New-York tribune., 1901-05-04
FAKIRS WATCH REAL FIRE.
IT WAS RAGING AT THE FINE ARTS
BUILDING.
THEY HAD ASSEMBLED FOR THEIR ANNUAL
BALL-YALUABLE COLLECTION OF
PAINTINGS NOT DAMAGED.

THEY HAD ASSEMBLED FOR THEIR ANNUAL
BALL-vALUABLE COLLECTION OF
, PAINTINGS NOT DAMAGED.
Said the Queen Of Hearts 10 the King Of Clubs.
I The Fakirs dance tonight
And dance till morning light"
Said the King Of Clubs to the Queen Of Hearts.
As, As peach you may wish TO be baked;
by Hre that by no means was faxed
When the members of the Society Of American
Fakirs assembled last night for their costume
dance. they found their ballroom on the top floor
OF the Fine Arts Building. No. 215 West Fifty
seventh-st., a bIackened heap of twisted iron
{ nd broken glass. Part of the eastern wall had
fallen into area between that building and
the Osborne apartment house. tearing down a
heavy frame fence as if il had been paper In
vestigation disclosed, however. that the col
lection of three hundred paintings Of the Society
Of American Artists, which is values at SID OO0
was unharmed. This escape is said 10 have been
due 10 the direction of the wind, which was
blowing from the west. The paintings are stored
or hung in the gallery in the rear Of the build
ing. Only two window panes Of this gallery
were broken The gallery would have been ut
terly demolished had a south wind been blow
Ing. The damage is conservatively estimated at
$1,000
THE FAKIRs IN THE STREET
The Fakirs. though dressed in costumes de-
signed for indoors and exceptional occasions,
were compelled 10 stand about in the street.
The night wind. which blew AT a sixty mile an
hour gait, played ruthless havoc with pompa-
dours piled high and Elizabethan neck ruffies.
The king OF clubs added TO his clover leaf spots
a half dozen new ones from the mud splashed
by the fire horses and the queen of hearts lost
about all of her red tinseI in the gale
After the excitement had abated some one
pulled little Abe" Kroll out OF heap OF debris.
Abe" Kroll is the Office boy in the Fine Arts
building, which is chiefly occupied by the classes
OF the Art Students League. After Abe" had
cleared his eyes and mouth of great quantity
OF smoke and SCOT he said that the fire had
started the fourth or top floor Of the build
ing about 73O O'Clock This floor has four rooms
three Of which had been thrown together for
the ball Of the night. Students Of the league
which occupies all the rooms on this floor. had
been at work all the afternoon decorating the
ballroom with streamers Of bunting and strings
OF japanese Lanterns. The last student who had
thus been engaged had left the hall shortly
after o'clock
THE OUTBREAK OF THE FIRE
At 7:3O o'clock. so Abe" said. he heard a ter
rible noise on the top floor. The noise was fol-
lowed by two series Of screams. which came
from two women on the third floor According
10 "Abe's" story he ran up the stairs only 70
be met the third floor by the women and
black bank Of smoke. He went TO the front
door five steps al a time, and ran down Fifty
seventh-st- at full speed to the alarm box. at
Fifty-sixth-st. and Seventh-ave. Abe said
that man there would not let him ring the
alarm. so he ran down Seveuth-ave. 10 Fifty
third-st- and turned in the alarm there.
ARRIVAL OF THE FIREMEN
The first battalion OF fremen that arrived on
the scene. at 7:45. found that the whole top
floor ablaze A moment later the roof
crashed in with a sound like thunder. Thou
sands OF splinters Of broken glass filed the air,
and then the A shaped peak at the eastern wall
toppled over and fell TO the sidewalk below. The
fremen at once dragged lines Of hose through
the marble entrance and hall and up the stairs
TO the top floor The fire burned 50 fercely that
the first streams appeared only TO stimulate the
blaze. The steel framework of the floor had be-
come so heated that IL had warped into a Slight
ly concave shape.
THE BUILDING DRENCHED.
After the fire had been extinguished it was
found that all the floors below were more or
less drenched with water
The four floors were occupied as follows:
First floor. by the National Sculpture Society,
the Society Of American Artists the American
Fine Arts Society and the Fine Arts Federation
OF New-IOrk. On this floor were also stored
three hundred paintings, OF which several We're
the work Of distinguished artists, and which
valued altogether at nearly 5000 900. Second
floor. by the Architects League Of New York,
and classrooms Of the Art Students League.
third and fourth floors. also by the classes Of
the Art Students League On the fourth floor.
which was almost entirely burned out, there
cold storage room" so called. In which We're
stored score or more Of fakes" or paintings
by the fakirs, which had been sold at auction
only the day before. but which had not been de-
Lvered.
The fire started, according TO Bruce Crane, sec
retary Of the Society Of American Artists. on a
top floor had been decorated. 1t had fallen onto
q gas jet IN speaking Of the fire Mr. Crane said:
After the last students had left the room after
left OF the windows slightly open A strong
wind Was blowing. Thus II happened according 70
my belief that some bunting blown down and
caught hre from gas jet that had been left burn
ing.
Although some turpentine was left on the top
floor, there explosion The turpentlne was
OF small amount, and small bottles belong
ing the members Of the art class.
ORIGIN OF THE FIRE
The three students who were the last to leave
the building. and who were John Gregory, Ar
thur Fuller. and E. L. Warner. emphaticaIly
deny. however that any lights were left burn
ing The fire did not injure the new stable OF
Frank j. Gould. 10 the west. the Osborne
apartment house. TO the east
According TO Battalion Chief Binn the por-
ton Of the wall that fell forced out by the
civ he