New-York tribune., 1905-07-18
FIRE PANIC ENDS ~FETE.
italian Parade Dispersed By Chain
of accidents.

As the Parade which ended the feast of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel passed through East 18th
St, there suddenly a cry of fire and from
the cellar of the five story tenement house at No
$50 East l13h-st. there came cloud of dense black
smoke. Several patrolmen jumped to the basement
ana unsuecessfully attempted to extinguish the
blaze. In the mean time an alarm had been turned
in, and the changing of the apparatus the dense
crown in a panic. Looking neither right or
left. men pushed women and children from their
path or trod them underfoot. The street was
filled from fence to fence. with screaming, yelling
mob, against which the police were powerless.
ETY. II was fifteen minutes before the hremen could
in fb p4Te sors 10 III d me blaze which was
spo RTing sT up tn through @ The halls Of the house the
While those on the roofs also fed in fear for their
The fire caused damage of about $lOO II was
caused by one Of the smoulder!ng hrecrackers set
beg6rn bg rg te 70 PILE 3t rubbish II was half an hour
gether and proceeded on its way
thing ike sebanea o oreI and %
there were cries of Help Murder! Police.'' heard
46o % s way through Sas n the mob the police
AFFAIR betweeen two Italians in saloon at that
place, but the men had disappeared An ambulance
DR.. Burns reached the scene with the Greatest dif
iculty only TO find that HIS services were not
The park was densely packed and the fireworks
ST. there went up cries Of MAN oyerboaTd e again again
the police rushed to the scene. while thousands of
IL
ter Forming line, a dozen sturdy patroirnen
fought the crowd back. clearing space for Others
TO work. II was found that a man struggling
In the water.
Captain Ernest Hirsch of the Volunteer Life
Saving Corps jumped in after the man, and after
much difficulty succeeded in bringing him ashore
Then il discovered that in falling in the water
the mans leg had struck rock and been fract-
ured.
He taken the Harlem Hospital He gave
his name John Meyers, of No 421 East l23d-st
he saie tL=t he had been walking along the shore
and hao Deen croyydSd into the river
About this time parents began realize that they
had brought children with them, and there was a
10 the East lOfth-st. station, where appeal was
made for the finding OF the lost ones One-hundred-
and-fourth-st. packed from the station to 3D.
ave, on the east and TO LeNington-ave the west,
while the police had 10 work hard to keep them
from breaking In the doors In the back OF the
station house were twenty-six children who had
been picked up by the police and the of sort
ing them out began. This finally accomplished
Tor most, but there were still few unclaimed
while there were a hundred claimants for children
which had not beeen found
The confusion of the police was further increased
by the arrest Of thirteen piepockets and the mys-
teriously rapid appearance OF many bondsmen
TO give bail for them.
Another fire caused the greatest excitement
among the ceiebrants about 10 o'clock. The altar
where rested the statue OF Our Lady of Mount
Carmel. at 13fh-st and lst-ave.. surrounded
by thousands kneeling and praying. Directly back
One suddenly caught FIRE and fell blazing upon the
altar. Instantly the iimsy decorations blazed up.
and II looked as though the statue OF Our Lady
doomed.
Fifty of the worshippers sprang forward and tore
down the burning canopy. receiving many blisters
for their devotion. although the statue was not
damaged The railing about the altar broken
DOWN and the canopy. ruined.