The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1899-03-20


10 render any assistance they could. and
IN the meantime some of the women
left the window siiis and dropped 70 the
streets. In most instances the efforts
10 catch them and break their awful
fall We're unavaiiing. for they struck
the sidewalk and in most cases broken
limbs were the result. As soon as the
iiremen could get their scaling ladders
into position they climbed the sides of
the building and entered at every win
dow at which there was an unfortunate
guest appealing for assistance, and
many cases Of heroic rescue were wit
messed by the throng in the streets. At
the corner 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 in
jured were carried there and were
treated by physicians and nurses whom
she had sent for. In the meantime the
chief Of police had telcphoned to every
hospital in the city asking that assist
ance be sent. Ambulances forced their
way through the crowds as quickly as
possible and the injured people who had
made the frightful leaps from the hotel
windows were placed III them and con-
veyed 70 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 those points. Very few of them
escaped either instant death or injuries
which resulted in their death short
time later.
In the meantime the entire building
was being enveloped in flames. Within
As minutes after the fire first broke out
the walls on the Fifth avenue side
Fell with IN Awful Crash.
This fall weakened the walls on Forty.
sixth and Forty-seventh streets and
they followed q moment later. When
the walls fell the brick and mortar and
twisted girders and corrugated iror
filled the streets ON three sides Of the
hotel. The doorsteps and iron fence:
in front of the houses on the opposit,
side Of the street were wrecked by thu
!. falling Of the walls and the amount O.
debris piled on the streets was SO grea
, that they will be impeded for severa
days.
one Of the most daring rescues effect
; ed bv the firemen occurred on the fiftl
a floor Of the Fifth avenue front. Al
!. elderly woman was seen at window
: and two fireman succeeded in reachin!
the window Immediately underneath
4. One Of them climbed to the coping o
!. the window on which she was standing
il and then swung the woman clear Of tn
!, window and landed her safely in tn
: arms Of his companion. who with tn
assistance Of several other fireme
passed her down to the street.
;, The loss on the hotel is estimated a
! about $1.OOO,OOO. Several adjoinin
!. buildings were damaged considerable.
a but the loss on these is comparativel
small. All the papers and books OF tn
hotel are believed to have been saved.
ldl Says It Was . Fire Trap.
n. Commissioner Scannell said that tn
burning Of the Windsor hotel was abot
n what he had expected. He declare
u that it was one Of the worst fire traps
is New York. and added:
10 There are other hotels in this city
n had as the Windsor, and unless the pr
r prietors put their places in the prop'
,f condition for saving lives, will pu
Ia lish a list that have in my possession