The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1906-03-29
FOUR FIREMEN
ARE CREMATED
Urls Are RGS;aed at Fierce Factory
Blaze.
WAS SAVED BY HUMAN PYRAMID.
Explosions Start Fire, but Prevent CouiIsg-
ration by SmOtherIrG FIames-RspId Sweep
OF Fire Drove Sixty Girls to the Fire
Escape, Where They We're Rescued by
Human Pyramid.

New York (SpeciaD -Four fremen
periShed and about a score Of fremen
ard citizens were injured in a fire ac-
companied by series OF explosions that
demolished a 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 far
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 immedi-
ately. The bodies of his three comrades
were recovered after the fire was over.
crushed under the wreckage of the Aoors
and walls that followed the explosions.
The dead are:
Foreman John Walsh and Firemen
George {. CriStman, Thomas L. Halpin
and J. Healy, all of Engine Company IL.
Fireman Jacob Cohen and Lewis F.
Call, also OF Engine IL, were burned and
bruised and removed TO the hospital.
Inc other persons injured were, for
the most part, employees i'm the factory,
dweilerS 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.
hrce hundred men and women were
IN the factory during the lunch hour.
when slight explosion occurred on one
OF the upper iiOors, and almost instantly
the whole structure was enveloped in
hameS. Some had time 10 reach the
street by the stairs. but the greater num-
Der were compelled to take refuge on
the hre escape, where they remained hud-
dled together and imploring assistance
until the fire engines arrived.
Before the FIRE ladders could be run up.
policemen fremen and volunteers formed
human pyramid against the front wall
OF the factory, and in this way handed
down TO safety upwards of 90 girls who
were clinging to the fire escapes on the
second floor. Others jumped into the
lite-saving nets or on piles of bedding
hastily gathered and heapcd 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 a row
OF seven tenementS in Carmine Street
A moment later the flames shot across
the street, setting fire TO a row of build
ings.
Hardly had the flames envelopcd the
building, which occurred within a few
minutes after the outbreak. than a ter
rihc 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-
mained of the walls fell inward. smoth-
ering the flames, which moment before
were shooting 200 feet into the air
Within 40 minutes after the blaze
showed itself all that remained of the
huge building was Il glowing heap of
shattered floors, walls and beams. be-
meath which were buried the bodies of
the four 6rer,nn