The Dickinson press., 1902-03-01
MANY FIRE VICTIMS
FIFTEEN GUESTS OF THE PARK
AVENUE HOTEL, NETWORK,
LOSE THEIR LIVES.

Perlshed-Twenty.six Persons TAX.
en- 10 Hospitals and Many Others
Escaped With Minor injuries.
New York. Feb. 24.-Fire in the
Park Avenue hotel and the Seventy
hrst regiment armory, this city, caused
the loss of 15 lives and the destruction
OF property valued at $750,00O. The
dead persons were all guests of the ho-
tel. Flames were first discovered in
the armory and 45 minutes later II. was
found that the hotel was on fire. A re-
vtsed list of the dead follows:
NORMAN ACTON, Alabama.
COLONEL CHARLES L. BUR-
DETT, Hartford, Conn.,, colonel First
regiment of the national guard of that
state. i Is ;,s. 4..,y-. zz
MRS. ELLEN FOSTER, Toombs
prison missionary.
FRED s. HOVEY, Lyons, N. Y.
THOMAS P. HORNE. Denver.
JOHN H. IvERSON, Denver.
MRS. E. w. McGINNIS.
CHARLES UNDERWOOD O'CON.
NELL, New York, died of his injuries
in hospital.
COLONEL ALEX PIPER, U. 8. A.,
retired, resident of hotel.
g. A. ROBBINS, ex-congressman,
lawyer of Selma. Ala.
MISS ESTHER SCHLESINGER,
Chicago. l4s
JACOB sHAHN. lawyer, Rochester.
N. Y.
JOHN E. WALKER, Columbia.
Tenn.
UNKNOWN MAN, body found on
the fifth floor.
UNKNOWN WOMAN, body found
on the sixth floor.
Fire Started In the Armory.
Shortly before l o'clock a. m. fire
was discovered bursting from the roof
Of the Seventy-first regiment armory,
Park avenue and Thirty.fourth street.
The flames had gained tremendous
headway and by the time the firemen
had arrived on the scene it was i'm
possible to do anything towards saw
ing the magnificent building. Several
times flames were communicated to
the barns of the Metropolitan Street
railway, but they were successfully
extinguished there.
The heat of the burning armory be.
came more and more intense and
shortly after o'clock flames were
discovered running along the windows
and woodwork of the Fifth floor at the
northeast corner of the Park Avenue
hotel, diagonally across the street
from the armory. This was entirely
unexpected and the police up to that
time had bent their efforts toward re-
moving the inmates of adjacent houses
on the cross streets. Frightened occu-
pants of the hotel soon appeared at
every window and many were rescued
by means Of ladders set up by the fire.
men. In some unexplained manner
fire got into the basement of the ege-
vator shaft and made its way thence
upward to the roof Most of the dam
age to the hotel was done in rooms
surrounding the elevator shaft.
In the headquarters Of the Fifth
brigade, In the Thirty fourth street
and Park quarter of, the armory,
large quantity of ammunition, both
blank and bullet cartridges. was stored.
These cartridges soon began to ex-
plode and added to the intense ex-
citement. Shortly after these explo-
sions had ceased the wall of the
Thirty-third street side fell inward.
This crash was follwed by the explo-
sion of about 1000 pounds of powder
stored In the basement of the armory.
The detonation was terrific, but fire.
men had been warned of the danger
and none of them was injured.
Scores Of People Rescued.
Ambulances were called from every
hospital in the district and the fire.
men turned their entire attention to
the hotel. A line of hose was quickly
rushed up to the third floor while
scores Of guests were taken from the
windows by other firemen on the out
side. The f1remen inside found that |
the hotel was rapidly filling with
smoke and the firemen for a time
dropped their hose and hurried |
through every portion Of the building
In search of guests who might have
been overcome by smoke. Their
search was'rewafded,rf j for on nearly ev.
cry floor and in the Railways scores. Of
persons were found who had been |
overcome before they could reach the
open air. H..
Hospital records show that 26 per
sons were taken to the New York and
Bellevue institutions. Nearly double
that number was injured in their panic
endeavors to escape and were