The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-14
FIREMEN WORN OUT
BUT THEY'LL WORK TILL THEY DROP,
CBIEF BONNER SAYS.

Battle Against Fire and Cold for n Wcok
Alarms In Excess of the Worst Day
In the ~Year-Strsets Almost lmpRssnble.
The Fire Department Ia on the verge OF ut
ter helplessness. Not only are the men almost
| exhausted with u weeks steady fighting
against the unusual number Of fires in zero
weather. hut the streets are becoming i'm
passableson aceount OF the jrifted snow. Chief
Bonner said yesterday afternoon that IL the
storm continued another twelve hours, 1t
would be IMPOSSIBLE 10 get the heavy engines
and trucks through the streets. There was
much difficulty yesterday.s especially In the
| outlying districts. and the time made In get
ting to fires was necessarily slow. The Chief
thought that the situation was very grave.
We are doing all that men can do" he said.
I'VE have been going IL steadily for a week.
and will keep at It until we drop; but unless
tho snowfall ceases. we shall soon be HELPLESS.
In the blizzard OF 1893 the department
was stalled for a time. and there were several
fires which Just had to burn themselves out
If we get %snowbound again. there 10 nothing to
be done except to wait for q change in the
weather. There would be nothing to prevent
whole blocks going, especially with this gale
blowing. The department will fight as long
rs Il can move. The men will be able to hold
out a while longer. but they are in mighty bad
shape from exposure and lack Of sleep"
The Chief himself has been up almost con-
stantly for q week and the strain shows on
him. In the forty eight hours from Saturday
morning at g o'clock until yesterday morning
at tho same hour there we're 107 fires in the
boroughs OF Manhattan and the Bronx. % OF
them being between 9 O'Clock Sunday night
and g o'clock yesterday morning. This aver
age 10 In excess Of the alarms turned in on the
Fourth OF July. which is generally by far the
worst day in the year. The average number OF
alarms daily does not exceed IL. The alarms
in the last three days have come from every
part of the city and there Ia not an engine
house whore the men are not thoroughly done
up.
The hremen started in YESTERDAY morning
we'll tired out. Ono of the worst fires they had
night in the row of old buildings +o2 to 40
OF these buildings were occupied by the Bau,
miller Piano Company. Mrs. $; J. awson had
a restaurant In the room OH the ground floor
| of 404. When the fremen arrived they found
Mrs. Lawson and Mrs. Pinkey. a friend who
was STAYING with her. out in the rear yard IN
fence topped With, barbed wire; They we're
carried through the, burning building and
by the hre amounted to about $1,000.
The small coal stove In cable car No. 162 OF
morning While the car was approaching Fifty
eighth street. bound uptown. and one OF the
sS Sc tsFen T 70 t lR!uf S]Ssp s9 R'd Fh shs ezp DC hoa
{SSSSa assssssry t. r,, Ss}S %, SOst , The E ESs
before they could do this. Sly PASSENGERS
All were badly frightened. but none was badly
hurt but Frank Cambria. 10 years old OF ~
eTioSsSsslyi as he could get to the stove. He was
burned about the face and hands and his
right side was cut By a piece OF hot sheet iron.
Tho offices and storage WAREHOUSE Of the
Harlem Express Company al l3lth street ana
day afternoon. The 6remen were delayed in
getting to the ecene by the snowdrifts and
to other buildings. Several OF the hremen
were badly frozen. as were two.polieemen The
I .ovst to stock 6S ja asS SSitdinET Sss 5aildIns f% Way
owned by j. Sergeant Cram. President OF the
Fire was discovered about 6 o'clock last night
in the ragshop Of Jacob Kaplan & Grossman.
ut lis and 10 Elizabeth street. and the flames
third alarms, Mere sent in. the best tho depart
ment could do was TO prevent the fire spread
1 Mihd t3 the S' hrs grew ess!d Wife h9t and tx The sf fia nien
leaping skyward. frequently pierced the en-
SsjSSi9 IT, P ssis # s#Sdd and Il s 8 S:siG sRd t 'Ite% IRE
was practically under control. but 1t burned
ftinlly nearly al night. The loss was roughly
horses attached TO Fire Patrol No. ? fell ex.,
Msiis 0 Cath ss' J. NY T, s s. Z sFS at and j. his SS soaga sas;
was a slight one. at eis Smith Avenue.
Engine COMPANY a.. Ne 9, 80 a. and 1T T5us Gzt COMPANY Itpaat
Went to a small fire In the fiat Of, william Bum
garden. at y East 10th street, last night. The
snow was SC deep that five horses we're re-
Quirsd to drag tbs engine back 10, Fire Hall.
while the truck became stuck in the snow SO
often that an hour and a half was consumed In
covering the eight blocks home.
John Brosnan. u wine merchant, in business
in Fulton street. went TO bed at 8 o'clock last
street. SO did his wife, and son; but. his three
daughters sat up until IL o'clock entertaining
gone To- bed when one Of them smelled smoke
coming from the basement and awakened thclr
The lire engines could hardly get to the house
on account Of the snowdrifts. Engine 40 got
as far a. Amsterdam avenue and Seventy
avenue and Seyenty.fourth street. Both got
stuck in the snow. The fremen had to drag
the middle OF the block. and by that time the
flames had gained a S3od headway s.0, in o
niehtgown and an overcoat. trying to push the
piano from the parlor into the hall. They
pieke4 him up and Carried 4En q mn h. th htS Q tn
hers OF the family were also carried there, az
none was dressed and the snow had driftsd high
she reached a place Of safety. that she had LEFT
her diamonds in her room on the second floor
board OF Fire Underwriters. heard OF this and
ran into tho burning house. He succeeded in
getting . 9Th the , LEVELS motors for h si the house were badly
damaged. The loss will reach $4,000.
Policeman Wooley C.. Sullivan saw smoke
coming from the restaurant OF A. Il. Cooper in
the basement OF 10 West Thirteenth street
last night and turned in Il fire alarm
Above the restaurant are three doors. divided
into furnished rooms. occupied mainly, BY
clerks employed in the 4cighborhood. The
occupants Of The rooms led to the street H.
nelghboring houses. The hro did $4,000
damHge.
in the rear extension of the tlve-story brown
stone house If DR.. Il. p. Lincoln ut % IVES
Thirty-frst street.
One OF the engines that responded TO tn,
alarm was stalled in the snow on the way. AM
the drifts we're so heavy that the fire game,
ten minutes headway before any OF the en-
With Dr. Lincoln live his brother-in law, 4
". Tyler. his sister-in-law; his daughte
been Il! for the past two weeks wit
throat trouble and DR.: lincoln'S daughter wa
we're carried in their GisH hoIiNh from tn
Dr. lincoln escaped. but Mr.. Tyler was. en-
!. of on The top floor. He put his head out OF III
| ..f,l,,u all fling azgnn 1 gIINnnAtinn nnf