New-York tribune., 1903-01-14
BUSY DAY FOR FIREBUGS.
TERRORIZE TENENENT.S
Fyremen Operzrorkicd Rescuing Mapp
Pictims Secret Patrol

Half dozen suspicious fires in the East size
tenement district between Fifty-ninth and sew
sntv-ninth SITS in the early hours of YESTERDAY
morning kept many people in that part Oh 'iie
-7tv in q state of fright and nervous tension ana
led officials Of the Fire Department 10 believe
that incendiaries were at work in the district
The hremen Of the district were almost worn
,+ resnondfns to calls TO those fires and 10
ere in George J. Gould's house, in t1fth-aNe-
Later in the day there were several hres Ia
houses on the upper West Side OF the city
For month Fire Marshal Freel has kept MS
entire force OF assistants on night patrol IN the
hope Of catching some incendiaries- This patroi
nv the men OF the Fire Marshafs bureau is the
5Tst of the kind on record It has been going on
secretly, because Mr.. Freel did not want any
warning given TO the miscreants his men were
sesrchirg for Several supposed incendiary fires
m, the upper West Side recently led him 70 be-
rsve that the patrol service might be fruitful
there. and in the early morning hours of yester-
day his men were keeping watch in that part OF
the city Perhaps the freougs learned OF the
natrol there and went over TO the East SIDE 10
continue their aboninable work.
The police and frernen failed TO catch any
bodv in the act OF starting any of the nres
q the East Side district and Mr. Freel said he
5i5 not want 10 discuss the subject. you
may have noticed" he added. that whenever
.bere has been an assassination Of king other
attempted assassinations have followed Pc
c,lisrlv brutal murder will find its counter
nart q short time after. That is the reason
90 not care TO say anything about these hres-
an afraid talk will only make another pyro-
maniac"
Before the engines called TO the IRE IN
Nr Gould,s house early yesterday morning
-. ~ them had to go TO Sixty-first-st- ard
.he East River. where flames were discovered
q, .be canalboat Ernest Love An cverheated
-o,,a might have caused that blaze, and the
damage was slight.
Before the IRE in Mr.. Gould's house was pul
oft a policeman discovered a fire in the cellar
NJ the tenement house, No. 231 East FiftS-
-,nth-st in which twenty families were asleef1
There was a stampede from the house oe1o:e
the engines could be called The flames were
mt out in the cellar after they had caused
los. Of a bout $500 The fremen were shaking
.hair heads over the suspicious nature OF the
Ga when 2 similar fire discovered IN the
cellar Of the house No $40 East Sixty-thiro-sI'
occzpied by twenty-five Italian families. Ihere
was another panic there, but everybody escaped
md the flames were extinguished so quickly
.ba+ the loss was slight. By that time the fire.
rnsn believed that incendiaries were trying TO
burn I'D tenement house in the district
FIREMAN REsCUEs a CHILD
At4sm m. they responded TO a call and found
fire in the cellar Of the big tenement house al
,co 20s East Seventy-hfth-st- The names ran
WI tns dumb waiter shaft, ana the mouse was
47lled with smoke before all the inmates ceuio
get OF. One italian family left child behind
--4-e-nn Duane, Battalion Chief Farrens
80 learned about it ran into the house and
.--is out the child, which had become un-
-onscous Artificial respiration was resorted TO
bx raicemen in the street. and the little one S
life vas saved There was little room Tor oount
-hatthe fire was Of incendiary origin, ann sew
eralpeople narrowly escaped death by the hre'
vet he damage TO property did not exceed soVo-
ne hremen were preparing to leave the
+oee. when another fire in the cellar OF the
Ice tenement house No. 329 East seventy
@hs+ onlv a few doors away, claimed their
.tention The Railways of the crowded mouse
ere filed with frightened people when ponce
,en ran In TO help them out The pelloeineh
found that some one had made a nlockaoe a.
rbe second story by moving a large trunk 10 the
head Of the stairs. Two bluecoats were pushed
over the trunk before it could be dragged aslue'
The freraen did not permit the flames 10 get
,,nstairs. After extinguishing the fire they saw
that il had been started in heap OF ruOOiS1
near door leading TO the Sidewalk
while the hren,en were still busy in Seventy
s4+.-s+ = nolieerna- discovered a fire in the
tenement house No 303 East Seventy-rrst-sl-
r7hA house and several adjoining houses were oc-
cupied ~ Italis7s. and somebody hao sla@l
fire in the cellar. An engine company from ~
rzesdopsrters answered the polieeHaans eaI'
knowing that the engines that usually "ouIu
resnopd 70 the alarm were busy. Inc company
-ut OUT the blaze in the cellar wnle Italians
from the house and several adjoining houses
v5ere rushing to the street When the iAifiiiieS
e,or, No 3O7 were going back TO their foo''is
thew found that there was another nre In IH0t
bouse The blaze there was more serious thaa
+bs one in No 3o3. The flames spread through
-bs entire house and three alarms were ruhe
before sufficient engines could be called from
g distance TO cope with the fire The houses
Nos 3O5 and 800 were damaged before the
flames were out A falling cornice barely es-
caped in1uring several OF the hreFren.
B1Azr IN BLACKBERRY PATCH"
The excitement over the fires in the East Sioe
district had not subsided when there "as q
blaze in one OF the tenement buildings at 6rodu-
1av and ne-hundred-and-th -thirtieth-st-, known
as the blackberry Patch, because they are M
habted by colored families. Mrs Golden, ANLis
OF the second floor, sraelled smoke ano louhu
fire blazing under the hall stairs before t.ie
nrerner arrived the flames had spread TO all lhe
s1airways cutting off the escape OF the tenants
excer, nv the windows. Luckily. there were A'e
ESCAPES on the front wall, and the tenants eot
down that way The damage was ABOUT 91'00'
Ere in the basement Of the broWnstohe
house No 2l5 West OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
thrd-st caused the frenen TO pFeah III l1eie
ct 10 g m The house had been eioSeo anu
locked ND by the owners agent on Aohuas
night after family. said TO belong 10 a0i
mon colony in Harlem. had been olsposSesseo