The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1902-02-27

THOMAS P. HORNE, Denver.
JOHN H. IVERSON, Denver.
MRS. E. w. McGINNIS.
CHARLES UNDERWOOD OCON-
NELL, New York, died of his injuries
in hospital.
COLONEL ALEX PIPER, U. S. A..
retired, resident of hotel.
G. A. ROBBINS, ex-congressman,
lawyer of Selma, Ala
Chicago.
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 / 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
Roadway 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 ire
men. In some unexplained manner
fire got into the basement of the ele-
vator shaft and made it's 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, a
large quantity Of ammunition, both
blank and bullet cartridges, was stored.
These cartridges soon began to ex-
plode and added to the intense ex-
element. 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 firemen inside found that
the hotel was rapidly filing 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 rewarded, 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.
Hospital records show that rs per-
sons were taken to the New York and
Bellevue institutions. Nearly double
that number was injured in their panic
stricken endeavors to escape and were
given medical aid on the spot. OF the
scores taken from the windows of the
third, fourth and fifth floors, many
were slightly burned and were hyster-
ical from shock.
OF the dead, three were women.
Death was caused by burns or suffoca.
tion with one exception. A man jump
ed from the fifth story window to the
inner court. His skull was crushed
and death was instantaneous.
When the fire started in the armory
scores Of guests in the Park Avenue
hotel were awakened by the clang ci
the engines and crowded to the hotel
windows. It was about As minutes
sitter flames were discovered In the ar
mory before they spread to the hotel
But. in spite of this, many of the
guests were in their rooms, dressed In
their night clothes, and some were IN
bed. The firemen, as soon as they
learned that the hotel was in danger