Milford chronicle., 1905-03-17
NINETEEN DEAD IN
TENEMENT FIRE
Fire Escapes Piled Full of Rubbish
Prevented Escape of Many.
MANY DEEDS OF HEROIsM

New York, March 15.-Nineteen per-
sons dead. two score injured, some so
seriously that they may die, and nearly
200 persons temporarily homeless, is in
/ brief the story of New York's latest
IRE horror. The victims Of the disaster
were typical East Side people, the scene
a typical East Side tenement, and the
scenes attending it were in many ways
peculiar to that cosmopolitan quarter.
To apparently reckless displays OF he
roism shown by iremen, policemen and
volunteer reseuers alone is due the fact
that the list Of the dead is not greater.
Two hundred persons herded in the
big fiYe-story double-decker tenement
house were sleeping when flames from
an overturned or exploding kerosene
lamp in the basement spread through
the structure and wrapped the entire
building in flames almost before an
alarm had been sounde The long
narrow fire escapes viii n ran down
the building on each of its exposed
sides had been made receptacles for
rubbish Of all descriptions and in many
cases they were rendered useless. It
was found also, that every fire escape
platform on the building had in it a
blind" or square piece of board which
fits into the opening through which
the ladder passes in the grated floor. |
The result of these obstructed fire es-
capes was evident when it was found 1
that nearly all Of the dead belonged on
the top floors Of the building and were |
roasted before they were able to reach /
the ground. Another case Of negligence
which was responsible for the loss of
some lives was an immovable skylight
at the head of a ladder leading to the
roof. Battened securely and partially
covered by ice. this skylight resisted
all efforts to force it, and pile of the
bodies Of the dead lay under it when
the horror was over.
Down the fire escapes flowed a stream
of humanity. On some of the escapes
the rubbish was so closely packed that
it became impossible to pass certain
points, and men, women and children
stood literally roasting to death as the
flames roared through the windows.
It was on the fame-swept fire es-
capes that the finest displays of hero
ism were shown. Scores of men, wom-
en- and children, driven from their
rooms by the flames which swept
through Railways and light shafts,
covered high in the air on the hot iron
ladders and platforms the flames
around them as they waited
ior help. Through the flames and
smoke, time after time, the firemen
rushed up to their assistance and every
rip meant life saved. From the fire ,
Escape, too, the men plunged in through
windows belching flames to come forth
moment later bringing an uncon-
ieious form to some place Of saefty.
The fire started in the basement, oc-
upied by Isaac Davis his wife and e.
hree children. Davis went into his
tore on the same floor just in time to
ee a kerosene lamp in the rear ex- s
lode. He awoke his wife, and both q
ried to put out the flaming lamp, but
1ithout success, and then gave all their Z
ttention to getting their hildren out j
the burning building A policeman
Tho heard the cries Of alarm rushed 20 =
ne scene, and every effort was made
arouse the sleeping persons in the \
ouse.