The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-26
MANY LOSE LIVES
 IN TENEMENT FIRE
(Continued from Page One)

dividual laboring men or railway sm- ployes at the tmie the fire started.
 The fire broke out on the ground iioor from some unknown cause at l2.3U O'CLOCK. Isolated as 1t was, the burn ing building was difficult of access and II. was some time before the fire de- partment reached the scene Several companies were at a fire in another part of the city
 Entire Building Burning.
 When the tIremen arrived the entire building was in flames and all means of escape by stairways for the scores Of occupants was shut off On two sides Of the building the elevated rati.. way train tracks hemmed it in ana made still harder the work of the firs- men. Then another obstacle arose. The firemen did not have sufficient lao- . ders and many of thpse they had wers too short to reach the upper stories. A stirling smoke filled the building evidently coming from the burning stock of merchandise on the floor be- low and some of the occupants prob ably were never able to leave their rooms
 When the firemen arrived at the burning building they saw men hang ing from window sills on the uppe nonf and frantic women with rabies ir
 theif arms and children clinging te
 tnem dns leaning Tar cut from the win l cape and yet taking advantage of tk. little fresh air which the windows af. | forded
 The firemen quickly ran their lad
 ders up. but they did not reach abov
 the third floor. Many persons were 0: | the floor above. The fremen first de
 voted themselves to the reopIe on tn
 second and third floors and did n,
 then heed the screams of the peopl
 above.
 | Many Carried tut. | Many of the persons in the intero | of the building were already overcom
 by the dense smoke and had to b
 carried out by the fremen. But man
 were able to escape Gown the ladder
 without assistance After getting ev cry one they could and out cf the sec
 ohd and third floors the remen turn
 ed their attention to the people abov
 As the ladders did not reach above tn | third floor. the men oI. fourth foo
 literally pitched their wives and chil
 dren down to the freden on the lad
 ders and then jumped dow" them
 selves. Some of the more excitabl
 ones jumped to the ground and wer
 either killed or badly injured. Som | whom the f1remen tried to catch. fel the entire distance to the ground. 1 Jesse Ford. a laborer. carrying hi
 wife in his arms, climbed out of | window of the fourth ncor He walk
 ed along a beam until he reached point directly over fireman's ladde
 and then dropped tue women to fire | man below. The fireman caught he | and passed her safely to he ground Ford then went back and got his nin | months old baby and saved IL in lik' manner. He then jumped himself ant was caught by fireman.
 H. G. Wilson was one of the first per | sons oI the fourth floor to get the at tention O. the firemen. He appeare' at a window directly above a ladde and dropped his baby down to a fire | man. Wilson then dropped his wifi down and she was saved and he fol | lowed. escaping serious injury. John Lynch grabbed the baby of Johi s. arks and Jumped with 1t. and witt the child fell In the burning debri below. Both disappeared and wer' killed
 Another baby. thrown from one of th upper windows. was caught by fire
 man uninjured. The fire interrupted street car traffic on the elevated roat and d motorman whose car stood jus opposite the burning building said h. saw five or six persons in the uppe floors struggling frantically to escape and he Is certain all of them succumb ed to- the smoke and toppled over int | the ruins.
 i The total financia, loss Is estimated , at S1OO,000. Of this amount S6O,OOO wa l on the building owned by w. A. Bunk CT. and insured for s40.00o.