The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-08
hay FIRE 4 GRAND SPECTACLE.
Blaze Among EarEes EndanSers Lives
-Four Alarms Turned In.


From n spectacular standpoint, second
four alarm re, which started before
the Greenwich street fire was controlled
was pretty sight
Thi. fire was on the West Side water
front, in the Hay bay" between Thirty
fifth and Thirty-sixth streets. All the hay
barges tie up there. and last night there
were eight or nine of them including
couple Of canalboats.
Moored near the shore was the hay barge
Montgomery, Capt. James A. Slckle5' IL
arrived yesterday. On the barge was
Capt. Sickless wife Mary, his two children
and q woman friend of his wife, besides
his helper. Charles Ward. They were all
asleep last night at 1890 o'clock aft in the
barge. The bow of the boat was lnshore
One of the barge captains two babies
awoke coughing and crying and this aroused
Sickles. He smelled burning hay and
ducked his head out Of the companion way
to see where the fire was. II was right at
home The whole front of his barge shot
up in flames.
His first thought for the people
aboard He got his wife and her friend and
cried to Walsh Sickles picked up the two
babies and said he would I've responsible for
them if the women would look out for the M
selves.
The Harvest Queen was moored to the
hav barge Geraldine which was nearest the
dock To get from the boat which was
atire il was niece ssary to zap aboard the
Geraldine. The women had to make a
running Jump to get there. Walsh followed.
Then the captain jumped, holding a child
in each arm.
BY this time the stern Of the Harvest
Queen lad swung away fro m the Gerald
ii,a and the boat was a blaa ing furnace.
Sckles, with his two children, saw he
would have to jump far to reach the deck
of the Geraldine and he yelled TO the per-
sons on the other barge to stand by to res
cue the children in case he failed. He
made the jump and landed safely. Then
they lost TO time in scrambllng to the dock
The tire spread quickly to the Geraldine
and the gllre lit up the sky on both the
New Yoin and the Jersey shores. Some
one on shore turned in an alarm and the
first hremen that arrived saw the blaze
was ant to cause big trouble and third
alarm was sent in, skipping the, second:
Deputy Chief Duane came on the third
alarm ard he rang in a fourth.
The taird brought the freboats New
Yorker, Mcclellan and Hewitt When they
got there the harges Montgomery and Har-
vest @ leen were ahaze along with couple
Of canslhoats.
The levitt got lines on the Jesse and
Montgomery and pulled the two bla zing
boats out into the stream. Then she let
10 Of them and couple Of New York Cen
trail tugs took hold, The Hewitt got in
between the two burning boats and
poured tons Of salt water upon them. 1t
made fine show seen going up stream.
Meantime the New Yorker and McClel-
Ian were doing effective work on the Har-
vest Queen and the Geraldine.
The f1remen on land were not OF much
Use because the dense smoke kept them
a good distance away from the burning
boats.
The crowds on the nearby docks ham
pered them good deal in their work,
and the police. Of whom there seemed to
he few were powerless to handle the crowd
On the boats that did not catch fire many
reople gathered On one Of these an
italian tecamn frightened and in leaping 10
the pier fell overf board Fireman William
T. Mullgan Of Engine l8 saw him hit the
water and, helmet and all went overheard
after him In 1onnderng about the Italian
got under thc DOW ~ the Geraldine and
Mulligan had some dfficn in extrcating
him.
nv the time he had done so several lines
had been thrown to tho fireman. One
Muligan tod around tho Italian and saw
him pulled ashore The other he put around
his own waist and he drawn up onto
the dock.
Several other persons got duckings in
their eagerness to get as near the fire a.
possible All who foil overhoar I'd were fshec
out unharmed except for a wetting,