The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-03
MISTAKE OF TENANTS
RAN TO FRONT WINDOWS INSTEAD
OF THE REAR FIRE ESCAPE.
Details of the Burning Of n New York
Tenement-Infant Suffocated and
Fourteen People injured.

NEW YORK, Jan. IA little baby's life
was lost and eleven persons were injured
IN a fire which destroyed a ive-story tene-
ment on First avenue. shortly after 1
o'clock this morning. Three of the injured
may die. The dead child is Loretta Leon
ard, six months old. daughter of Edward
leonard. The following persons were in
jured:
EDWARD LEONARD. hand severely lac
Grated while sliding down a rope from the
fifth floor TO the street.
MRS. MARGARET LEONARD, his wife,
bruises and shock.
NANCY LEONARD, fourteen years old.
laceration of hands caused by sliding down
rope to the street.
THOMAS LEONARD, twelve years old,
unconscious from inhalation of smoke.
WILLIAM LEONARD, ten years old, I'M
conscious from inhaling smoke and flames;
condition critical.
JOSEPH LEONARD. nineteen years old.
unconscious from inhaling smoke and
flames.
PAULINE TISCHMAN and PHILIP
CARROLL, jumped from second story and
missed life net; severe contusions of body.
MRS. KATE LANE, face and hands
JAMES KELLAHER, face and hands
slightly burned while rescuing a little girl.
RUPERT GLOVE, hands and face
burned while attempting to rescue tenants.
The fire. which was one of the fercest
that the fremen have had to fight in a
tenement house for some time, is believed
to have started from a Christmas tree on
the first floor. Candles on the tree had
been lighted about midnight. and II is sup
posed that some of these candles were
overlooked and remained lighted after they
were thought to have been extinguished.
and set the tree afire. There were over
fifty people sleeping in the house when the
fire started. Instead of running to the rear
of the building. where the fire escape was.
the inmates of the house rushed to the
front windows and threw them open. This
gave impetus to the flames, which were
shooting up the airshaft and were showing
twenty feet above the roof before any fire.
men had arrived.
Mrs. Pauline Tischman, an aged woman
who lived on the second floor. jumped for
the net which the firemen spread, but
missed IL. She struck the tagging, her
right ank being sprained and her body
severely bruised. She had scarcely struck
the walk before Philip Carroll, at a win
dow or the same floor. leaped out. He too
missed the net. Both his ankles were
sprained. and he was badly bruised.
Meanwhile the firemen had raised lad
ders to the windows on the fifth floor,
where Edward Leonard lived with his wife
and six children. The firemen found Leon
ard struggling with his wife to prevent her
jumping with her six-months-old babe Lo-
retta from the window. AS the firemen APP
peared at the window Mrs Leonard
dropped her bah TO the floor She was
seized by the firemen and taken down the
ladder in a fainting condition. Leonard
slid down a rope. followed by his fourteen
year-old daughter Nancy and his seven
teen-year-old son Edward. The hands of
all three were cut to the bone by the fric-
ton. The two boys, William and Joseph,
were found in bed unconscious, locked in
and were in a critical condition. The body
of the Leonard baby was found on the
floor where its mother had dropped 1t. The
child had been suffocated. The loss from
the flames Is estimated at SIS. O00.