The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-30
HALF A BLOCK In ASHES.
CAMPBELL PIPER FACTORY BURNS
IMPERILLIy0 MANY LIVES.

The william Campbell Wall Paper Com pany's
factory. which covered half tho block between
Twenty-fourth and Twenty-nfth Streets on
tho East River. was burned last night.
The fire was the hottest and most
dangerous with which tho Fire Depart
ment has had to copo for many months.
The great factory furnished endless OPP
rorfunities for the dangerous back drauehts
which are the terror OF fire fighters, and
one OF them caught several OF tho
hremen and burned then. one seriously.
The fire was almost as much OF spectacle as
was the IRE In the same company's factory at
fOrty-sccond street and Tenth avenue seven
years ago. After 1t gathered its full strength
II threw column OF red aud Scllow fame
hundreds OF feet luto the air. lighting up tho
sides OF buildings miles away and making the
whole BROOKLYN shore OF the East River as
light as though II had been covered by q tre-
menlous searchlight
At a little after 10 o'clock according to the
police. the Waterman at the factory ran out and
turned in Are alarm. lie told the policemen
who assisted him that he had Just let
two members Of tho company that
owned the factory out OF tho front
door OF the building and was returning up
stairs when he saw flames on the fourth door
near the middle Of the building. When the
Bremen arrived one alarm after another was
turned in until five had been sounded, and
twenty-ilv englLns, six hook and ladder
trucks ana two water towers had
been summoned. The fire worked its way out
OF the fourth-story windows on the Twenty
fourth street side. and by the time tho first
line OF hose vas squirting a stream against the
walls the entire first row OF windows was
throwing out roaring tongues OF fame that
reur al ha ha ar
The big building Is In two halves each half
running through from street TO street. Tho
blaze started In tho western half. but
In very few minutes the flames had
Jumped across the intervening space. aud
were eating into the third. fourth and
nth floors Of the eastern half. number OF
men belonging TO Truck IL were In the east
ern half Of the building on the seventh floor
when n puff OF fame silently shot up
the stairway and was upon them be-
fore they realized t. Fireman Shaughnessey
was caught in the middle OF II and his hands,
face and hair were terribly burned. He fell all
in hear. but the fall was his salvation. Tor the
flames rolled up the stairway over him. The
stairway itself was not on frc.
Shaughnessy. writing In pain rolled down to
the sixth floor rose and staggered to the stair
way 10 the next door and fell down ;hnt and ha I
falling. half running made his way N the ground
floor and staggered out into the street. where
H. was caught IN the arms OF his foreman and
carried to tho Dock Departments building at
tho foot " Fast Twenty-fourth street DR..
Christian. who was on hand with an ambu-
lanes from Bellevue Hospital. attended him.
and la,oT he wa, taken TO the hos pital.
Another man In tho came group on the stairs
was Foreman Leland Potter OF tho same
truck. He was little farther from the
AL G
burned With him were bremen Joseph Bcs.
sns Hsee CLARK p; w6o WI% T.Ss
reputation for daring at tho Windsor Hotel
PRE-; These men, ran to tho front OF the
dow dI sii The nre had taken hold o, the door
on which they were Nth terrific terrific speed, and In
"oa2 or h sTo tS osm. NJ che
The gindqN frame; and the red sGTs
poise OF the Are and tie rufire OF II, engines.
4 squad Ia OF men fron Truck rnd brought sht
Windows do Urea. Clouds ''I Of smoEo ws ere
ssSsI Sat :; the sSIasS e;
! aooT. The wind wa. Blowing hall : sac and
Hs sns and sGfT Ts
9ISSss 2 ,Po su 1aSS on F
men Gray OF Truck I, with half dozen OF his
INK ladders and made a desperate EFFORT 10
reach the seven,h floor. but the wind made It
1 men ' coa'd DO To- hang on I" them aud
Il was next 70 imnossi ,pn ,. for them to 70
iSe depa n9s e t /. famous Meanwhis the
long extension ladder had been brought up
| man Howe at the window soon
as tho ladder touched II; tie helped Deg.
h. sss n Hs T
Without ass's,sncs, Bsro2r the ladder .oaid
back drsught knocked out every window on
that floor.
sfsHfmS p 'sf, sss
Ens'ns were carrying line , Il h1Ss through
reached into that hail. As they reached the
ilG. roaring sound out OF tho darkness on the
| Twenty. fourth street si'e,
shoS. "Ofs aay %" Tnsy ""T fp ps nor HG
the. stairs. falling over ono another II
their taste to obey r the order, 4. A.
tne Door from Sh!ca they had had Ned 'S aboS
i"ctory with his driver trying TO see i he GoYlt
not save something. whom a similar pun of fire
drove them out so quickly thnt the Chaplain
| loft his gloves behind.
BY this time First avenue. Twenty-fourtf
and Twenty. NTH streets and oven Secc nd ave
nue.. wore filsd with n re- apparatus and tbs
crowds that had gathered TO watch III,
spectacle. II was great Are to looi
hlSa s aaP the roofs e0 81 b S' 5ud dS
one after he other and clouds OF sparks anc
smoke shot up to a height three times al
great as that Of the building. Fol
half IN hour after that the whole
top OF the great building was a mass
Of seething flames that swung north and south
| and east ana west as they leaped into the
air. The, people who filled the streeti
for block or more behind the fire
lines on all sides cheered and shouted
as each great pun Of iiame playet
over tho burning building. At II o'clock III,
walls began 10 ALL Almost " thout except oil
they fell back into the bu ding. hut on Twenty
| fourth street there was large piece o
wall that threateneI to fall OUT upon the fire
men and the ambulances that were gathered
there The horses and the ambulances were
taken away. but tho men had 10 stay.
! A gutta percha factory on Twanty-lourtf
street, Just above ~ burning building. haC
be, n subjected to streams from two engines
from the very beginning Of the fire, bat al ar
emily It could not he made wet enough
10 prevent 1t from hurniug. and n
probability was that II would be destroyed
ihief Croker. who was directing thu
- "a. L..