Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1905-03-18
new YORK'S BIG FIRE
OVER A SCORE OF PEOPLE WERE
BURNED To DEATH.
Lamp Explosion in the Basement of
Five Story Tenement House Caused
Gread Loss of life-Many Acts of
Heroism Displayed by Firemen and
Policemen-Woman Roasted Alive.

New Ork, March To-. "A score OF
persons were burned to death, several
were so badly hurt that they may die
and 40 others are slightly hurt, in
fire that destroyed five story tene-
ment house in Allen street. The fire
had gained great Roadway before it be-
came known to most of the tenants.
Many were cut off before they could
make an attempt to save themselves.
Thrilling rescues and daring leaps
for life marked the fire.
Many persons were carried from the
blazing building.
Firemen climed the walls on their
scaling ladders, braved the flames and
reached the imperiled tenants.
Crowded fire escapes in the rear of
the tenement house were largely re-
sponsible for so many deaths and in
juries among is population, which APP
preached 200 souls.
The scenes about the building after
the fire was over and when the search
for the dead was begun was heart rend
ing. Nothing so pitiful of such pro-
portions has been seen in New York
city since the Slocum disaster, in
which thousand persons lost their
lives.
The fire proper started in the base
ment occupied by Isaac Davis, his wife
and three children. Davis saw a
kerosene lamp in the rear explode.
He awoke his wife and both tried to
put out the flaming lamp, but without
success, aud then gave all their atten-
ton to getting their children out of the
building. A policeman who heard the
Cry of alarm rushed to the scene and
every effort was made to rouse the
sleeping persons in the house.
In the meantime the flames had
spread with startling rapidly, and
when the persons who had been asleep
on the upper floors awoKe, they found
themselves confronted by wall of
flames on every side. The panic
stricken people fighting for their lives
rushed to the fire escapes, only to find
them Uttered with rubbish of all sorts
and almost impossible. Down through
these cluttered, narrow passageways
some of the escapes the rubbish was
so Glossy packed that it became inn
possible to pass certain points, and
men, wo nen and children stood liter
ally II q ting to death as the flames
roared through the windows around
One of the escapes, which ended
near the roof of shed about 90 feet
above the ground, had been manned by
policeman John. j. Dwan, who had
run plank across to the window of
an adjoining building. Nearly dozen
persons had been carried across this
narrow bridge by the policemen, and
then the flames began to sweep around
the lower end of the fire escape. Rush
ing into the fire policeman seized q
little child and started on the last re-
turn trip across to the place of safety.
He had made only half the distance
when the plank, burned more than
half through, broke where it rested on
the fire escape, and the rescuer and the
rescued fell to the stone paved yard 20
feet below. The man struck fairly on
his back, and one of his shoulders was
shattered by the force of the fall. The
child was uninjured.
In the meantime the firemen had run
up ladders at the other points around
the building, and dozens of presons
were being taken from the crowded
fire escapes and upper windows. By
this time the building WAS a furnace,
and the rescues were effected in many
cases only after the greatest show of
bravery on the part of the firemen.
Heroes developed at this time.
Lieutenant Bonner, son of the former
fire chief, assembled the red hot fire es-
cape five times. -Four times he came
down with a woman or child in his
arms. The fifth time he was making
for the street with an unconscious
woman when his strength gave way.
He staggered and would have fallen to
death had not a comrade come to his
assistance.
AS Bonner reached fourth story
window on one of his ascents and drag
ged little girl from a 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 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
furnace. He found the little boy just
inside the window and carried him out.
Fireman Hannigan repeated Bon
ner's feat on the third floor, rescuing
Fannie Ginsberg.
A woman, her night dress blazing,
was seen TO crawl out of a window
and start down the fire escape from
the top floor. The hot iron blistered
her feet and burnt deep into her flesh,
hnt she continued on. The scaling lad