Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-10-25
Families Living on the Fourth Story
Caught Like Rats In Trap-Fire-
mans ladders Too Short to Reach
Window. Bodies Are Reeov-
ersd-o othsr Details.

j 49,
then. as some Of the firemen asser
many bodies must have been burne'
to ashes. Tie building was used as
tenement house, containing in the hun
Gred rooms between 200 and 300 per
>sons at the time the fire broke out
Most Of these composed families, man.
Others transients. whose names are un
) known. The only person who knows
tho actual number Of occupants of th'
building Is tss,e janitor, who is believed
to be Ander the debris. 1t was the Gus
tom Cor mary transients, who cam.
mostly from nearby railroad yards, no
10 register, and thus all trace Of then
i IS lost for the tine being.
The Dead.
At s this morning the known dead
numbered four. Several persons are
missing and close to fifty others are
known to be injured. OF the injured
scattered among half dozen hospitals
and at private homes, twenty Ave are
more or less seriously hurt and two or
three will die. The known dead:
.
Robert Burton, stone mason.
Infant sons of John A. Sparks.
John Lynch.
.. r. Young, laborer.
The injured:
Mr.. and Mrs. George Sparks.
A. III. West, carpenter.
NThomas Hunter, blacksmith.
Patrick Morley, laborer.
Capt. ]. F.: sBuchhalter, fireman.
NJ. H. Mccall, laborer.
Thomas Conner, engineer.
Alexander McCambridge, engineer.
John Kane, engineer.
William Mulvihill, train dispatcher
on the Missouri Pacific. q
Arthur Childers, policeman.
Enmet Scott.
j. Branahan, wagonmaker.
J. X. sankow.
Mrs Mary Sankow.
Edward Bayless. -
w. ]. Morley. fireman on the Mis-
souri, Pacific.
Z Fred Creel, reporter.
Frank Ditar.
"A. ]. jackson, ~laborer.
Mrs. ]. II. Rose.
Unknown babe.
{ 4 T.,
Ter packing house.
S. H. McCauley. Missouri Pacific
1reman.
Frank Otterman, railway mail clerk.
The missing:
Charles Carbon, engineer Nelson
Morris Packing Company
Mrs. e. NJ. Brigham and two chill
dren.
Patrick Mcclure.
George Mullen. invalid, aged so.
Mrs. Ed. Winslow and two daugh-
eers.
The total financial loss is estimated
ct 800. 900. 5000 Of which was on the
building.
The Burned Building.
The Chamber of Commerce building
was situated at Park and Central
streets, in Riverview district, and was
erected fourteen years ago at cost OF
$Ss.0O0, to be used as board of trade.
The city grew away from it, however
and 1t was never used for the original
purpose, but for many years had been
occupied as an apartment house The
structure was a four-story brick, with
q deep basement and faced the two
streets. It contained hundred rooms,
almots alP OF which were, as far as can
be learned, occupied by families or in
divfduals. Iaboring men and railway
employees.
Origin Of Fire Unknown.
The fire broke out on the ground
hoor from some unknown cause at
IL: 30. Isolated as it was, the burning
building was difficult of access ana /
II was some time before the fire de-
partment reached the scene When the {
fremen arrived the entire building was
In flames and all means of escape by
stairways for the scores of occupants
was shut of On two sides of the
building the elevated railway tracks
hemmed it in and made still harder the
work of the firemen. Then another OBJ
stacle arose. The firemen did not have
sufficient ladders and many of those
they had were too short to reach the
upper stories. Stirling smoke filed the
building. evidently coming from the
burning stocks of merchandise on the
aoor below Some of the occupants
probably were never able to leave their
rooms. When the firemen arrived a.
HE burning building they saw the
men hanging from window sills, on the
upper floors and frantic women with
babies ~ their arms and children
le5Aging TO them leaning far out from