The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-10-25

IIaE-
years had been occupied as an apart
ment house. The structure was four
stories in height, with q deep basement,
and faced two streets. It was built of
brick and stood alone. It contained
one hundred rooms almost all Of which
were as far as can be learned occupied
by families or individual laboring men
or railway employees at the time the
fire started. The ground floor was oc-
cupied by W A Loveiace's barber shop
Edward T. Summers drug store, Cen
tral Avenue Gas Fixture company, Mrs.
Bell Wagner's restaurant, the Smith
Overall laundry and the Labor Record.
The fire broke out on the ground floor
from some unknown cause at 1880
o'clock
was difficult Of access and it was some
time before the fire department reached
the scene. Several companies were at a
fire in another part Of the city. When
the f1remen arrived the entire building
was in flames. So quickly did the flames
the fire was discovered all means Of
escape by the stafrWays for the scores
Of occupants was shut Off
Fire Service Bad.
On two sides of the building the ele-
vated railway tracks hemmed 1t in and
made still harder work for the dremen-
The another obstacle arose. The fire.
men did not have sufficient ladders and
many of those they had were too short
to reach the upper stories. A suffocat-
ing smoke filed the building, evidently
coming from the burning stocks Of mer-
chandise on the floor below and some of
the occupants probably were never able
to leave Their rooms.
When the fremen arrived at the
burning building they saw men hang
ing from window si1ls on the upper
floors and frantic women with ba ables
=. oh 01fncrircr tn
them leaning far out from the Win
dows unable to find any means Of
escape and yet taking advantage of
the little fresh air which the windows
afforded The fremen quickly ran
their ladders up, but they did not
reach above the third floor. Many
persons were on the floor above. The
firemen first devoted themselves to
the people on the second and third
floors and did not then heed the
screams of the people above
Many Of the persons in the interior
OF the building were already overcome
by the dense smoke and had to be car
ried out by the hremen- But many
we're able to escape down the ladders
without assistance. After getting
every one they could find out of the
second and third floors, the f1remen
turned their attention to the people
above. As the ladders did not reach
above the third floor, the men on the
and children down to the firemen on
the ladders and then jumped down
themselves Some of the more eXcit-
able ones jumped to the ground and
were killed or badly injured some
whom the fremen tried to catch feI
the entire distance to the ground.
Jumped From Fourth Floor.
Frank Ditar, a mail clerk, jumped
from the fourth floor and caught hoId
Of a ladder two stories below. and al
though he saved himself he broke al
of the fingers OF both hands
Jesse Ford, a laborer, carrying his
wife in his arms. climbed out OF win
dow of the fourth floor he walked
along a beam until he reached point
directly over a freman'B ladder ana
then dropped the woman to a. fireman
below. The fireman caught her and
passed her safely to the ground Ford
then went back and got his S-noutns-
old baby and saved 1t in ike manner
He then jumped himself and was
caught by a fireman
H G. Wilson was one of the first per-
sons on the fourth floor to get the at
tention of the hrenen- He appeared
and dropped his baby down to fire.
man Wilson then dropped his wife
down and she Was saved and he follow
ed, escaping serious injury
John Lynch grabbed the baby OF
John Sparks and jumped with 1t and
with the child fell into the burning
debris below Both disappeared and
were killed
Another baby thrown from one OF the
upper windows was caught by a fire.
man uuiuiured-
The fire Interrupted street car traffic
on the elevated road and a mOtorman
whose car stood just opposite the burn
ing structure, said he saw i've or six
persons in the upper floors struggling
frantically to escape and he is certain
all of them suceumbed to the smoke
and toppled over into the ruins He
said he had a clear view and would
have witnessed the rescue Of the per-
sons If any had been possible
Only the outside walls of the build
ing remain standing The interior con-
struction was entirely of wood and the
stores on the ground floor and the
rooms on the upper floors contained
much infiammable material The en-
tire contents were destroyed. Long
after the floors had fallen in, piling up
househbld goods in one great mass,
which were quickly attacked by the
flames, gas from an open main that
entered the building continued to
burn, ruducing to ashes nearly every
burn reducing to ashes nearly every
The total financial loss is estimated
at 100000. OF this amount $4,000
was on the building, owned by w. A
Bunker and insured for $4,000.
The negro Janitor of the Chamber Of
Commerce building in Kansas City.
Kan. the only man who is able to ap-
proximate the number of persons in
the structure when 1t was destroyed by
fire early today has been found. He
said there were 80 families in the build
ing, numbering over 100 persons. He
admitted that a number Of transients
also occupied rooms in the building last
night but was unable to say just how
many of these there were or to furnish
their names