Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury [Connecticut]) 1900-1903, 1902-12-04
Fourteen Persons Are Dead in
the Lincoln Hostelry.
MANY OF THE GUESTS JUMPED.

While Others Started to Climb Down
Fire Escapes from the Fourth Story
-Firemen and Policemen Say the
Building is a Fire Trap-People on
Top Floors, Rear, Were Entirely Cut
OF from Assistance.
Chicago. December Fourteen per-
SONS mer death III fire i'll the Lincoln
hotel, lf6 Madison street, at . CLOCK
this morning. Several oI the Dod1es
have been recovered. Little damage
was done to the hotel, but the smoke
was so dense that the persons who
met their death were overcome ana
died before assistance could reach
them. Many jumped from the fourth
story windows, oJners tried to save
themselves by climbing down the fire
escapes in the front of the building,
only to lose their grasp on the cold iron
bars and fall to the street. The persons
sleeping in the rear OF the building on
the top floors had no chance for their
lives. A narrow stairway leading TO
all floors of the structure was afire and
the escape Ol lHG lOuS61S Ill IAC ICoA III
the building was cut off.
Firemen and policemen were not
reticent in speaking of what they wit
messed at the catastrophe. They con-
demned the building as a fire trap"
Ambulances and patrol wagons from
all parts of the city were called to the
place and the dead and injured We're
quickly attended
All but fourteen of the guests at the
hotel were out of town persons. Most
of them came to Chicago to attend the
international live stock show. Up to
10 o'clock last night persons were taken
in at the hotel, and in every room OF
place in which cot could be erected,
it is said, guests were accommodated.
men with their families We're turned
away. The hotel was filed.
Shortly after the fire broke out the
firemen rushed up the stairway into
the place and began the work of res
cue. Men. women and children were
carried down ladders, fire escapes and
smoke filled halls III one instance a
fireman of Engine company No 2 saved
a woman from running to
the rear of the building to
certain death on the fourth floor.
only to DE forced to drop her from the
third floor to the roof of the building
at lis Madison street The woman
held her seyen-year-old son IN l,nr
arms. Sic was Mrs ]. Sheppa.l ar,.
her son is named Frederick. She
was then carried from the 1oof OF the
buiidi-:c to the Brevoort house, where
a physician was summoned It was
onnd at their injuries were slight
The building is constructed of brick,
with but one stairway leading to the
upper floors. and fire escape in the
front of the building.
E. G. Weber, the night clerk. was
one of the first persons to discover
smoke on the second floor. Tt is be-
lieved that the fire began in this sec
ton of the building. Weber refused
to make any statement, and after he
had secured possession of the hotel
register he was taken to the central
station where he is being detained.
A short time after the fire was dis
covered CONSERVATION reigned on the
upper floors. Mrs Sheppard's son
was cne of the first to be awakened by
the presence of smoke. He awak-
ened his mother and both began
screaming. Many persons We're thus
warned of the danger and made their
escape. The woman was so panic
stricken, however, that she was not
among the first to attempt to escape
and she was making her way into the
most dangerous part of the building
when a fireman seized her and her son
and conducted them to the floor be
low where he dropped them out of q
window J. E. Herbert of Salineyille
Ohio, jumped from the fourth floor
where he had been sleeping. He
struck on the roof of 17S Madison
street near where Mrs Sheppard fell
His right leg was broken and he suf
fered internal injuries. He was take1
to the county hospital.
W. J. Thomas. q mail clerk of Ce
dar Rapids, jumped through a window
on the fourth floor and in his blind
haste narrowly escaped falling to th'
street He managed to make his wa7
to the fire escape and climbed to thu
ground. Previous to Thomas
escape twenty-five to thirty persons
had climbed down the fire escape to TIL
street. All were in their night cloth
ing.
The dead.
H. K. Woods, Lebanon, Ind
P. Y. SIocum.
Samuel Yocum.
T. @. Yocum, Davenport, Ia.
Edward Torner, 80 years old, Nil
waukee.
Van Fleet. Richardson, Ind.
n. K Fardick, GAINESVILLE, Wis.
George Morris. Richmond, Wis.
From what could be learned fron
persons who escaped from the build
ing it appeared that the fire was acci
dentally started. probably by droppin
a lighted cigar on the carpet in the hall
way on the second floor. The smould
ering fire filed the building with heay,
smoke and several were suffocated
Allen Oldorff of Milwaukee made
perilous descent from the fourth foo
By scaling the wall by means of tn
iron shutters. Oldorff stated that h
had seen at least dozen persons o.
the top floor vainly endeavoring t
make their way from the building b
means of the front stairway.
Many of the bodies were found i
the beds in positions of slumber Otf
ers were found in the Railways lyin
face downward in positions that mute
II portrayed how they had vainlv en-
deavored to save their lives. Som