The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-12-05
Hotel Was VeritabIe Death Trap
With One Stairway and
Fire Escape
VICTIMS SUFFOCATEO BY
DENSE VOLUME OF SMOKE
Building Had Been Condemned for
Hotel Purposes BY inspectors and
Repairs Ordered Which Had
Not Been Made.

Chicago, December 4-Fourteen men
met death by suffocation this morning in
a fire, which occurred at o'clock in the
Lincoln hotel, 176 Madison street. and
thirteen of those who lost their lives
were stihed while lying in their beds.
One was taken from the building before
the fire was extinct but died on the way
to the nearest hospital.
Coroner Trager, after inspecting the
building united with Fire Chief Musham
in declaring that the building was a veri-
table trap and never should have been
used for hotel purposes. Chief Musham
declared there were such wide cracks in
the floors that the smoke poured through
the building in clouds, rendering escape
extremely difficult for those on the upper
floors. There was no fire escape on the
front of the building. although one was
on the back of the building. Several peo-
pie slid down ropes to the pavement af-
ter all escape by the stairway had been
cut off.
The dead:
I. G. Yocum fire insurance agent, prom
inent In Davenport.
Samuel Yocum, son of I. c. Yocum,
Davenport, Ia
A. B. Coon. lawyer. Marengo Ill.
r. L. Ewing, mail clerk, Marietta, O.
B. f. Boswell, Chicago.
T. " Slocum, machine dealer, Waucon-
da, ILL.,
H K. Woods, Labanon, Ind.
Edward Toner, printer, Milwaukee.
F. W. Corey. 20 years of age, railway
postal clerk. Bueyrus. o.
Ward Lowe, railroad postal clerk. Sech-
lersville, Wis.
NJ. NJ Hardy, travelling salesman,
GAINESVILLE, Wis.
c. p Cowan collector on the Wabash
railroad. st. Louis.
George B. Graves compositor, Chicago
Unidentified man, five feet eight inches,
165 pounds; 45 years of age, thin brown
hair and moustaehe.
-Four Stories High.
The hotel was four-stories in height
and contained an unusual number of
rooms for a hotel of its size. After the
fire, Chief Musham declared that they
were the smallest rooms he had ever
seen in any building. Had there been
fewer partitions, he declared, the chances
of life for those sleeping on the upper
floors of the hotel, would have been
greatly increased.
II. a.
clared that there were as nearly as he
could judge without his books, about
125 people in the hotel. 1t was, in fact,
filled to its utmost capacity and many
applicants for rooms were turned away
last night
Night Clerk F. c. Nebber discovered
the smoke pouring through the halls
shortly before o'clock and did his best
to alarm the guests, but the smoke was
so dense and increased in volume so
rapidly, that he was able to arouse only
a small number, and was then COM
PEELED to grope his way to the street to
avoid suffocation. The guests came pour
ing down the one stairway of the build
ing in all stages of undress, and sew
eral leaped from the windows of the
second story to the sidewalk below and
escaped without serious injury A num-
ber of men, turned back by the smoke
in Railways which prevented them from
finding the stairs. swung down on the
ropes placed in the front of the building
by the workmen who were erecting the
fire escape.
Fremen Saved Many Lives.
The firemen, who arrived with great
promptitude saved many lives by carry
ing people down the ladders from the
windows. The smoke on the inside of the
building was so thick and so pungent
that the firemen were unable to do more
than take the people from the windows.
These who were not able to reach the
windows in few minutes after the fire
broke out were suffocated The fire itself
amounted to cry little. Portions of the
second and third floors were burned and
the blaze was extinguished within forty
minutes. The building was some time
ago condemned by the city building in
spectors as unsafe for hotel purposes, and
the owners were three weeks ago ordered
20. raIo afaA aAv4nrp l.. 4l1a nFa1 aala
to build a fire escape on the front of the
building. Beyond the preliminary work
for the fire escape nothing had been done,
however.
The list of injured includes: ]. S. Alli-
son, Richland Center. Wis; Edward Da-
vepport, Chicago; w. G. Thomas, Cedar
Rapids, Ia; William NJ Snyder, Loom
City, Ia; Mrs. June Shepherd, Chicago
Robert C. Hamilton. Lebanon. Ind; Cliff
Ward, Battle Creek, Mich; Fred G. Ba-
ker. Nashville Mich; Irwin Westerland.
Chicago; Olaf Oldorf, Chicago
Worst Kind of Fire Trap.
The building was fire trap of the
worst kind, according to experts. There
were but two exits, a narrow stairway
leading down the four floors of the build
Ing and an uncompleted fire escape in the
rear.
The fire started on the second floor, pre-
sumably from a lighted cigar dropped on
the carpet Guests occupying upper
rooms in the front part of the hostelry,
aroused by the screams of a woman, were
able to escape down the stairway. and
about thirty people reached safety by
means of the fire escape. To add to the |
horror, however, this gave way while
others were attempting to escape, and |
hree men were dashed to death on the |
pavement Of the alley below.
For the people in the rear there was
low no escape except by jumping. The |
Jtairway was in flames and the fire es- |