The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-10-25
MANY DEAD.
Fierce Fire Breaks Out in a
Nine Story Building
Occupied by a Furniture Store,
in Philadelphia.
"a CORPSES COUNTED.
Flames Spread So Rapidly PeO-
pie Were Forced to jump.
Street Below Was Piled Up
With Dead and Injured.
STARTED IN CELLAR.
Flames Shot Up Elevator Shaft
to the Top.
Property Loss Is Estimated at
100000.
Wanamaker's Seemed Doomed
Street Below Was Piled Up
With Dead and Injured.
STARTED IN CELLAR.
Flames Shot Up Elevator Shaft
to the Top.
Property Loss Is Estimated at
100000.
Wanamakeg's Seemed Doomed
to Destruction at One Time.

Philadelphia, Oct. 25.-A fierce fire
broke out on Market street between
Twelfth and Thirteenth streets today
and a heavy loss of life is involved
The fire started at 1870 a. m, in the
nine-story building occupied by Hunt,
Wilkinson & Co., furniture and up
holstery manufacturers. Although the
structure was fire proof it was filed
from cellar to roof with highly infiam-
mable material and in a few minutes
flames were bursting from every win
dow and it was impossible for the fire
men to assist those in the burning build
ing. Hundreds of men and women were
employed by the firm and a great many
were killed and injured Up to IL o'clock
eleven bodies had been removed to the
morgue and it is certain chat others
We're killed.
The flames spread so quickly that
nearly everybody who could get out
was compelled to jump from the fire
escapes in the rear which fronts on a
narrow street. When the firemen reach
ed the scene this street was literally
piled up with the bodies of people who
had jumped. Some were dead, others
We're dying.
Lying on the fire escape at the fifth
story. in full view of thousands of spec
tators was a body roasted to a cinder
and other objects on the fire escape
higher up were believed to be bodies
At about 1870 o'clock the walls of
the Hunt Wilkinson building fell This
gave the fremen an opportunity to
work on the other buildings that were
ablaze, and at u o'clock the fire was
believed to be under control The
wholesale and retail rubber warehouse
of Latta & Mulconroy. adjoining Hunt,
Wilkinson & Co.'S building. is on fire,
but the flames will be confined to the
upper stories.
Stories conflict as to the number of
persons killed Hunt, Wilkinson & Co.
employed 800 people. mostly girls. The
fire is believed to have started on the
second floor of their building, where Is
persons were at work 1t is not known
whether any of these escaped
When the rear wall of the building
fell, a number of bodies We're lying in
the small street in the rear variously
estimated at from six to thirty and
these are covered with hundreds of tons
of brick and twisted iron.
The police say that twelve are known
to have been killed and they hesitate to
estimate how many bodies are in the
ruins
Dozens of streams of water are plav-
ing on the red hot ruins and as soon
as the men can get to work, hundreds
of city employees will begin to search
for bodies.
Eye witnesses say the flames .spreaJ
with remarkable rapidity This they
say. is due to the fact that much naph-
tha, varnish, excelsior and other highly
infiamn able material was used by the
firm Employees who started down the
fire escape in the rear of the building
before the flames were visible from the
street were compelled to jump before
they had Travelled two stories because
of the flames breaking through the
windows. The first firemen who arrived
on the scene devoted their energies en-
tirely to the work of rescue. Nets were
spread in the front and rear of the
building and those who jumped were
saved in this way woman iumpe1
from one window of the Market street
front, but the smoke blinded her and
she missed the net, striking the nave
ment and dying stantly. In the rear a
young girl who jumped from one of the
top stories caught on the fire escape at
the third story and the flames bursting
from the window burned her BODY to a
coal in almost a minute Two men, one
white and one colored. emerged from
the fourth story and stood on the fire
escape with the flames all around them.
The white man danced up and down
and appeared to be bereft of his reason
The colored man stood for a few sec
onds and then jumped to his death be-
low.
The white man stood on the fire as
cape until he was overcome. and then
fell to his death in the street. There
was no fire escape on the front of the
building and all employees rushed mad
ly to the rear.