New-York tribune., 1899-12-30
FOUGHT A FIERCE FIRE.
HAVOC WROUGHT BY FLAMES IN A
WALL PAPER FACTORY.
LOSS ESTIMATED AT HALF A MILLION
EFFORTS OF FIREMEN-SEVERAL
MEN INJURED.


MEN INJURED.
The two seven story buildings at No. 425 to
49, East Twenty fourth-st. inclusive. occupied
principally by the wall paper factory of William
Campbell & Co., were destroyed by fire last
night. The loss is estimated at more than
100000, and the fire OF the most de-
structive that this city has had since the Home
Life Insurance Building in Broadway so
severely damaged last winter.
The plant OF the New-York Hygeia Ice Com
pany, which occupied the basement OF No. 425
East Twenty y-fourth-st., and that Of the Man
haitian Electric Light Company the first
and second floors were totally destroyed. All
that part Of the city was lighted by that COM
pany and was cast into complete darkness
The Campbell company employed four hun
dred hands, who will be thrown out Of work
by the fire
The two buildings destroyed occupied a 'front.'
age Of 200 feet In Twenty y-fourth-st, the entire
Avenue frontage to Twenty y-fifth-st. and 100
feet in the latter street.
The glare from the fire Illuminated the east
side Of the city far down the Brooklyn
Bridge and Fiftieth-st.. further, and the
people Of the East Side tenements were much
perturbed at what they thought an inevitable
Brooklyn Bridge was superb.
DISCOVERED BY A WATCHMAN.
Patrick Cannon. the night watchman in the
buildings. discovered the fire on the first floor
at 1915 o'clock. He said IL was then burning
fercely and spreading with extreme rapdity,
the inhammabe nature Of the stock-mostly
paper and paper products-made the progress
of the flames easy
Cannon said the assistant engineer and one
Of his helpers had left the building only few
minutes before. He ran to the frebox at First
ave. and Twenty third-et. Frank Nugent the
gate watchman at Bellevue Hospital. only
short distance away, turned in an alarm from
the box near that place. The first firemen 10
arrive saw they had a hard battle ahead. and
two additional alarms were turned in.
The flames continued to keep ahead Of all
their efforts. and two alarms more, making five
in all. we're turned in. This brought twenty
five fire engines. thirteen hook and ladder trucks
and two water towers.
Within twenty minutes after the fire was dis
covered the entire west side Of the factory was a
roaring furnace. The flames shot from the win
dows on all the floors and out over Avenue A.
Fortunately there were no large buildings
close enough 10 catch and the fremen were
able by hard work to keep the flames confined
to the Campbell buildings. Five members OF
Hook and Ladder Company No. II were or
dered by Chief Croker to enter the building and
investigate
CAUGHT RY BACK DRATGHT
Andrew Degnan. Joseph Shaughnessey and
Joseph Bessinger were on the sixth floor, when
they were caught by hack draught Their
situation was extremely perilous for few mo-
81 Ind Il al pOt
them. and they got out. All were severely
burned Shaughncssey and Bessnger were sent
to Bellevue Hospital.
william Fondey and Lee Potter were caught
near the windows the same floor The nre
was back OF them in the building, and reach
ing out for them with leaps and bounds
The two men took refuge IN the WINDOW ledge
and shouted for help. The smoke from the
lower stories was so dense that their comrades
in the street could not see them but could hear
their cries for help.
Chief Croker ordered up an extension ladder
and Edward Gray. OF Engine No. .. leaped on
70 II and was raised to the rescue. He assisted
his comrades now scOrched by the fiames and
almost overcome by the smoke, TO the ladder
Tho three mon were cheered they were as
sisted to the street. Potter was 80 severely
burned and suffering such Ill effects from the
smoke that he was sent to Bellevue
COULD NOT SAVE THE BUILDINGS.
The two buildings were doomed from the be-
ginning. because OF the high wind. At - o'clock
the Twenty-fourth-s walls went down with
crash. filling Twenty -fourth-st. with debris and
almost buryinG number OF firemen. whose es-
cape was of the narrowest sort
The falling walls crushed In the roof of the
Water Department supply house adjoining. and
the citys loss will be heavy.
Fireman George T.. Burns OF Engine Com
pany No 30 fell while running from n falling
wall and broke his leg. He was taken to
Bellevue.
Several men from Engine Company No. ~. OF
West Twenty -ninth-st. were on the top floor or
the Twenty-nfth-s st side of the building when
they found their escape apparently cut of by
fire II looked bad for a few minutes but they
managed 10 get out by sliding down the ban
nisters. Some OF them were snged.
FIREMEN SCORNED DANGER.
There were numerous exhibitions Of nerve and
bravery. The men OF Engines Nos 80 and
were in Twenty fourth-st. working what they
call a double header line when Chief Croker
called to them that they were in danger
"To with the danger" they called back.
and went on with their work. The moment
the wall came down with a laundering crash
and within arms length of where they stood
They never turned hair. but kept on with
their work
The fire was under control at midnight
ANOTHER CREW PROBABLY LOST.