New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-08
MYSTERIOUS DELAY IN SENDING IN
THE ALARM ACCOUNTS FOR THE
LOSS OF LIFE-THEORIES AS
TO THE ORIGIN OF THE
ANDREWS BLAZE


Of Wallace c. Andrews, president Of the New
York Steam Heltng Company. told in lats
editions Of yesterdays Tribune Twelve lives
were lost there including that of Mr.. Andrews.
his wife. his sister-in-aw and her three chill
dren. The other was in the home Of Alfred J.
Adams No . East sixty-ninth-st. One servant
perished there and several Of the inmates
were injured. Here is list Of the victims OF
the flames in the Andrews household:
THE DEAD.
ANDREWS. Wallace C.. sxty-six Years "a
ANDREWS. Margaret. wife ~ Wallace {. ,or'y-hvs
BoLAND. Nellie kitchenmald
DOWNING. Kate Mrs. 81. Johns maid.
FLANAGAN MARY. parlormsid.
NEARY Annie
PETERSON. Eva servant.
ROTH. Marie,
ST. JOHN. Mrs. Gamaliei c. wife ~ Nr So Iohn snd
sister law Of Mrs " . Andrews
ST JOHN. Frederick thirteen months did. snn
ST JOHN. orson b. old. eldest son ~ Nh.
ST JOHN. Wallace three year. old second OF Mn.
INJURED.
BURNS Jennie servant: fractured skull hardly
cover. Al Presbyterian Hospital
WHITE ss D 1S os a. 9nd bs sbs a. p sss
teen who escaped with slight injury.
Here follows list Of the victims Of tho
Adams fire:
IoUGHIIN Mrs Mary housekeepcr sixty years Old. Z
INJURED.
ADAMS Miss Eyeyn Iwen,y.ns years ot dsashtsr ct
pita and then Hotel SAVOY.
ADAMS Miss Isabella daughter Albert J.. shock ana
Hospital ana an then then 70 Hotel Ssvo,
BL.ZINA Jeremiah aTeman bruises from fall q seal
to his home
BoGUE Minnie servant sprained ankle and bruises At
MoLLoY. Mary. servant; fractured leg and shock. At
Presbyterian Hospital
QUINN. Nellie confusion Of back ags shoulder
Presbyterian Hospital.
STEPHENSON. william. servant: bruises Al Presby-
terisn Hospital.
The house of Mr. Andrews was completely de-
stroyed. and that Of Mr.. Adams heavily damaged
TWO POINTS TO BE CLEARED UP.
Two important points concerning the Andrews
catastrophe remain TO be cleared up. One is
the origin Of the fire. and the other the fatal
delay in summoning the firemen. Fire Com
missioner Scannell promised yesterday that he
would rgdy investigate the latter question
He said there would probably have been no loss
OF life at all but for somebody's bunder In
view Of this promised investigation it was diffi-
cult yesterday to gather information from those
whose evidence may be called for. Patronan
Mcknight, on whose beat the house was de-
clares that he turned in an alarm promptly On
discovering the fire. but Robert Lewis. who
sitting at the patrol desk at Fire Headquarters.
in East ixty-seventh-st.. at 80 o'clock yestsr-
day morning. SAYS he was aroused by citizen
beating on the door Of the enyiue-house With a
stick Lewis opened the door and saw In the
gloom the figure OF man. who. pointing toward
That house must be on fire" Lewis looked ond.
as he said afterward. 1T seemed as II all Cen-
tral Park was ahre" He yelled. "All hands turn
outr' and Captain Tobin. Of Engine Company
No ~. Immediately struck the gong. In a jiny
the engine was on It's way to the fire. and as IL
passed out Of the door the fire alarm sounded.
This was at | .5S O'Clock. n did not take mora
than three minutes to reach the Andrews horsc.
but even then the flames were beyond control.
There is no doubt that the frenen were out
ahead of the regular alarm; but how many
precious minutes were lost in serding in that
alarm and why are the questions 10 be In.
vestigated
william Jacobson. a watchman in the 7eigh-
borhood. is reported to have said that tgo oit-
zens whom he does not know first told him they
saw smoke coming from the basement. With
them he went to investigate, and soon discovered
that the house on fire. Instead " sending
in an alarm tire three began 10 ring the door
bells. rap on the windows and call 10 the In
mates. policeman hearing them walked up
and ordered them away. shouting. You get out
OF there When they explained 10 him that
the house on fire he SAID. Stop your noise;
I'll attend to this" Then he. TOO. neglecting 10
send in an alarm. began 70 ring the door-bels
pound on the doors with his club and yell 10 ths
inmates.
All this while the flames were gaining terrible
headway. There not a sign Of life within.
and presently ii occurred to the officer u.at the
fremen had not yet been summoned. Then be
sent in the alarm AT Is.
THE ALARM FOR THE ADAMS FIRE
When the fremen arri sed second and
third alarm were rapidly sent in and responded
TO- Then another remarkable thing happened
The Adams house took fire. and another alarm
was sent In for that. In some as yet unexplained
way il is said. this last alarm was at first sup
posed to be a repetition by some other person
OF a call 70 the Andrews fire. BY the time II
was clearly ascertained that a second house was
burning two blocks away, one life had been sac
rifced and one other In such dire peril that
II was only saved by an extraordinary feat Of
strength agility and pluck on the part OF one Of
the firemen all Of whom displayed those fine In.
dividual qualities which make them the pride
OF the city and which not even Tammany mis-
management OF the Department seems able
TO spoil.
The origin OF the fire In the Adams house II
easily explained. The family had been at the
Wild West Show on Thursday evening. and. re-
turning late. had not all got TO sleep when the
glare OF the Andrews fire and the noise OF the
iremen aroused them They watched the blaze
rom their windows and Miss Evelyn Adams
opened hers. Either a glowing ember borne by
he wind from the Andrews fire entered the
window and set nre TO a lace curtain, or the LACE
urtain was blown against an adjacent gas ~