
page of fiction. Few people ever went
through such an experience and came
out alive, to say nothing of escaping
without any permanent injury.
Mr.. Love held the position he now
Hills, for long time up to aboalt a year
ago. Then he went East to similar
position in the Windsor hotel in New
York city. This is how he came to be
pne of the sufferers from that terrible
confla grafton. He has very recently
returned To Butte to accept his old
position. In telling the story of his
experiences few evenings ago, Mr..
Love said:
Il was working a shift as clerk at the
hotel and at the time of the fire. my
hours were so arranged that ] got off
duty in the morning. This accounts
for my being in my room when the fire
broke out. / was about after l got off
duty for some time and in the afternoon
I went to my room to take nap. 1
had just thrown off part of my clothes.
but had not lain down yet. when I
heard bands playing in the street below
my window. Looking out / saw the
St. Patrick's Gay parade in Fifth ave
nue..
"As 1 stood watching tl,e parade I
noticed that those partici pating in it
rushed suddenly to the opposite side
of the street and supposed there was a
fire somewhere and that the department
was coming up the street. Then / could
see the people looking up at the hotel
building and looking down. was on
the eighth fioor-I could see dense
cloud of smoke bursting from the fourth
story windows.
my first thought on seeing the fire
was in the building, was to make my
way down the stairs, and I started
but only got as far as the floor below
me. The fire had spread with such
frightful rapiditv that further progress
was cut off and I saw that my only
chance was in getting back to my own
floor and taking chances from that
floor. ] got back up the stairs to the
eighth floor 'tnd found the smoke was
already SO dense there that 1 could not
see foot ahead of me. All I could do
was to grope my way along, which ]
did, and finally l came to a streak of
light. l found it was a door and I
went into tt e room. I found it was
my own. I losed the door quickly to
keep the smoke out and then I discov-
cred ] was h OF alone. There was
woman at the window and as I looked
she prepared to jump, I got to her
just in time to prevent her from doing
so. She was screaming and crying
frantically, she was SO terribly fright
ened and tried to calm her while I
thought of some means to get us both
out. There were no fire escapes on this
side of the building, or rather, they did
not come up to our floor and the only
provision made for fires was small
cord fastened to a. ring in the wall, to
be thrown out the window. I did not
think she could go down the rope, SO
] decided to wait and try and at
tract the firemen and have them send
up a ladder.
while we stood there another
woman burst into the room and T real
lied that my burden was doubled but
all l could do was to stand and wave
a towel in the effort to attract the at
tention of the firemen. between fighting
with the two women to keep them from
jumping from the window. Between
them 1t took all my strength and some
times I thought they would go in spite
of me. Suddenly one of the women
remembered that in her excitement she
had forgotten her child and she made
a break for the door to go for it, |
knew she could not go a foot outside
that door and that the child was lost
and accordingly l refused to let her
leave the room She fought like a
tigress and I finally had to take her