The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-01-24
FOUR THOUSAND
LIVES IN DANGER
Twenty Story Sky-SCraper on
Fire in Chicago.
WILD SCRAMBLE FOR SAFETY
NAVY INJURED, BUT NO ONE
WAS KILLED.

east OF the 1roquols theatre. Owing
10 the fact that upwards of 4.0OG peo-
pie occupy the offices and stores in
the giant structure, the FIRE caused
great excitement.
The series Of elevators surrounding
tne rotunda in the cellar Of the build /
ing continued to run while the smoke (
and flames issued from the windows
70 the fourth story, where the fire orig
mated. The people were removed from /
sible.
Great crowds of spectators quickly |
surrounded the Temple, being drawn /
from the fashionable shopping district /
OF state street and adjoining thor /
oughfares. The sight Of the majestic I
structure through the clouds OF smoke |
ana flames was one long TO be remem- /
bered.
Firemen Quickly Summoned.
Firemen were summoned by an aIarm /
automatically sent in from the rooms /
IN which the fire began. The firemen !
quickly made connection with the sta +
tionaTy standpipe in the building. I'M i
naediateiy tons of water flooded the /
floors where the smoke and blaze were |
tnickest- The danger was increased I
Dy the suspected presence of q GUAM |
tity OF chemicals which occupants de- /
I ciared were stored near the place where /
the flames originated.
Occupants of the building, warned By 4
/ the sunOcating clouds of smoke that |
rose through the many stories and /
penetrated every corridor, lost no time 1
I in making efforts for safe exits I
/ Guards were stationed at each eleva-
| tor landing on every floor and the /
panic-stricken people were hurried /
from the building.
Explosion Of Chemicals.
The origin of the fire was in an ex-
! plosion of chemicals in an Office on
the fifth floor. The explosion was a |
sufficient notice Of danger to the oc-
{ cUpants of the floors Immediately above
and below but was unheeded by hun
/ dreds of other persons in the vast
structure. who received their warning
when suddenly confronted with walls
/ of dense smoke.
/ Flames followed the explosion and
/ quickly spread TO the floors above. Men
/ and women rushed wildly for the stairs
/ and elevators So rapidly did the inn
/ nnense skyscraper fiji with smoke that
I the fremen found it almost impossible
! to work within the walls. In a short
/ time the fire was raging on three floors
/ containing many chemical establish
/ ments and doctors Offices. Further ex-
/ piosiOns were mOmentaTiiy feared. AS
/ az the ITOqUOis catastrophe, Fire Mar
] shall Musham was soon on hand, and
! he quickly warned his men Of the
/ danger.
shortly after the arrival Of the en-
/ giEes a ladder was raised at the south
! west corner of the building and fire
man ascended to the fifth floor where |
D the fire was burning.
People Panie-strieken.
In the height Of the excitement the
/ crowds in the street saw a man clad
/ in a heavy overcoat step from the fire
/ escape of the fourteenth floor and be-
! gin TO descend. Within the building
! the elevator men, while running their
+ machines without ceasing, helped to
I still the panic stricken occupants. From
i the top floor down the barriers were
I iammed with passengers and a num-
+ Der of women tainted In the cars.
The flames appeared first IN the suite
/ Of r. F'riedlander & Co, manufacturers
/ Of X-r5y apparatus, on the fifth floor.
/ The explosion which was the cause Of
the fire occurred in SEQ worth OF Va
/ cuum tubes which We're stored in the
/ suite Smoke poured out Of the rooms,
which occupied the entire southwest
I corner of the sky-sCraper. With almost
/ incredible swiftness every floor Of the
/ temple above the fifth was filled with
/ dense smoke, while the floors below
! we've deluged with water.
DetachmenJs of police were quickly
/ on hand aiding the fremen i'm the eff
/ fort to control the fire and calm the
! people.
Dodged Beams and Stones.
Armed with axes and picks the fire.
men broke doors and windows. IN the
/ rotunda. at the bottom of the elevator
/ well, persons leaving the elevators after
/ descending in Embarrassing time from
/ the upper stories, were obliged to dodge
! heavy beams and fragments of stone
and plaster falling in the rotunda from
the fifth floor and breaking jagged holes
/ in the costly mosaic pavement
/ Thousands Of people on the street
/ watching the fire were thrown into
panic by an explosion, which threw a
) quantity of acid through the windows,
! sending smarung fluid rushing on the
! crowds below.
( In the rush for safety an old man
( was thrown down an area way. being
picked up unconscious. The fire was
out within an hour. A number OF per-
/ sons were injured. =. Friedlander, in
/ whose suite the fire originated, was
I found unconscious on the floor. Twelve
/ girls in his employ made their eseape-
I The injured are as follows;
List Of Injured.
julius Ernest, stock clerk fer Fried
! lander, hands and face burned.
/ John Stack, slightly burned
Henry Buell., slightly burned.
Walter Davney. laborer, injured by
1 broken Sass, and burned about face.
Walter Sparker, face burned.
". G. Preston.
| John Sullivan.
/ ]. L. Sullivan.
John Long.
/ II. Leonard.
! George Mullet.
Fred Lynch.
1 john Stearns.
Louis Tremayne.
B. Smith. so years Of age, thrown
/ down area way by crowd in street OPP
/ pOsite the IRE. taken 20 hospital Uncon-
sCious
Bootblack'5 Long Climb.
George Ashmore, a barber, and TO
/ ny" a bOotblack. climbed down the nre
escape from tae nineteenth floor Of the
/ temple.
/ When the knowledge of the fire
| reached the barber shop everybody
! made a rush for the elevators. They
| were full. Persons We're clambering
/ into them at a rate that threatened
/ accidents unless the congestion was
! relieved. TheFeupon AshmOre and the
| bcotblack ran TO the fire escape and
started 10 climb downward.
Several times, said Ashmore, cas-
/ we passed by a window smoke rolled
/ out in volumes that threatened to suf-
/ f0cate Us. But we knew it was death
if we lost our hold, ana NE hung
/ on
For & time It was feared that the
/ water which threatened to food the
! basement would put out the fires ia