Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-04-08
TWELVE LIVES LOST BY FIRE
Women and Children Unable to Escape
From a Burning House

Women and Children Unable to Escape
From a Burning House
IN NEW YORk-SOME THRILLING
RESCUES- HEROIC WORK DONE
BY MEMBERS OF THE FIRE AND
POLICE DEPARTMENTS = THE
FIRE BROKE OUT AT O'CLOCK
IN THE MORNING AND DE-
STROYED TWO PALATI A L
HOUSES-LISTS OF DEAD AND
INJURED.
New York, April 7.-Twelve lives are
known to have been lost by the fire
which destroyed the homes of Wallace
C. Andrews in East SiXty-seventh
street, and Albert ]. Adams in East
Sixty-ninth street, this morning.
The names Of those known to be dead
are as follows: Wallace C. Andrews,
president of the New York Steam Heat
ing Company; Mrs. Wallace c. An
drews; Mrs. Gamaliel c. st. John, Sis
ter-in-law to Mrs. Andrews, and wife
of G. C. ST. John, treasurer of the
steam heating company; Austin st.
John, seven years old; Wallace st.
John, three years old; Frederick st.
John, thirteen months old, (the three
foregoing were the children of Mrs. st.
john; Eva Peterson, servant; Nellie
Roland, servant; Mary Flanagan, SER
want; Annie Neary, servant, all these
deaths occurred in the house of Mrs.
Andrews) Mary Laughlin. servant, in
the house Of Albert J. Adams; wo-
man, probably Kate Downing or Marie
Ross.
1t is almost certain that there is still
another body in the Andrews house,
which will bring the total dead to thlr-
teen, with one so seriously injured,
Jennie Burns, that she cannot live.
The missing are: Kate Downing and
Marie Ross, servants in the Andrews
household. There is every probability
that they were burned to death.
The injured are: Jennie Burns, SER
want in the Andrews house, not expect
ed to live; Alice White, cook in the An
drews house, condition serious; Nellie
Quinn, servant in the Andrews house,
condition serious. Others were slight
ly but not seriously injured.
Fire broke out in the Andrews house
about 3 o'clock, and spread so rapidly
that when the firemen arrived in re-
Spouse to the first alarm they found
the interior of the house in flames.
A second alarm was turned in, and the
firemen made desperate efforts to get
out the inmates of the house. They
were only partially successful. Sew
eral members of the Andrews family
were carried out unconscious. The
Andrews home is in the heart of the
district occupied by the homes of New
York's richest millionaires. The house
on the corner is occupied by h. o..
Armour. The house at No. 4 is occu-
pied by Mr.. Rothschild. The firemen
found it impossible to save the An
drews house and devoted most Of their
energies to saving the Armour and
Rothschild properties. Many times
both were on fire, but the vigilance Of
the fremen as often 1t cut the
flames.
The fremen were unable to get into
the Andrews house as late as 3: 80
o'clock. The roof then caved in ana
the interior was a mass of flames.
Sparks shot high into the air as from
a blast furnace, and several of the sur
rounding mansions were ignited, but in
most cases firemen or servants were
on the roofs with water and put the
fires out in their incipiency. They were
not successful, however, in the case of
the five-story stone house OF Albert j
Adams at No. 5 East Sixty-ninth
street. This house was almost directly
in a line with the Andrews home, but
two blocks north. 1t had no sooner
caught than the flames spread with
alarming speed. Fortunately, the FAM
lily had been aroused by the other fire,
and all were taken out by the police
except one unknown woman and Mary
Malone, % years old, servant. The
latter was seriously burned and may
die. She was taken to the Presbyterian
hospital. In the case of the unknown
woman a most heroic rescue was eff
fected. The woman appeared on the
coping of a fourth-fioor window and
was about to jump when the crowd
yelled to her to wait. A policeman ran
into the next house and dashed up the
stairs to the fourth floor, on a level
with the imperilled woman. Leaning far
out on the coping. he caught her by the
arm and with a mighty effort he swung
her out into space and then drew her
into the room with him. The crowd
wildly applauded the policeman's dar-
ing. The woman was sent to the Pres
byterian hospital