New-York tribune., 1904-09-06
NO FIRE ESCAPE ANCHOR.
Chief Croker'S Discoveries at the
Scene of Fatal Blaze.

With the death of Solomon Kutner, seven years
old, In Bellevue Hospital yesterday afternoon. the
total of dead in the Attorney-st. fire amounted to
fifteen. II seems likely that or two more OF
the injured will die. Peeha Zwrn who is in Belle
vue Hospital Is semi-conscious. and has almost
no chance of recovery. while Adamosky the brave
fireman, who was caught under the falling FIRE
cape. is very low.
To fix the responsibility for the palpable neg
lect extreme carel.ssness which cost fifteen
lives Coroner scholer is making investigation
preparatory TO the inquest and the two city de-
partments most conce ned, the Bureau OF Build
ings and tho Tenement House Department have
begun inquiry. Coroner Scholer said the condl-
tIous which prevailed at the burned house. and
similar conditions which he discovered in the
neghborhood yesterday. pointed to spshod in
Epecton by the Tenement House Department and
he also censured the building inspectors. In his
examination OF the building with Fire Chief Gro
rer, It was brought out that the balconies OF the
fire escapes were not anchored" they simply had
been hammered into the mortar between the
bricks, and any unusual weight would have pulled
loose the fastenlngs, letting the balconies fall as
did the under which Adamosky crushed.
Thomas c. T. Grain. Tenement House Commits
soner. who is I'll at his homo with neuritis said
yesterday that he had been unable to take personal
charge OF investigating the fire, but had instituted
inquiry which would so into every phase OF the
responsibility
IF it is shown that any one in my department Is
responsible for this disaster" said Mr.. Grain. II
Will that he is punished the regulations
OF tho department provide and I will lay all the
facts I obtain before any other osciaIs who may
conduct Investigations"
There were two aspects 10 the affair. Mr. Grain
said. Either the alterations were being made
entirely without permit, in which cast the police
should have found this out and stopped the work:
or the work being done under a permit, in
which case the plans had been approved, but the
contractor must have varied from them in Illegally
removing the fire escapes. In that case, the IN
spector Of the buildings bureau should have de-,
tected this variation from the plans, and stopped
the work.
slowly yesterday Coroner Scholer was unable to
get at the records to ascertain whether the
tractors had a permit for the alterations. With
Inspector Schmittberger and Chief Croker, he
visited many tenements in the neighborhood, and
found plapks and bedding cluttering up the fire
escapes He has written to the Tenement House
Department and the Building Bureau, calling at
tenion TO this condition.
The date for the inquest has not been fixed yet,
rs he wants TO walt until some OF the injured now
I'm the hospital will be able to appear witnesses.
Leon Sobel the owner of the tenement; Morris
levine the lessee and Henry Breiterman. the
Magistrate Whitman for the coroner.
Funeral services were held at the morgue yester
day afternoon for six Of the Victims, Morris Kut-
ner and Mrs. Yetta Miller and her four children.
Rabbi Schachter, OF the congregation to which all
the dead belonged said the service btfore chapel
the procession black hearse and five small
white ones turned up Twenty-sixth-st.. heads were
barred and Il seemed almost like one OF the Slocum
funerals.