New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-06-12
FLAMES AT MIDNIGHT.
BLAZE ON FRANKFORT STREET CON
FINED TO FEW ROOMS.

Fire broke out in Room No 49, on the fifth
floor Of the Tribune Building. at midnight last
night and burned fiercely for about an hour
During this time it was confined to three
iooils 1hls was undoubtedly due to the su-
Perlor nreproof construction of the building The
FIRE Department was prompt to respond and
did efficient work
Charles Connolly, Journal office boy dis
covered the hre. He doing in Room No
fS on the fifth floor. overlooking Frankfort-st
when he was aroused by the smell of smoke
He looked about and found that the naners
about his desk We're all in flame He Jumped
up and tried to put out the fire with his feet
but finding it had gained too much headwav
ne became frightened and out of the room
When the watchman, William L. Cleary met
him on the stairway, he told not to go
down the hall But, unheeding the warning
the watchman forced his way through the
smoke and opened the windows of the burning
room. He then opened the windows OF the
adjacent rooms.
Some one ran In the street to ring In an
alarm Policeman Lewis of the Oak-st. sta
ton, on duty in Park Row, saw the reflection
of the flames against the Pulitzer Building and
the first reach Box No go, at Frank
fort and Nassau SITS.
But the alarm box out of order and he
had finally to over to Engine House No. Z.
at Chambers and Centre SITS.
The f1remen stationed there Immediately went
out on the run to the Of the fire. By this
time the flames had broken through the win
dows on the fifth floor and rolling up
dark clouds of smoke
Then second and third alarms were rung in,
and Acting Chief Duane responded. The water
tower came the third alarm, but owing to
the narrowness of Frankfort-st., it was fifteen
or twenty minutes before it could be erected
and was throwing stream of water.
Three streams were now playing on the fire.
one from hose hauled UP the stairway to the
fifth floor, one dragged to the sixth floor and
the stream from the water tower.
The fire had been burning twenty minutes,
but still had been confined to the room Only
| the wooden castings of the windows above had
caught fire The reason the fire did not spread
from one floor to another was due to the fire
proof structure of the ceilings and walls.
And for some time after the fire had got a
| good headway many working in the building
| on adjacent floors knew nothing of what was
going {
The men in the editorial rooms Of The New
York Journal on the second floor, did not leave
| their desks.
Those who were werk in the editorial
| rooms of The Tribune which occupy the ninth
floor of the building first knew of the fire from
black cloud of smoke, which came up the
elevator shaft On the floor above, which is
The Tribune composing room, the printers also
became aware of the fire below. and rushed
down to take the elevators to the main entrance,
in Nassau-st.
Here one elevf4Jr had been running, but IN
spite of many shouts down the shaft it did not
come up. The was soon evident, when
1t was seen that the shaft above the fifth floor
was choked with smoke
Accordingly, the back elevator, which is for
freight and runs down to a side entrance in
spruce-st, sought for by all The Tribune
employees.
After several trips it had landed everybody
at the bottom with the exception of three men,
who slid down ropes lowered from the tenth
floor composing rooms windows to The Sum
Building.
Rooms rs, II and 7S, where the fire originated
and TO which it was confined. are occupied by
THE Journal" for classified advertising and as
q summer resort bureau. The contents of these
rooms were almost wholly destroyed The
rooms directly above on the remaining nVe
floors practically escaped injury. Whatever
damage resulted to the office rooms below was
due to water.
"The Journal" was nearly ready to go TO
press on the early edition, the papers were
run off Half of the machines, numbering
twenty-five Or thirty which in the first
floor We're entirely disabled by water In the
obituary department of THE Journal" on the
second floor large force Of employees worked
steadily, passing the files out from the dripping
room into place of safety. All these were
saved
Work in The Tribune editorial and composing
rooms was suspended about an hour.
MRS. GLADSTONE HAS 4 RELAPSE