The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08
TENEMENT HOUSE WALL FALLS
SETENTY-FIVE PEOPLE IN TIE
PLACE-ONLY CHILD HURT.
Weight OF Fire Escape Apparently Too
Much for Old Rea Five Story Rookery
Police Carry Two Helpless Men
Out. but They Miss wooden Leg Of One.

-rohce carry TWO 'Heipie9S Wien
Out. but They. Miss wooden Les Of One.
The front wall Of a five story brick tene-
ment house at 81 Oliver street fell late
yesterday afternoon, seriously. wounding
an eight-year-old girl and causing a small
sized panic in the neighborhood.
The house was one, Of the old fashioned
kind, built in the rear Of another and open
ing upon a small court which reached from
the street through a dark. covered alley. o
Ten families lived in the house and there
wefSabodt sevehty-ive persons in 1t when
the wall gave way 1t started to break
near the top, where the uppermost Of the
heavy iron fire escape platforms was NOR
tised into the masonry. 1t was a party
fire escape and ran over to the wall Of an
adjoining house. AS the supporting bricks
gave way, the platform, torn from it's fasten-
ings on the adjoining building, came down
with a crash along its entire len 9Th.
Almost at the same instant there were
breaks in the wall on the lower floors, and
two or three of the other fire escape plat
forms went crashing down. Those who
saw the wall go couldn't tell afterward
whether the iron structure from above
had caused the other breaks as it fell or
liz wall udu CTuIuDieu Oil az tu6
same time.
The bricks went flying across the court
against the rear walls of the front house.
Not two minutes before the wall went to
pieces q dozen children had been playing
in the court. Mrs. Antonio Terino, the
janitress and agent for the house, had gone
down and shooed them out because of the
noise which they we're ma king. Little
Lizzie Tramuto hid behind some rubbish
and-She was caught in the flying debris.
She was found lying in a corner ofthe
court with the bricks and mortar piled
around her. She had several ugly cuts
on her head and it is feared hat her skull
may be fractured.
pital was already on the way to the tene-
ment house when the accident occurred.
A call, had been sent in on account of Vince
Barbara. 20 years old, who was lying sick
on the FIRST floor. He was too i'll to try to
escape from the wrecked building and his
cries We're not heard by the pamcstricken
tenants As they rushed out into the little
court When the police arrived the alley
leading. from. the court to the street was
choked with the inhabitants of the house
pushing their way out They say that it
Eas a wonder some one was not killed in
fhele&ie--> -.. .".
The wall in giving away had not pulled
the etudding. and llath and plaster lining
With it. and there YES a large part Of the
dangeioas proposition for the police. to
Sentdfe into the place, but two uniformed
men from the Oak street station house.
hearing that there were still persons in
the building, didn't hesitate. They found
the sick man and carried him to the ambu-
lance. As they were leaving the building,
several bricks fell and narrowly missed
Rsentering the wrecked building. the
n1ltnn fN,Nnl IaD.ao IINlaAD 80 ---
with but one leg, on the second floor. Holsen
had a wooden leg, but he was asleep when
the wall gave way and in the excitement
couldn't find it. Holsen's wife was mighty
glad to see the police bringing her husband
out safe, but she regretted that they hadn't
thought Of bringing his leg along, too.
She asked the cops If they wouldn't make
another trip and get her husbands leg,
but they couldn't see things that way.
sr Am alarm noks q a aTs was as turned t6e Nra IN and w the
for a while, but finally decided that II was
a matter for the building departments
wreoking crew,
The owner Of the building is John Botas.
visited the place three days ago. She told
him, she said, that the wall was loose. .Ac-
cording to the agent Botas said that he
couldn't fix it in cold weather, but would
have to wait until spring, Mrs. Terino said
also that the family which lived on the top
floor Of the tenement had complained to
the owner. She said that there had been
trouble with the gutter on the roof and
the water had backed up and run over.
Department hurried to the scene. He gave
it as his opinion that the accident was a
matter for the Tenement House Depart
ment to explain, If anybody. The break,
he said had been oecasioned by the fire
II would have all collapsed.
The Building Departments wrecking
crew took charge Of the building. The rem.
nants of the wall on the upper floors were
r,,llaA tlpurn