Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-02-26
FATAL HOTEL FIRE
NINE CREMATED AND ~ INJURED
AT CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA.
WAS VERITABLE FIRETRAP
Built of Brick Veneer and Flames Ead
ny lInoer-like Structure, Cut Off
All Hope of Escape-Many Injured
Jumping from Windows-Scene Is
Heartrending.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Feb. 21.-Fire
yesterday morning destroyed the Cliff
ton hotel, cremated nine guests and
caused the injuries of AZ persons. who
were scorched or forced to jump to
the frozen street from the second and
third story windows. After an all-dav
search in the debris four bodies have
been recovered. 1t is now believed
that five more bodies remain in the
ruins of the hotel, which is said to
have been f1imsy structure. filled
with delegates to the state Young
Mems Christian association conven-
ton, and the district convention of the
ter was destroyed, making it difficult
knights of Pythias. The hotel regis
to ascertain the number of missing
persons. Forty men have been work
ing in the rubbish all day and will
continue to dig for the remains of
burned persons all night The loss is
100000.
The dead are:
W. w Mowery, Watcher, Iowa.
E. c. Young, Minneapolis.
Two unidentified men, bodies re-
covered.
Five bodies still in debris.
The hotel, three story brick We
neer structure, is said to have been
veritable fire trap. The flames started
in a pile of rubbish in the basement.
presumably ignited by defective cleo
trio light wires. The night clerk was
on the third floor when the cry of fire,
raised by bell boy, startled him. He
took up the cry and in an instant the
Railways were choked with frightened
guests
A rush was made for the stairs. 1t
was then that the crowd already col
lected in the street heard heartrending
cries of anguish and desperation, for
the fire, feeding ravenously on the tin
der-like material of the lower floor,
had completely cut off escape. There
followed stampede for the windows,
the only means of exit left. The street
below was now filed with a crowd
SSd1SSly lSSS IL dhIlC IIldu Tic u0S pail
ing ones in the fast burning building.
1T was like a Dore picture if Infer
no sprung to life,'' said one spectator
in describing the scene. 'tThe flames,
looking blood red from the reflection
against the snow, lit up the pale,
drawn faces of the people in the win
dow with a glow that was unearthly."
The victims were literally driven by
the flames to jump. Nearly every one
of them fingered to the last moment,
urged by the people below to wait as
long as possible in the hope of assist
ance. Then a cry would tell that the
fire had reached them, or the smoke
had made it impossible to breathe,
and one after another jumped, some to
the street, and some more fortunate
to the roofs of buildings adjoining.
In a short space of time the street
was filed with men and women,
bruised, battered, broken-limbed and
half-crazed All were in their night
garments. In an hour St. LuLe's hos
pital contained fifteen injured While
many more, chiefly those who had es-
capped with comparatively slight hurts
were being cared for in buildings near
the scene of the tragedy.
A number of the guests who were
able to converse calmly after their es-
cape declared that they stumbled over
PROSTATE bodies as they rushed to the
windows. The flames were literally
-
almost impossible to breathe.
The proprietor Of the hotel placed
his estimate of the number of people
in the building at between seventy and
eighty. Many of them were delegates
to the state convention Of the Young
Mems Christian association, which be-
gan here Thursday.