The Penn's Grove record., 1905-06-23
OVERCOME BY AMMONIA
- - ~
Valve in New York City Apartment
House Bursts.
Vapor Fills the Building PoIIce and
AmbuIanCes Called !,
Out

New YorkLCity. -Overpowering fumes
Of ammonia filled every room in the
fashionable Dorilton apartment. at
Broadway and Seventy-frst street,
just before midnight, and many per
sons were temporarily Frustrated when
a valve Of the ammonia machine in
the cellar burst. Mrs. y. r. Josephs
was the most seriously affected. and If
required hard work on the part of an
ambulance surgeon from Bellevue Hos.
pital and the house doctor TO restore
her.
The elevator boys deserted their cars
and the 200 persons in the apartments
were forced to hold their heads ont of
windows or take the risk of dropping
In the sitting halls in an effort to gain
the street. Many escaped in his way.
The engineer turned q hose into tle
cellar and flooded it with water. which
partly absorbed the fumes. Then. with
a suit of diving armor, he worked his
way to the broken valve and shut off
the break in the refrigerating plant.
The elevator shaft acted as a distrib-
utor of the volume of burning vapor
and thus spread it through the seven
floors in an instant. Women GREATNESS
and with streaming eyes rushed out on
the Broadway court and on the Sew
enty-tirst street side of the building,
on which the wind was blowing, driv-
ing the flames to the rear of the apart-
ments. Patrolman Sexton iumped
into of the elevators and ran If nm
fhTnIJ 0h thn hn1cn cfnnnsD. - --
floor to open all the windows he could
reach.
The refrigerating plant is used to cool
the apartments. and great care is
taken to see that everything is in pro-
per working order. William Hay, the
engineer, cannot account for the blow
ing out of the valve. He had an as
sistant with him, and both were close
to the engine when the explosion came,
They escaped injury, but were quickly
dazed by the outrush of overpowering
vapor, and with difficulty struggled to
the windows. Catching a breath of
air they revived, and ran to the front
Of the cellar.
Hay quickly put on a sort of divers
armOr and his assistant rapidly at
tached a hose to the s~tandpipe in the
cellar. A big stream Of water was
turned on, which cleared the atmos-
phere to some extent. Protected by
the armor, Hay pushed through the
ammOnia-laden air to the broken valve,
He shut it off and staggered away. to
fall in q StupOr. His assistant dragged
hin to the street, where he recovered.
While this was taking place in the
cellar the tenants in the apartments
were in a terrible plight. Men, women
and children gasping for breath ran
about In terror. The excitement in
Broadway became intensified by the
arrival Of the reserves from the West
Sixty-eighth street police station and
Of the Roosevelt and New York Hospi-
tai ambulances. The police believed
1t was not possible for everybody to
escape ~prostration in that frightful at
mosphere and the two ambulances
were called. Several doctors from the
neighbOrhood were on hand to lend
their aid.
At the first rush of ammonia gas up
the elevator shafts the boys left their
cars and bolted for the street. Up the
shafts, like smoke up a great fume,
the gas rushed and spread through
every floor. In all stages of dress and
undress the frightened tenants rushed
into the halls. Those who were able
made their way down the stairs, slid
ing on their faces, keeping noses and
mouths as close to the carpet as posi-
BILE. Mrs. JoSephs was one of those
who escaped in this way. She was
found sitting Oh the curb in Broadway
gasping. Her distress was pitiable
and she was on the verge of hysteria.
Patrolman Sexton was the only man
who had the grit to penetrate the build
Ing, and he jumped into one of the
cars. He ran it up to the first floor,
and as quickly as he could run he
opened every window within reach and
repeated the operation at every floor.
That had the effect of clearing the
halls so that the tenants could breathe
a little more easily. The wind drove
the fumes to the real of the building,
and the tenants who could not get out
clustered at the front windows on
every floor. Then the blowers In the
cellar were put in motion and started
a current of air which cleared the
building.
Not for an hour were the tenants
able to return to their rooms, and it
was early in the morning before any of
them recovered from the agonizing sem
sations that followed the trying expe-
rience.
The windows were left open. but still
the strong Odor remained. and those
who We're able to sleep were relieved
from the sensation of blindness that
followed the strain on their eyes. Mrs.
Josephs was very i'll, but the physician
said she would be all right soon.