Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1906-10-20
TEN LOSE LIVES
IN BIRMINGHAM FIRE
Boarding House Destroyed with
Horrible Results.
sTILL SEARCHING FOR VICTIMS
Impossible to Identify Any of the
Bodies, as They Are Burned Be-
yond ecoanitlon-ReIieved to Have
Been of lneendiary origin.

SoolesI as They Are Burned Be-
yond Recoanitlon-ReIievea to Have
Been of lncendiary origin.
Birmingham, Ala, Oct. 19.-Ten
men were burned to death, two Sc
riously and perhaps fatally injured
and third slightly hurt, by jump
ing from the second story as the re
suit Of a fire which destroyed the
boarding house of Mrs. f. E. Wat
ley, at 1131 Third avenue, between
2 and 3 o'clock Friday morning.
The dead:
w. N. Nichols, street car con-
ductor.
D. B. Neal, street car conductor.
W. B. Taylor, street car motor
man.
G. c. Preston, conductor.
Edward Caldwell, motorman.
E. B. Henshaw, conductor.
Gordon D. Burns, motOrman.
William T. Hall, conductor.
w. b. Livingston, rolling mill
man.
Ollie H. Hines, employe of Bir-
mingham Paint and Glass company
The injured:
c. E, Hentch, street car conduc-
tor.
G. w. Troutman, motorman.
c. E. Keith. street railway en-
ploye.
There were 81 boarders in the
house, almost all of whom were
street railway employees.
In addition there were three other
persons, Mrs. Watley and her two
sons, All have been accounted for.
All the dead and injured occupied
rooms on the second story of the
house.
The fama3 enveloped the entire
building when the fire was discover
ed, and it was with the greatest diff
fculty that the persons on the lower
floor made heir escape They saved
nothing, aad every piece of furni-
ture in the house was burned.
I re fre is thought to have been of
! incendiary origin Burglars have
been detected on the premises twice
within the "a two months, and Mrs
Wa l-y t'in,5 the house was burg
'ari,.' = triGG, morning and then set
on fire.
Thieves were discovered at work
Turing tie D92%@l, of the flames,
and the police were called to keep
guard.
The dead wee b@r1ed beyond
| recognition.
TAe ten cAagrei bodies are at the
morguP, where ii is impossible to
| tell one from the other The names
given are tlose Of the missing, the
number corresponding with the num-
| Der of corpses found.
When the fire department reached
the scene of the holocaust the body
of man was seen hanging from a
| second story window A ladder was
quickly raised and the form taken
down. The man was dead and burn
ed be -'ond recognition. He had made
desperate effort to escape but
failed.
Another body was found in bed, i,
indications being that the man had
been suffocated in his sleep and then
burned to a crisp.
A body in an attitude of prayer was
discovered in the corner of one of
the rooms. The mans hands were
uplifted and he was on his knees.
Several corpses were found ON the
stairway and near windows, showing
that those victims had sought to fee
from the burning structure, but were
overpOwered and died.
Other corpses had dropped to the
ground floor when portions of the
second floor fell In.
1t was after daylight before the ten
bodies had been found and removed. .
Later a second search Of the ruins
was made, but no additional corpses
were found, and as no others are
missing, it is believed that ten
deaths make up the total fatalities to
date.
Hentch and Troutman, who jump
ed from the second floor, are in a
very serious condition and are ex-
pected to die.
w. B. Taylor, one of the dead
men, was from Chattanooga, and
Ollie Hines, another, was from
Knoxville.