Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-02-22
Fifteen People
Burned to Death
:, c,,sk Of Park c)qoenue Hoiel Ner0 York Buns
And Sadocaaon Caused Most Of The Deafhs-FamOus
poce Cauqt Fire from The Burning Armory Of The
sreriy,fhs Regiment ~ T. S. NC.

Nearly double that number, injured In
their panlc-stroken endeayors to es.
cape, 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 hysterIcal from shock.
CAUSE OF DEATHS.
All deaths were caused by burns or
suffocation with one exception. One
man jumped From the fifth story win
dow 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 We're awakened by the clang OF
the engines and crowded to the hotel
windows. About an hour elapsed be-
fore the hotel took fire, but in spite
Of this many guests were In their rooms
clad only in their night clothes and
some were in bed. Men and women APP
peared az the windows Of the Park
avenue side OF the hotel and called for
help, Mrs, Charlotte Bennett and her
husband Harold. OF Alabama, stood on
a ledge on the fifth floor just over the
porilco OF the main entrance OF the
hotel Mrs Bennett was terror-stricken
and screamed again and again for some
one to rescue her. Her husband
grasped her and from the crowd Of
thousands gathered In the streets there
were shouted warnings not TO jump,
When I, was seen that she was deter
mined to jump the iiremen gathered In
circle and stretched out their arms
With Anal desperate effort Mrs Ben
nett wrenched herself free from her
husbands grasp and with a piercing
scream flung herself into the arms Of
the waiting hremen Ave stories below
When she jumped from the ledge on
which she and her husband had stood
the flames were licking out Of the win
dow behind her and around her form
Inside OF this room was all In flames.
Mrs, Bennett struck In the arms Of the
fremen. Her weight caused them to
sag and she struck the pavement She
was terribly burned about the body
She was taken to the Bellevue hospi-
tai where she died, Her husband,
when Mrs. Bennett Jumped fell back
into the room He was not seen after
ward and II is believed he was burned
or suifocated TO death,
A TERRIBLE DEATH.
Col. Charles |. Burdette OF Connectl.
cut, met death In a terrible manner
His body, with the skull split open, was
found lying in the court yard OF the
hotel, He had fallen at least Ave
stories, Col Burdette had room on
the seventh floor. When the alarm Of
fire reached him his escape was cut off
His room faced the court IN the center
OF the hotel. Apparently he had
dragged the mattress from his bed and
dropped Ii to the room OF an extension
over the hotel dining room several sto-
rles below Then by knottlng the sheets
together he made rope, secured II 10
the window, lowered himself on the i'm
provised rope and then dropped. His
design was to land on the mattress
and thus have the frightful fall broken,
He miscalculated the distance, went
beyond the extension and was killed.
A PARTY OF PRIESTS SAVED.
Father Smith, a Are chaplain, found
Bishop Ludden OF Syracuse, In n room
on the seventh floor OF the hotel and
helped him to the street. Bishop
Ludden told the hremen then that there
were q number OF priests In the hotel
including Mgr. Kenney, also Of SYRIA
cuse Father Smith returned into the
building, fought his way through the
smoke up the stairs and conducted the
priests down the stairway TO safety.
One Of the bodies awaiting Identified
ton was recognized by Henry Newman
OF this city, as that OF his niece, Miss
Esther Schlesslnger, OF Chicago, who
had come 10 New York TO buy goods
for her fathers store In that city,
CASTOR A, Robbins. who was killed,
was formerly congressman from Sell
ma, Alabama
A MISSIONARIES SAD FATE.
Among the persons killed we're Miss
Foster, missionary, who devoted her.
self to work In the Tombs prison She
was daily visitor 10 the prison and
gave up all her time to the service Of
the unfortunates confined there.
Mai. Jacob SPAIN, Rochester, N. Y,
lawyer, lost HIS life In the fire,
Rear Admiral Joseph N. Miller IRE
tired, was reported mortally hurt In
the fire, but he was unlnjured and Is In
his usual health.
Many OF the police and fire officials
declare that In their opinion the blaze
in the hotel was entirely Independent OF
that at the armory and that II was only
a coincidence that the two fires &C.
CURED 50 near together.
II was established with fair degree
of certainty today that the fire at the
Park Avenue hotel originated at the
base OF the north elevator shaft. From
this point It crept up to the nth and
sixth floors and spread In every direc-
ton, completely covering the upper
floors,
Police Capt. Delaney said that when
he was notified that the hotel was aiire
there was no thought Of the structure
being endangered from the arrnory
blaze.
HOTEL BUILT BY STEWART.
The Park Avenue hotel was built by
A. r. Stewart, who spent 100000 on
its construction and furnishings. The
building occupies the entire front OF
the block on Park avenue from Thirty
second 10 Thirty-thrd streets, with
depth OF half block. II Is seven stor-
les I'm height and encloses on four sides
a court containing $4,000 squire feet OF
space.
At the time Of It's construction Il was
the largest hotel In the country with the
exception Of the Palace hotel San
Francisco Mr.. Sewart designed the
hotel originally as home for working
women but when Il was found that II
could not be managed on the plan
adopted by its founder II was converted
into a family hotel
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