The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-03-14
Nineteen Persons Die in Tene-
ment House Fire.
Five Story Building Containing
200 People Burns.
THE HEROIC FIREMEN
Go Through Flames to Rescue
Women and Children.
Started by Explosion of Lamp
i'm the Basement.

New York, March 14.-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 disaster
were typical east side people. The scene
typical east side tenement, and the in
cidents attending it were in many ways
peculiar to that cosmopolitan quarter.
To apparently reckless displays of
heroism shown by fremen, policemen
and volunteer rescuers 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 exploding 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 a moment was necessary to show
them that their troubles had scarcely
begun The long narrow iron fire
escapes which run down the building on
each of its exposed sides had been re-
ceptacleS for rubbish of all descriptions
and in many cases they were little bet
ter than useless. 1t was found also that
every fire escape platform on the build
ing had in it a blind" or a square
piece of board, which fits into the open
ing through which the ladder passes in
to the CRATE floor. The result of these
Obstructed escapes was evident when
it was found that nearly all the dead
belonged to the top floor of the build
ing and were roasted before they were
abel to reach the ground. Another case
of negligence which was responsible for
10 loss 1f ives n A.
bic skylight at the head of a ladder
leading to the roof. Battened securely
and partially covered by ice. this sky
light resisted all efforts to force ii and
a pile of the bodies of the dead lay un-
der it, when the horror was over.
The scenes about the building after
the fire was over and when the search
for the dead was begun were heart
rending. Nothing so pitiful or of such
proportions has been seen in New York
city, since the Slocum disaster when
thousand persons, nearly all of them
women and children, lost their lives.
The fire started in the basement, oc-
cupied by Isaac Davis, his wife and
three children Davis had been out last
night and returning to his 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
awolIe 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
rouse the sleeping persons in the house.
In the meantime the flames had
spread with startling rapidity and when
the persons who had been asleep on the
upper floor aWoke they found them
selves confronted by wall of flames
on nearly every side. The panic strick-
en- people fighting for their lives rushed
to the fire escapes only to find them
Of al frar1-
and almost impassab BILE. Down through
this cluttered narrow passage, flowed
a stream of humanity. On some of the
escapes the rubbish was so closely
packed that it became impossible to
pass certain points and men, women
and children stood literally roasting to
death as the flames reared through win
dows around
one of the escapes. which ended near
the roof of a shed about 20 feet above
the ground, had been manned by Police
man John ]. Dwan who had run
plank across to the window of an ad-
joining building. Nearly a dozen per-
sons had been carried across this mar
ow bridge by the policeman when the
flames began to sweep around the lower
end of the fire escape. Rushing into the
and started on the last return trip
across to the place of safety. He had
made only half the distance when the
plank burned more than half through
and the rescuer and 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 unin-
jured.
In the meantime the fremen had run
up ladders at other points around the
building and dozens of people were be-
ing 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 fireman.
Heroes developed at this time. Lieu
tenant Bonner. son of the former fire
chief, ascended the now red hot fire
escapes five times. Four times he came
down with a woman or a child in his
arms. The fifth time he was making
Tor the street with an unconscious wo-
man when his strength gave way He
staggered and would have fallen TO
death had not a cOmrade come TO ms
assistance. As Bonner reached fourth
story window on one of his ascents ana
dragged a 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 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.
Fireman Hannfgan repeated Bonner's
feat on the third floor. rescuing Miss
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 but she
continued on. The scaling ladders were
run up close to the escape and a fire.