The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-03-18
fam Butlcr. Thomas McCluskey, Mrs.
G. H. Striener, Miss Rosenhein.

fam Butlcr. Thomas McCluskey, Mrs.
G. H. Striener, Miss Rosenhein.
Flames Could Not Be Checked.
The flames could not be checked,
and In two hours from the time that
the fire broke out the entire structure
was In ruins and the streets on three
sides Of the building were filed with
debris from falling walls and tall Chin
neys, while the streams of water be-
ing poured upon the interior Of the
ruins had no other effect than to fill
the air with clouds of scalding steam,
making 1t impossible for any one to
approach near enough to search for
missing bodies.
The fire was the most spectacular
that could be imagined. When 1t
broke out Fifth avenue was crowded
with people watching the st. Patrick's
day parade, and every window in the
front of the hotel facing Fifth avenue
was filed with spectators watching the
marching men and floats in the street.
The day was all that could be desired
and unusually large numbers of peo-
pie were on the streets on that ac-
count, fact which interfered not
little with the movements of the fire.
men and police. AS soon as the flames
were discovered shooting from the
windows that part of the st. Patricks
day procession which was near the
building came to halt. and in a few
minutes the parade was disbanded.
In addition to the regular guests of
the hotel the windows were crowded
by large number of spectators resi-.
dents of this city, who had congre-
gated there to witness the parade.
Jumped From the Windows.
Soon after the first alarm was given
people in the lower floors of the hotel,
those who had easy access to the
street and the bar commenced to pour
out of the building in great numbers,
that a great majority Of the occupants
of the hotel were either panic stricken
or were unable to make their way to
the ground floor. Windows were
thrown up on every side of the build
ing, and guests mostly women in all
stages Of terror, made their appear
ance and commenced to make frantic
appeals for assistance to the crowd
standing below. As the flames gather
ed about them they became more and
et,
several of then, stood upon the harrow
window sills and beckoned to the spec
tators below that they were about to
leap to the streets. The men collected
upon the sidewalks. readyto offer any
assistance that they could, and in the
meantiMe a number of women left the
window sills and dropped to the street.
In most of the cases the efforts to
catch them and break their awful fall
was unavailing, for they struck the
limbs were the result.
Many Heroic Rescucs.
As soon as the firenen could get
their scaling ladders into position they
climbed the sides of the building and
entered every windoW, and many cases
of heroic resCues We're witnessed by
the thrOng in the streets. AT the cor
ner of FOrty-seventh street and Fifth
avenue, directly across from the hotel,
is the home of Miss Helen Gould. and
at her direction many of the injured
were carried there and were treated
by physicians and nurses. whom she
had sent for. In the meantime the
chief of police had telenhoned to every
hospital in the city, asking that as
sistance be sent to the fire sufferers.
Ambulances forced their way through
the crowds as quickly as possible, and
the injured people who had made the
were placed in them and removed to
the hospitals. Several occupants of
the hotel appeared at the windows of
the sixth and seventh stories, and even
on the roof, and leaped to the streets
from these points. Very few of them
escaped either instant death Or in
juries which resulted in their death a
short time later.
Building Enveloped In Flames.
In the meantime the entire building
was being enveloped in flames, which
shot out from every window and form.
ed picture which struck terror to all
those who were witnesses to it. With
in 40 or As minutes after the fire first
broke out the walls on the Fifth ave-
nue. side showed every indication OF
falling. and presently, with an awful
crash, they struck the asphalt covering
of the street in front of the hotel and
caused the hundreds Of people who
were standing there tn scatter in every
direction. This fall weakened the
walls on the Forty sixth and Forty
seventh sides, and they followed mo-
ment later. When the walls fell the
bricks and mortar and twisted girders
and corrugated iron filled the streets
on the three sides Of the hotel.
The doorsteps and iron fences in
front of the houses on the opposite
side of the street from the hotel were
wrecked by the falling walls. and the
amount of debris piled in the streets
was so great that travel will be i'm
peded for several days. The northwest
wing of the hotel continued to burn
for half hour after the walls OF the
rear part of the building fell. The
firemen continued to play streams
upon the flames and also upon all the