The San Francisco call., 1905-03-15
Horror of Sloclm Disaster Is
Repeated in Yesterdays De-
struction by Fire of Crowd
ed Gotham Tenement House
MANY ROASTED ALIVE
SEEKING SAFETY
Rescuers Take Thrilling
Chances in Daring Efforts
to Save Panic-Stricken Oc-
cupants From Awful Death

cupants From Awful Death
NEW YORK, March 14-Nineteer
persons dead, twoscore injured. some
so seriously that they may die. and
nearly 200 persons temporarily home
less, is in brief the story Of New York's
latest fire horror The victims Of the
disaster were typical East Side people
Inc scene, typical tenement. and the
scenes attendant on it were scenes COM
mon to that cosmopolitan quarter. To
apparently reckless heroism shown by
hremen, policemen and volunteer res
cuers alone is due the fact that the
number of dead is not greater.
The identified dead:
Sarah Kline, aged co. Bella Zeidler,
aged 30: Harry Zeidler, aged IL: Rachel
solomon, aged 45; Jacob Solomon, aged
10; Isaac Solomon, aged Is; Jessie
Cohen, aged 15; Rose Weiner, aged %;
Sander Weiner, aged 4; Ida Muskowitz,
aged 10: Harry Kaufman, aged 10;
Rose Miller, aged 4; Morris Miller. aged
months; Carson Fuschs, aged 30;
Rachel Zeidler. aged IL; Harris Zeidler.
aged 40.
Two hundred persons herded in the
big fve-story double-decker tenement
house were sleeping, when flames from
an overturned or exploding kerosene
lamp in the basement spread through
out the structure and wrapped the en-
tire building in flames almost before
an alarm had been sounded Even
when the sleepers awoke, at the first
cry, it was almost too, late, but hardly
more than moment was necessary to
show them that their troubles had
scarcely begun. The long, narrow iron
fire escapes which ran down the build
ing on each of its exposed sides had
been made receptacles for rubbish of
all descriptions, and IN many cases
they were little better than useless
FIRE ESCAPES BLOCKED.
1t was found also that every fire.
escape platform on the building had
in it blind or a square piece Of
board which fits into the opening
through which the ladder passes in the
grated floor The result of these OBJ
structed escapes was evident when it
was found that nearly all the dead
found on the top floor of the building
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 immoy-
able skylght at the head of ladder
leading to the roof, Battened securely
skylight resisted all. efforts to force it,
and a. pile Of bodies lay under 1t when
the horror was over.
The scenes about the building after
the fire and when the search for the
dead was begun, were heart-rending.
Nothing so pitiful of such proper
1ions has been seen in New York city
since the Slocum disaster, In which a
thousand persons, nearly all of them
nd ch nCf hoi
The fire started in the basement oc-
cupied by Isaac Davis. his wife and
three children. Davis had been out
last night and returned home early
this morning, went into his store on
the same floor just In time to see a
kerosene lamp in the rear explode He
awoke his wife and both tried to put
out the flaming lamp, but without sue
cess, and then gave all their attention
to getting their children out OF the
burning building A policeman who
heard the cry of alarm rushed to the
scene, and every effort was made to
arouse the sleeping persons In the
house.
Lieutenant Bonner, son of former
fire chief ascended a red hot fire
escape five times. Four times he came
down with woman or q child in his
arms. The fifth time he was making
woman when his strength gave out.
He staggered and would have fallen
to death had not q comrade come to
his assistance.
AS Bonner reached a fourth-story
window on one of his ascents and
dragged little girl from a window,
where she stood surrounded by flames,
she pleaded with him to let her escape
and go in after her little brother,
whom she had carried to the window.
He had fallen unconscious and was
roasting, she said. Bonner jumped
through the window and it seemed to
those below as If he was going into a
furnace He found the little boy just
inside the window and carried him out.
FILINGS BABE FROM WINDOW.
A baby was flung into the arms of
policeman below by its fear-crazed
mother. Just as the policeman caught
the child the mother diyed to the
ground. Her body struck the police
man on the head and he fell uncon-
scious. The woman escaped injury by
the fall, but she had been badly
burned The baby was unhurt.
The desperate resourcefulness of
some mother, in her effort to save the
lives of her children. was shown when
a bundle was seen to fall from high
window In the burning, and light gent
ly upon a heap of snow. In the center
of the bundle, wrapped around by sew
eral thicknesses of blankets and COM
forters was found a 4-year-old boy,
who suffered not at all from his un-
usual experience. The rate OF the
mother is not known.
Nearly all the bodies taken from the
building were so badly burned as to be
almost unrecognizabie.
Fire Chief Edward F. Crocker said
the loss of life was mainly due to de-
lay in giving the alarm. Eight min
utes. he said, elapsed after the fire
started before the alarm was sounded.
He added that the fire-escapes were
shamefully clogged and that 1t was the
duty of the Tenement-house Commits
sion and the Police Department to see
that. the law against Microscopes OBJ
struction was enforced.