The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-12-05
Escaped With Her Son.

ana departed without tnelr names DeiiS
reported TO the police.
Escaped With Her Son.
In one instance fireman of Engine
Company No. saved a woman from
running TO the rear Of the building to
certain death on the fourth floor, only
to be forced to drop her from the third
floor to the roof of the building al NO
iT> Madison Street. The woman held her
sever-year-o1d son in her arms. She was
Mrs. j. Sheppard. and her son IS named
Frederick. She was then carried from
the roof OF the building to the Brevoort
Rouse where a physician was sum-
mcned. Il was found that their injuries
were Slight.
e. c. Weber, the night clerk. was one
of the first persons to discover smoke on
the second floor. 1t is believed that the
fire began in this section OF the building.
Weber refused to make any statement
and after he had secured possession or
the hotel register he was taken TO tile
Central Station, where he is being de-
tanned.
Propretor's Statement.
i. A Smith, proprietor of the hotel.
saws: II am certainly not to blame TOR
this awful catastrophe. Three weeks
ago the agents OF this building were no.
titied to place a stairway In the rear %
tho building. and also to build fire
wall around the freight elevator smart
in the rear The contractors came ana
looked the building over but nothing was
done. Last night our seventy rooms
We're all filled and I should judge that
we had about lbs or $50 guests.
Prom what 1 can learn the fire start
ed in the rear of the building On the
second floor. This probably accounts
for the escape of guests who occupied
front rooms on the upper floors. They
had no opportunity to reach the stair
way before the flames reached that part
of the building, but the occupants of
the rear rooms were cut of by the
flames Most of our guests last night
were persons who came to Chicago to
visit the Stock Show, and knew little
Of the building
Was Real Fire-Trap.
Chief AIusham. of the fire department.
said that IN some ways it was the worst
fire he had attended during his career
as a fireman, and that SO dense was the
smoke that it was impossible to reach
the imprisoned guests. who died like rats
in a cage. When the fireneE finally
mayed to make their way into the
rooms the sights that met their gaze was
appalling. Men ana Dogs IdS dOOui Tic
floors of the rooms and Railways where
they had fallen in their eagerness to es-
cape.
The building" said the chief. was
one of the worst flre-traps I have ever
seen. The floors in places had cracks
in them large enough to drop q penny
through and the smoke just sifted
through and suffocated the inmates of
the rooms before they had time to
make their way out into the Railways"
quiry as to the Causes.
a jury was empanelled this afternoon
ty Coroner Ira eyer to ascertain the
causes Of the disaster and to Ak the guilt
Cor negligence. After viewing the bodies
of the victims of the fire, the jury went
to the hotel, where an examination was
made of the premises. The jurors were
then dismissed to meet for the inquest,
which will begin December Y, At the
conclusion of the inspection Coroner
1raeger said:
The fire undoubtedly was caused by
the explosion of an oil stove in the rear
of the third floor. The building is very
carelessly constructed, the fire escape Is
worthless the rooms are outrageously
small, and it is nothing short of a crime
that such building should have been
used as a housing place for human
beings.