The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-02-14
DAVENPORT ANNEX AFlRE
HOTEL GUESTS ESCAPE WITHOUT
SERIOUS HARM.

Several Women Carried Ouf, One With
Chtid-w Waitress Temporarily Over
coms-Two New York Book Agents
Have an Exciting Experienced DAM
age Not Heavy.
At 1915 o'clock this morning the man
who tends the heating boilers in the
cellar of the annex Of the Davenport
hotel rushed to the hotel Office and said
that his room was all on fire. The
night clerk os the hotel Immediately
sent in still alarm to No. 2s engine
house.
The man who discovered the fire
sleeps in the front room Of the cellar of
the building adjoining the hotel. On
the main floor of this building is the
yale Misft Clothing Co.," kept by
Glazer, Chain 6 Drazen, while the
other five stories are used as the hotel
annex and contain a number of sleeping
apartments, most os which were occu-
pied. A moment after the still alarm
had been sent william B. Swift oe 1s9
Chestnut street. who happened to be
passing at the time, saw the flames
bursting up from the cellar and he im-
mediately rung box 224. When the de-
partment arrived they found the base
ment In flames. Although the flames
were stubbornly fought they gradually
ate their way uD to the stairway lead
ing to the annexed rooms.
Most of the guests got out of the build
ing before the smoke filed it. Several
women were carried out down the
stairs, and one of them had small
child in her arms. Beda Peterson, a
waitress employed in the dining room,
was carried out in fainting condition,
with blood pouring from her nostrils.
She was carried into the hotel and re-
vived, after which she was taken to a
room.
Two New York book agents repre-
senting a well-known firm in that city,
and who came to this city to sell art
studies to the students. were sleeping
in room at" and were awakened to find
the room full of smoke. They rushed
to the door. but the smoke was so thick
that they gave up the attempt in that
direction. They opened the window,
which opens on a narrow alley between
the annex and the main building, and
it was thought that they were about to
jump. A ladder was sent for, but be-
fore it's arrival the men threw out the
rope fire escapes with which each room
Is supplied and lowered themselves to
the ground. On their arrival on terra
firma one of them calmly remarked:
We're book agents and we can't
burn" The other said that he had left
$500 in his room and he'd bet that would
burn. but his money was found to be
intact little later.
Aftel working on the sre about an
hour it was extinguished. The entire
cellar of the ar mex was burned out, the
front stairs landing on the first floor
was burned away and the entire bui!0-
ing filed with smoke. How much dam
age was done by the water to the
clothing stock could not be estimated
this morning.
The cause of the fire is unknown, but
one of the fire authorities said he be-
lieved that the boiler tender was smok-
ing cigarette in bed and that the bed
ding igniting had set the woodwork on
fire The bed which was a cot, was
the first thing burned up, which gives
rise to the belief that the fire first
started there. There were also lot of
awnings stored in the cellar, where the
fire started. How much damage had
been done by the smoke and water, as
we'll as by the flames, could not be esti-
mated last night. 1t is thought that all
is covered by insurance.