Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1905-03-14
BURNING OF TENEMENT.

Nineteen Persons Lose Their Lives
Thrilling scenes-Heroic Rescues.
New York, March l4.-Nineteen
persons, men, women and children, had
their lives snuffed out early this morn
ing in a tenement fire in the Ghetto.
Sixteen others were seriously injured
by burns or falls. The scene of the fire
was doubIe-decker tenement at No
1O5 Allen street. A careless tenant left
lighted oil lamp on an empty paint
barrel, standing in the lower hall. The
lamp was upset, probably by a cat,
setting FIRE TO the barrel. The flames
communicated to a paint store located
in the building, and quick and fierce
FIRE followed.
Firemen and policemen her0ically
worked to save the tenants, more than
one hundred in number, but they could
not save all. When the flames were
subdued, nineteen blackened and charred
bodies were taken from the wrecked
building, and carried to the yard of the
Eldridge street police station, a block
away. Here, all morning, hundreds of
relatives and neighbors have viewed the
remains for purposes of Identification.
In ten minutes the Ere department
was on the scene. When the engines
arrived the flames had eaten their way
through the stairways and all five floors
we're burning The FIRE escapes, clogged
with bedding and boxes, we're swarming
with panic and terror-stricken people.
While the ladders were being raised, to
effect their rescue, blast of wind from
the west sprang up, ard the flames
poured out of the front windows onto
the people on the FIRE escapes. Men
and women jumed to the sidewalk and
some were caught in the arms OF the
fremen. Women hurled their children
to the street and leaped after them. The
wind fell away again, and then came
from the east, driving the FIRE out of the
rear windows, where many we're cling
ing awaiting help on the rear fire
escapes. Many jumped to the ground
and were injured.
A human chain was formed by police
men and 6remen and a score or more
were rescued. Those who were clinging
to the fire escapes on the top floors and
dii not jump, we're slowly roasted aud
their cries were horrible to hear. They
could not descend because the fire escapes
we're clogged with furniture and ash cans
which had been left there by tenants in
violation OF law. A mother threw her
babe at Policeman Wartalsky, and he
caughtit. Then she plunged after it, and
fell upon Wartalsky's head. He was
knocked unconscious. The woman was
slightly burned but otherwise she and
her baby escaped unhurt. In the rear
scaling ladders we're run up and many
we're taken down in the face of the great
est danger from the flames, which came
out from the windows in angry tongues.
The ffremen and the policemen with their
faces and hands burned stood by their
work and many times were forced to de-
scend when their clothing caught fire.
One woman with her night attire
blazing was seen to crawl from out OF
the flames and smoke on the top floor
and start to creep down the fire escape.
The hot iron of the escape blistered aud
charred her feet, but she made no out
cry. She carefully removed the clog.
ging ash cans and gradually worked her
way down to where the fremen with
scaling ladders were ready to save her.
They were about to take her when a
greet surge Of flames burst out of the
window and enyeIoped the woman from
her head TO her feet She fell back and
was seen no more. No one knew her
name. She was about % years old.
Two men and two women we're seen
to come down, aud when almost within
reach of the 6remen found themselves
caught in barred fire escape and then
fall victim of the danes.
Many we're seen to come to the win
dows and then fall back into the flames.
The frpmen did little to check the
flames, except to keep them from spread.
ing. They were too busy saving lives to
attend to much else. The building was
completely Quilted.