The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-03-17
Two Score More Seriously In
jured and May Die.
Heroic Work of the Rescuers
Save Many Lives.
Reason to Believe Blaze Was
Work of Incendiary.

New York, March 15.-Nineteen per-
sons dead, two score injured, some so
seriously that they may die, and nearly
200 persons temporarily homeless is in
brief the story of New York's latest
fire horror. The victims of the days
disaster were typical East Side people,
the scene typical East Side tenement
at Is Allen street, and the incidents at
tending 1t were in many ways peculiar
to that cosmopolitan quarter. To ap-
parently reckless displays of heroism
shown by tiremen, policemen and vol
unteers alone is due the fact that the
list of dead is not greater.
Two hundred persons herded in the
big five-story double decker tenement
house were sleeping, when flames from
an overturned or exploded kerosene
lamp in the basement spread through
the structure and wrapped the entire
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 building on each
of its exposed sides had been made
receptacles for rubbish of all descrip-
tons and in many cases they were lit
tie better than useless. 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 INSTRUCTED escapes was
evident when it was found that nearly
all of the dead belonged on the top
floor of the building and 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 immovable skylight
at the head of a ladder leading to the
roof. Battened securely and partially
covered with ice, this skylight resisted
all efforts to force it and a pile of the
bodies of the dead lay under it when
the horror was over
Fine Displays of Heroism.
1t was on the fame-swept fire es-
capes that the finest displays of hero
ism were shown. Scores of men, wo-
men and children driven from the
rooms by the flames, which swept up
through Railways and light shafts,
lowered high in the air on the hot iron
ladders and platforms, the flames
swirling around them as they waited
for help. Through the flames and
smoke, time after time, the firemen
rushed up to their assistance and
every trip meant a life saved. From
the fire escape, too. the men plunged
through windows belching flames to
come forth moment later bringing an
unconscious form to some place of
safety Many of the firemen and other
rescuers suffered severely but they
continued at the work until it was fin
ished
Lieutenant Bonner, son of the old
time fire chief, was rescued uncon-
scious from fire escape after he had
rescued four persons from certain
death, and John Dwan, a patrolman.
was taken to hospital with a broken
shoulder after saving a dozen more.
These were only two cases among
many.
Several of those who persisted were
roasted to death in plain view of
thousands in the streets.
Coroner Goldenkranz declared after
an investigation that he had reason to
believe the blaze was the work of an
incendiary.
He issued subpoenas for the fire
marshal, tenement house and building
inspectors and health and police Off
Gals to appear before him at the in
quest Thursday.
The district attorneys Office has be-
gun an investigation to place the blame
for the great loss of life.
Chief Croker of the fire department
asserts that the police and the tene-
ment house departments are to blame
for the violations of the fire escape
law. The tenement house department
officials say that blame is on the
shoulders of the fire commissioner.
OF the nineteen dead, three bodies,
those of boy and two girls. remain
unidentified.