Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-02-28
ANOTHER HOTEL FIRE HORROR.
Nineteen Persons Killed in the Park
Avenue Hotel in New York-Sparks
From 7tst Regiment Armory Went
Down Elevator Shaft.

TTOHl Z ISL ATTnOTV went
Down Elevator Shaft.
Nineteen killed. 80 or more injured and
a money loss of $500 0OO sustained is i'm
brief a summary of New Yorlt's fire hor-
ror of early Saturday morning, when the
handsome list regiment armory, was des-
troy ed and the Park Avenue hotel dam
aged to the extent of $5O0O0. The fire
broke out in the armory about 100 o'clock
from some unknown cause, five minutes
later the flames were sweeping through
the entire structure. and i'm ten minutes
the roof had fallen. The fire i'm the
hotel was at first thought to be of in
ccndiary origin but the officials are now
satisfied that sparks from the armory
fire entered a hooded arrangement on
the roof which communicated with an
airpipe running the entire length of the
elevator. The sparks were probably
drawn down by the suction, igniting the
oil soaked sheating at the bottom of the
shaft.
The armory fire had been burning an
hour and half when flames were dis
covered in the elevator shafts of the
hotel diagonally across the street. They
swept upward and spread out fan-like at
the roof. The upper stories, especially
near the elevator shaft around which
the main staircase cirCled, sustained the
most damage. The staircase for six
stories was of iron and stone. The hotel
sheltered 500 guests who had been reused
by the fire across the street. who had
watched 1t from windows and who had
been assured that they were in no dam
ger The smell of smoke was through
the house, and when the hotel was dis
covered to be on fire they were slow in
awakening to their peril Making for
the main staircase and the elevator,
many ran into the flames or were suffo-
Gated in the dark Railways filed with
smoke. Others were kiled by leaping.
The hotel, whose seven stories brought
it outside the law, was without fire es-
capes. 1t was supposed to be freproof
Had it not been nearly so, greater loss
of life must have resulted
The proprietor and the employees of
the hotel are criticised for not giving an
alarm and in not providing escapes
Some of the guests who escaped claim
that after the smoke came into their
rooms they were assured that the hotel
was fire proof and that there was no
danger
Col. Charles Burdett, a prominent law
yer and military man of Hartford Conn,
who was on the sixth floor, dragged the
mattress from his bed, dropped it to the
roof of the dining room extension three
feet below. Then, tying the sheets to-
gether he made a rope and secured 1t to
the window. He expected to strike on
the mattress, but miscalculated the dis
lance and fell six stories into the court.
His skull was split open by striking upon
the stone tagging.
Among the persons who were killed
were several business men of prominence
from various parts of the country. One
was Norman Acton, wealthy mine
owner of Colorado Springs. Colonel AL
eXander Piper. retired army officer,
was killed in the fire. while his wife es-
capped. CASTOR a. Robbins, who was
/ 1a1 ffVnsv .nVNn a
Congressman from Alabama before he
| came to New York to practice law.
| Charles Underwood O'Connell. one of
| the victims of the fire. was a grand
nephew of Daniel O'Connell and was
) himself an Irish patriot. He had been
| was retired
One of the saddest incidents of the
fire was the death of Mrs. Foster, 1.-THE
| Tombs Angel" who for fifteen years
| had performed noble service in behalf
of female prisoners in the Tombs and
| other city prisons Her burned body
was Unidentified by her daughter by a ring.
Mrs. Foster was a widow and had lived
| for the last five years at the Park Az
| enue hotel Her income, which at one
| time was considered large, was for the
most part expended upon the deserving
poor.
The Park Avenue hotel was built by
A. T. Stewart, who spent 100000 on its
| construction and furnishings. The build
| ing occupies the entire front of the block
| on Park Avenue from Thirty-second to
| Thirty-third streets, with n depth of half
| a block. 1t is seven stories in height, and
| incloses on four sides a court containing
| 1900 square feet of space. At the time
| of it's construction it was the largest no.
| tel in the country. with the exception of
the Palace hotel of San Francisco. Mr.
| Stewart designed the hotel originally as
a home for working women, but when
| it was found that it could not be man.
aged on the plan adopted by its founder
| it was converted into commercial and
| family hotel.