The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-05


Vase Zwirn, 4s years DID, climbed down
to the end Of the fire escape and fell of.
Her fall was broken by man In the crowd,
but she was 30 badly hurt that abe
was sent to Bellevue Hospital. Another
injured In the same way was Joseph Baer,
who jumped from the third floor In the
rear yard and received injuries that sent
him TO Gouverneur Hospital.
1t was on the fifth floor that most Of the
dead were found and from that floor the
most Of the rescues were made. Before
his injury Fireman Kalbfieish with Michael
Stevens, also Of Truck 1S, rescued two
women and several children by passing
them to Firemen Henry and Birmingham
on ladders. All told, score were taken
from the rear Of that floor.
Two families were almost wiped out.
Louis Miller. who escaped was crazed by
finding among the bodies later those Of his
wife, Yetta. his son, Joseph, II, and Isaac.
~, and his daughters, Sarah, 10, and
Yetta, Z.
Four members OF the Feuerberg family
persisted: Sadie Feuerberg, 4e, who with
her eight year-old daughter Annie and
her three-y ear-old son Hermann, died
at Gouverneur Hospital, at about 10 in the
morning, and five-year-old Minnie, whose
body was found in the house.
Rose Eichler, % years old, was found
the body OF her three-months child Re-
becca. They had apparently tried to
escape and had been suffocated.
The search for bodies continued until
Coroner Scholer arrived at 100. The
bodies, nine in all. were taken to the
Union Market police station. There
were not enough sheets to cover all and
Capt. Handy spread the big station house
American flag over number Of them
On Its way to the fire Gouverneur Hos
pital ambulance, in which was Father
Harrington OF st. Mary's Church, at Ridge
and Grand streets, ran into wagon of the
American Ice Company at Cherry and
Henry streets. The ambulance was
wrecked and Driver John Lennon Of 500
Water street thrown out. He received
serious Commissions about the body, and was
taken to the hospital by another ambulance
and put to bed Father Harrington re-
ceived only slight bruises.
Dr. Holcomb OF Bellevue, the second
doctor to arrive at the fire, was asking a
policeman to direct him to the place where
the injured had been taken when he noticed
nearly naked child lying almost at his
feet. AS he bent over the little girl the
policeman said:
Don't bother with her; she's dead
The doctor continued his examination
and thought he felt fiutter Of the pulse.
He worked over the child for an hour,
when she revived, and gave her name as
Kate Kirschper of 1874 Attorney street. She
was taken to Bellevue, where her recovery
liz regarded as certain.
Leon Sobel OF 6s Edgecombe avenue,
The Bronx, owns the building. Coroner
Scholer yesterday caused his arrest and also
that Of Morris Levine Of lis Cannon street,
the lessee, and Henry Breiterman Of 317
East Eighty ninth street, the agent Of the
tenement, on charges Of criminal negligence.
They were held in bonds of 5000, 5000
and $1,000, respectively. Bail for them
was furnished by Louis Kean OF s. West
Eighty-sixth street. who, according to the
Copartnership Directory, is Sobel's partner
in the real estate business.
Sobel went to Coroner Scholers house
and surrendered himself, while Levine and
Breiterman were arrested at their homes.
The changes In the building which were
being made by Sobel himself, were to con-
neot Attorney street with the Ridge street
arcade, an alley lined with shops which has
been cut through from Ridge street to the
rear OF Sobel's tenement.
Coroner Scholer, who is investigating the
accident, feels that the building was not in
fit condition to be used as tenement, with
the fire escapes cut of as they were and the
only means Of exit the single flimsy stair
way, without balustrade.
Coroner Scholer said last night: Il have
been unable to determine which Of the
municipal departments is responsible for
allow ing such a condition, the Building
Department or the Tenement House Com
mission
Il saw Inspector Quinn Of the Building
Department, but he couldn't say what
permits had been issued or whether notices
Of violation Of the law had been filed 1t is
a question whether this is simple alteration
to come under the scope Of the Tenement
House Commission, or il it is not large
enough to be in the jurisdiction of the
Building Department.
Then again, this was not collapse,
but fire. The lives, it may be said, were
lost through conaagration and not through
any defect in structure. L snail have to
get testimony from the Fire Department
Tenement House Commissioner Thomas
c. T. Grain said while both the Tene-
ment House Department and the Building
Department are expected to look out for
the specific matters under their control,
there was an inspector from the Building
Department charged with the supervision
OF the alterations on the Attorney street
building II the building was supplied
with fire escapes before the alterations were
undertaken, It was apparent that the in
spectors OF the Tenement House Depart
ment had done their duty"
Isaac Hopper, Superintendent Of Build
ings, was out OF town yesterday Bernard
German his deputy, said: 80 far as the
alterations in the tenement were con-
cerned, the permit must have been granted
by the Tenement House Commission. The
commission would probably notify us.
In a way our department Is supposed to
have supervision over such construction !
work. II our inspectors were in the neigh
borhood and saw the work going on they
would inspect It, But think the Tenement
House Commission was altogether re-
sponsible for the supervision Of the altera-
Hons in this Attorney street building"
Coroner Scholer will set the date for the
a, "a rI,, ,oos{b1a affar sop,a ~