The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-12-14
KILLED IN TENEMENT FIRE
Holocaust in BROOKLYN, N. Y, Wipes
Out Two Families.
SUFFOCATION CAUSE OF DEATH

Closed Windows Make the Air Unbear-
able and Flames and Smoke Choke
Their vIctIrns-Many Reach Safety by
the Fire Escapes-Del clay in Sending in
the Fire Alarm.
New York City.-Smothered before
they could reach the rear fire escape
in the frame tenement house at lS6
Trautman street, in the Williamsburg
district of Brooklyn, q dozen persons
met death shortly before 2 O'Clock IN
the morning. According to Coroner
Flaherty and the ambulance surgeons,
all the victims were %suffocatad, but
the bodies were badly burned before
they were taken from the ruins by the
Gremen.
The wiping out Of two families was
complete with the exception of one
member in each.
The house at 1856 Trautman street is
in the centre of a row of three-story
frame tenement houses, and for many
blocks in every direction these wooden
houses stretch on either side of the va
| riouss streets. Only two Of the houses.
the one in which the fire broke out,
and 1874, next door, are occupied oy
Italians, the rest of the neighbornood
being peopled by Germans. No. ls6
contains the only store on the block, d
grocery kept by A. G. Minaldi. All the
persons killed and injured lived on the
third floor above. The family Of Min
adj and the persons living on the Sec
ond floor got out in safety. -.
There are two theories. as to the OIL.
Gin of the fire. One is that it started
in the cellar Of the grocery, where a
lot of infammable material was stored,
including kerosene oil. The other Is
that it began in q woodshed i the
rear of the grocery.
Once under way, the fire spread like
lightning through the house until II
entirely cut of the families on the two
floors above the store, except by the
rear fire escape, the only one on the
building. Minaldi, who lived back or
the store with his family, got'them out
after the smoke had awakened MIN.
and those on the floor above climbed
down the fire escape.
1t was on the floor above that death
reaped it's harvest. All the bodies
were found in the ear room. 1t was
evident that a concerted rush had been
made for the fire escape, as the floors
below were q seething mass Of flames,
and fight in that direction was impos'
sible. The windows of the room were
tightly closed, however, all having per
lshed ever before one could b e,opened'
Precious moments were wasted ID
turning in the first alarm. There IS
O box in Central avenue, near Traut'
man street. a short block from the ten.
ment, but the first alarm came in troll
the box at Hamburg avenue and Starr
street, three blocks. away. Engine Is.
whose house is 4 block away, was the
first to respond. but it went a block
in the opposite direction before the er'
ror was discovered. A second and q
third alarm were turned in, and the
vicinity 500 was choked with appar'
at!s.
In all, the police say, there were
about thirty-fve persons living in the
building. and as the ruins have been
carefully searched, all but the four.
teen accounted for evidently escaped.
The police made little progress in their
investigation Of the fire. Policeman
Low, the first to reach the blaze, got
hold of MinaIdi, the grocer. The gro
GER refused to say anything other than
that he was awakened by smoke and
had managed to drag out his wife and
family.
1t was said by neighbors that the
families killed were clothing %inishers.
The houses at 1874 and 1876 Trautman
street are owned by Mrs. Ossmann. OF
IS Manhattan avenue, Brooklyn. The
police estimated the total damage to
synrythinr at $4,000.