The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1906-03-30
FOUR FIREMEN
ARE CREMATED
Girls Are Rescued at Fierce Factory
Blaze.
Explosions Start Fire, but Prevent Conflas'
ration by Smoihering fiames-Rapid Sweep
of Fire Drove Sixty Girls to the Fire
Escape, Where They Were Rescued by
Human Pyramid.

New York especially -Four hremen
perished and about a score of fremen
and citizens were injured in fire ac-
companied by series of explosions that
demolished six-story factory building
at Bedford and Downing Streets, in the
Greenwich Village District, on the lower
West Side of the city.
That the damage, which is estimated
at from 100000 to 100000, was not tar
greater, was declared by Chief Croker TO
be due to the explosions, which shat
tered the building and crushed the blaze
beneath the tons of debris at the mo-
ment when the flames were completely
beyond the control and threatening to
sweep the entire block.
One fireman was taken out OF the
building alive, but died almost irnmedi-
ately The bodies of his three comrades
were recovered after the fire was over,
crushed under the wreckage of the floors
and walls that followed the explosions.
The dead are:
Foreman John Walsh and Firemen
George C. Cristman, Thomas L. Halpin
and ]. Healy, all of Engine Company "a.
Fireman Jacob Cohen and Lewis F.
Call, also of Engine ID, were burned and
bruised and removed to the hospital
The other persons injured were, tor
the most part, employees in the factory,
dwellers in the adjacent tenements and
persons passing in the streets, who were
struck by falling bricks or fragments OF
glass None of these were seriously hurt
Three hundred men and women were
in the factory during the lunch hour,
when slight explosion occurred on one
of the upper floors, and almost instantly
the whole structure was enveloped in
flames. Some had time to reach the
street by the stairs, but the greater num-
Der were compelled to take refuge on
the fire escape, where they remained hud-
died together and imploring assistance
until the fire engines arrived
Before the fire ladders could be run up,
policemen, firemen and volunteers formed
human pyramid against the front wall
of the factory, and in this way handed
down to safety upwards of 60 girls who
were clinging to the fire escapes on the
second floor. Others jumped into the
life saving nets or on piles of bedding
hastily gathered and heaped on the side
walks.
Within 10 minutes all the occupants
of the building had been taken out in
safety and unhurt save for minor in
juries.
All the adjoining tenements were or
dered vacated, and this task had been
Barely accomplished when topping wall
crushed in the upper portion of row
Of seven tenements in Carmine Street
A moment later the flames shot across
the street, setting fire to a row of build
1ngs.
Hardly had the flames enveloped the
building, which occurred within few
minutes after the outbreak, than a ter
rife explosion occurred, followed in
rapid succession by four more, the last
Of such violence as to shake buildings
for blocks around
With the last detonation what re-
manned of the walls fell inward, smoth-
ering the flames, which a moment before
were shooting 200 feet into the air
Within 40 minutes after the blaze
showed itself ali that remained of the
huge building was glowing heap Of
shattered floors, walls and beams, be-
meath which were buried the bodies OF
HE four fremen