The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-03-12
Crowded italian Tenement
Burned Last Night Like
a Tinder Box.
TERRIBLE LOSS OF LIFE
Men, Women and Children,
Jammed In Hall, Gould
Not Escape.
Especial to "The Jersey city News" y

were burned to death at a tenement house
at Morris and Fourteenth avenues, in
this city, about five o'clock this morning.
Thirteen bodies were recovered from the
ruins within three hours after the flames
had been extinguished The building was
three-story frame structure, formerly
used as church, but transformed into
tenement house with small rooms.
scarcely eight by ten feet in dimensions,
opening into a narrow hallway, on both
the second and third floors, forming
veritable fire trap.
In different places in the ruins human
bodies may be pinned down by heavy
timbers. The rescuers are striving ces-
perately, clearing away the debris in the
hope that some may yet be rescued alive,
but there is little chance of anyone now
in the ruins being alive. The victims
have been taken to the hospital. One OF
them is severely burned. The other was
injured by jumping from the second story
of the burned tenement.
This is right in the heart of the Italian
district and the greatest excitement pre-
walls. The feeling has been greatly inten-
sified since seven O'Clock, when it first
became known that the fire was of incen-
diary origin, and within fifteen minutes
of the time when this report was first
circulated men and women, well nigh
crazed by grief, ran tearing around the
streets looking for the man who was re-
sponsible for the frightful tragedy and
threatening dire vengeance.
Three or four minutes after five o'clock
this morning smoke was seen pouring
out of the second story front rooms.
Some one on the streets saw this evidence
of fire and hurried to an alarm box. But
long before the fire apparatus reached
the scene the interior of the burning tene-
ment was peopled with wild Italians,
running hither and thither, unable to
find means of escape.
Every room emptied it's occupants into
those narrow little halls. There was 70
escape for the frightened tenants. Be
cause of the jam they could not get cut.
There were at least twelve families in
the place, sixty. persons in all, of whom
perhaps fifty were children, unable to
care for themselves, especially in time of
such great excitement.
Four men ran to a front window. There
they jumped to the street. Several were
hurt, and after crawling to places of
temporary safety they waited patiently
the hospitals.
The flames spread from room to room
and from floor to floor with frightful
rapidity and the keen March wind blow
ing sent the sparks to the southwest and
threatened all the frame tenements in
that direction. The place was like
roaring caldron when the 1remen reach
ed the place. The ladders were quickly
of reSue.
One after another the women and then
the men were taken down, while other
fremen devoted their attention to drown
ing out the flames. This they succeeded
in doing in less than an hour, but dur
ing that hour frightful sacrifice had
been offered.
Most of the inmates of the burned tene-
ment were scantily clothed and suffered
from exposure. italian mothers with in
fants in their arms and other children
clinging to their skirts stood out in the
| cold for hours at the ruins, crying franti-
| cally and seeking information of their
| relatives and friends who were among the
missing. Similar scenes were witnessed
at the morgue.
| The firemen and police are removing the
! debris as fast as possible, but thorough
/ search of the ruins for the bodies not
| vet recovered cannot be made until the
ruins cool off. For this reason steady
| streams are being poured on the blacken-
/ ed pile of debris.
| Eugene Castillo, husband of one of the
! dead women, jumped from third story
window, and was seriously injured. He
! was taken to the City Hospital. An un-
known man who jumped out OF fourth
] story window died in the City Hospital.
1 SaIdatori Baldi, husband of one of the
| dead women managed to escape with an
| infant in his arms. He lost track of his
wife in the smoke and flames and stag
| gered down the stairs with the child in
his arms and on reaching the ground
f1ooS. fell nearly suffocated The child was
/ clearly overcome by the smoke
vito Credavo is locked up in ponce
station on suspicion of having set nre 10
! the building He was arrested on state
ment made by Virginia Di Plura. 1t rs
said that Diplura had been heard to re-
mark that if reward were offered ne
| could tell who set fire to the building.
| This caused him to be taken into CUSTODY
as a witness. He then was closely ques-
| tion and made the statement winch III
reefs strong suspicion on Credavo Dl
| Plura. who boarded with Credavo, said
that when he was awakened by the
smoke he found Credavo and his family
fully dressed and ready to leave the
burning building.
Az far as the police have been able 70
Eaearn the fire broke out in the upper part
of the house, in the apartments occupied
NV crevado. When Crevado was taken to
the Fourth precinct station house ne pc
came much excited. Through am inter
nreter he denied that he had set fire te
rthe building or had any knowledge as to
the origin Of the fire
The tenement was an old building ano
the police say that once the flames got
under way the building was burned like q
finder box. and those who lost their lives
were caught like rats in a trap They
Iwere first suffocated and then overtaker
4 by the flames.
Nearly every room in the house contain
4 ed its victim Few were really burned
4 to death. Most of them were smotllered
to DEATH The bodies were carried out by
the firemcn.
A partial list of the dead is:-Tony