Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1905-03-22
Nine
ROA
an. On,y Few of the Sleeping In
mates Of the Building, Which is on
the New York East Side, Escaped
Unhurt.

New York, Special.-Nineteen per-
sons were burned to death in n fire
which destroyed the five-story house.
1,OOo Allen street, early Friday. More
than 40 were injured and only n few
OF the sleeping inmates escaped un-
hurt. Several OF those who perished
were roasted to death in plain view
of thousands in the streets Coroner
Goldenkrane declared after an invcs-
tigation that he had reason to believe
the blaze was the work of an incen-
diary. He issued subpoenas for the fire
marshal, tenement house and building
inspector and health and police officials
to appear before him at the inuuest
Thursday
The fire started in the basement and
spread with frightful rapidity to the
roof. The victims were caught in traps
OF flames, the halls and exits being
| rendered impossible in n few minutes
| after the blaze started. The building
was one of the usual tenement and
the disaster was the worst in the his
tory OF the East Side. The district
attorneys Office has begun an investi-
CATION to place the blame for the great
oss OF life. Chief Croker. of the fire
department, asserts that the police and
the tenement house departments are
to blame for the violations of the fire
escape law. The tenement house de-
Dartment officials. however, say that
the blame is on the shoulders of the
fire commissioner.
or the nineteen dead. three bodies
thcse of boy and two girls remain
unidentified.
Crowded fire escapes in the rear of
the tenement house We're largely re-
sponsible for so many deaths and in
juries among its population, which ap-
preached 200 souls.
The scenes were heartrending. The
fire started in the basement, occupied
by Isaac Davis, his wife and three
children. When Davis reached his
home early this morning and went into
his store on the same floor he saw
Kerosene lamp in the rear explode
He awoHe his wife and both tried to
put out the flaming lamp but without
| success. A policeman who heard the
| cry OF alarm rushed to the scene
| and every effort was made to arouse
the sleeping people. Meantime the
! flames had spread with startling rapid
ity and the occupants of the upper
| floors awoke to find themselves con-
! fronted by a wall of flames on nearly
every side. Panic-stricken people
| rushed TO the fire escapes only to find
them literred with rubbish On some
of the escapes the rubbish was so
closely packed that it became impos-
| sible TO pass certain points and men.
women and children stood literally
roasting to death as the flames reared
! through windows around them. One OF
| the escapes was manned by Police
man John j. Down, who had run
| plank across to the window of an adj
! joining building. He rescued nearly n
dozen persons, but finally fell 20 feet
| to the paved yard and shattered his
shoulder. Dozens of people were taken
from the crowded fire escapes and up
| per windows. BY this time the building
was furnace and the rescues were
erected in many cases only through
heroic efforts of the firemen. Lieu
tenant Bonner, son OF the former chief,
| descended the now red hot fire escapes
| five times. Four times he brought
down woman or a child in his arms
The fifth time he was descending with
an unconscious woman but staggered
and was barely saved from death
Once Bonner rescued n little girl from
window where she stood surrounded
by flames. She pleaded with him to
leave her on the escape and go in after
her little brother whom she said had
fallen unconscious. Bonner jumped
into what looked like furnace. found
the boy and saved him.