New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-03-15
MANY DIE ON FIRE ESCAPES
EFFORT TO SHIFT BLAME.
.Flames Kill a Score IN 4llen-st.
Tenement House.

zrr.ne rubbish chokec nre escapes, Scutlie
.sat refused TO work failure respond
.,,, 10 the calls for assistance and general
...-.-4n,entaI inef7ciency were declared respon-
-. sor the appalling mortality Of the fire at
a-a story tenement house No. 100 Allen-st
-a.v morning the Tenement House. Fire.
.,..,.s buildings and Police departments each
.,., sougnt 10 shift the blame. Fire Chief
,,-,,,., ;rtinlates that the loss of life was due
,-..-slv 70 the delay of the police in sending
:. me alarm. and that both the Police and Ten
e,t Horse departments were responsible for
~. rubbish choked fire escapes. The lack Of
,.nsesnt policemen at the fire. due to the sub
.,r.v strike was likewise declared to have been
a contributing factor.
whatever the divergence of opinion as to the
responsibility for loss Of life. 1t was agreed that
tbe FIRE started in the rear Of the north half of
basement store occupied by Isaac Davis dealer
,n Crane iuice. There were whispered runors
~ ,ncendiar,sm. but Davis said he was out
a,ondav night and returned home about 3:30
= IN see a lamp in the rear room explode.
.15e sv-oke his wife, and the couple tried TO put
out the flaming lamp he said
NO rNcENDIARIsM. CORONER SAYS.
coroner GoldenEranz denied positively to a
tribune reporter last night that he had de-
c,sred his belief in incendiarisn the cause of
sbe FIRE Il believe 1t pure accident" he
ssid and. after going carefully over the ground
s1,,b the fire marshal and officers Of the 10Th
r9.c,nct I have reached the conclusion is was
not lamp after all We found no traces of a
nsrnp but we now think that the fire was caused
H. some one dropping a match candle into
sbs grease which is deposited in a vat there
NV the restaurant next door. This seems TO me
very plausible theory
Assistant District Attorney Garvan is max
sng ar Investigation, and Coroner Goldenkranz
has Issued wholesale subpenas for Thursday
morning.
II should think that at least eight minutes
eIspsed after the fire started until an alarm
sent out" said Chief Croker yesterday. Il guess
you all know who the ones are who are respon-
sibls for the failure 10 send In the alarm more
promptly When The hremen got there they
found the fire escapes on all floors clogged up
most shamefuuy over the opening of the top
aoor fire escape a shutter had been placed. On
COP Of il was found dead body"
CITIZEN SENDS OUT THE ALARM.
The alarm for the fire was sent out by citi-
zen Who was passing the house. no policeman
being in sight. al 5:53 a. ia. Patrolman Dwan,
The first policeman to arrive. threw off his coat
and helmet and began TO assist people off the
fire escapes TO a rear shed. He handed across
nearly a dozen people before the flames become
700 fierce. Then he backed OFF the fire escape
onto the plank, which broke while he was car
Tying little girl in his arms. He fell twenty
feet to The rear areaway and broke his right
zhoulder. The child unhurt by the fall
The first fremen TO arrive ran up a long lad
der 10 reach the fire escapes in the rear. The
fire escapes were crowded with people, some of
whom were literally roasting in plain sight of
those below. They were held on the fire escapes
By furniture and household goods. which had
been heaped there and the flames roared out of
the windows and all about them. Several people
died before the fren'en could reach them.
BODIES CARRIED TO POLICE STATION.
When the fire was out. patrol wagons carried
bodies OF the dead found in the house to the
police station in Eldridge-st., ambulances hav-
ing taken about twenty-five people to hospitals
A tremendous crowd was about the police sta
ton after the bodies taken there. The
bodies were placed in the rear yard and people
were admitted for purposes of identification a
few at a time The bodies were twisted and dis
forted, and Identification was practically impos-
sibe. The bodies were mostly burned about the
head and face.
THE DEAD.
Following is a list Of the dead:
COHEN. Jessie fifteen years old
FUCHS. GeTshon. thirty years old.
KAUFMAN. Harry. years old.
: KLEIN. Mrs Sarah. sixty years old.
3 hILAEf, Rose four years old.
MILLER Norris. five months old.
aCsKOWITZ. Ida, ten years old
SOLOMON. Mrs. Rachel forty i've years
f0LOMON. Isaac. eighteen years old.
SOLOMON. jacob. sixteen years old.
WIENER Airs. Rose. twenty-three years old
Il raar old
i lEiDLER. Harris forty years old
ZElDLER. Asrs. Bella. thirty years old.
i kEIDI,EE. Harry eleven years old.
1EioI-Ea. Rachel thirteen years old
Unidentified body bog. about seventeen years old.
Unidentified body of girl. about five years old.
Unidentified body Of girl about five years old
The burned house is owned by Morris Vein
stein, a real estate dealer at No. 80 Nassau-st.
TIE United Hebrew Charities yesterday rem
esed assistance 10 the stricken families at the
91ee. No. 113 Ludlow-st, and is prepared to re-
cave contributions