The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1906-06-14
FATAL FIRE IN
A Big TENEMENT
Four Persons Are Known To Have
PeriShed.
SEVERAL BRAVE FIREMEN SUFFER
The Building, 10 Which Two Hundred Per.
sons Are Said to Have Lived, Was Quick.
iy euveloped In Flames. and Many Thrilling
Rescues Were Msde-Womsn's Desperate
Efforts 10 Save Her Baby.

New York (SpeciaD -Four persons
were killed and two severely injured in
a daylight fire that swept big tenement
at 200 East Ninety-seventh Street Death
and destruction were worked in scant 20
minutes, and the fremen had the flames
conquered almost as soon as they could
stretch their hose.
The blaze started i'll the apartment of
Angelo Pallidino, a real estate dealer,
who lives on the first floor. Palldino
according to the story that he later told
the police, deals in bric-a-brac, as we'll
as in land, and his roms were stuffed
with goods of the most inhammable
sort The doors and windows of the
upper floors and the scuttlc leading TO
the roof were open, and the flames shot
with frightful rapidity to the fifth and
top story
As three policemen, who had gone
through the house, leaned over the air
shaft between the two tenemcnts they
heard cry for help, and saw woman
leaning from window on the third floor
OF the burning building and attempting
apparently to throw something acfoss
the airshaft TO the window on the other
side Calling TO the woman to hold out
enc more minute, the policemen hurried
TO the third floor and prepared to make
a rescue across the shaft 1t was Il wee
baby boy about IS months old that the
woman held III her arms, and she held
1t out with so much appeal in her face
that the policemen stopped trying TO
form their bridge across the chasm, and
Sackett, held by his companions, swung
over the window sill in an attempt to
rescue the child. Just as he held up
his arms a gust of smoke and flame
burst fram the window in which the
woman was standing AS she reeled
back unconscious he child slipped from
her grasp and fell to the bottom of the
airshaft. three stories below
Meanwhile the 6remen had answered
the alarm. and Vincent Cahill. of truck
81, had swarmed up the fre-escape in
answer to the cries of the crowd that
there were still several people in the
burning building. \ burst of smoke
and flame struck Cahil full in the face
as lie leaped forward TO enter the win
dow. He lost consciousness and fell
to the pavement His skull was frac-
tu-cd and an arm and leg were broken.
James Laughter, of engine "a, was struck
by the same blast of flame while climb
ing ladder and he tumbled into the
street. He had several ribs fractured
and was injured internally. Both men
were hurried to the Harlem Hospital
AS soon as the streams had swept the
flames from the Starways the fremen
made their way to the various floors.
On the third floor was found the woman
who had been overcome with smoke
while attempting to save her child. She
was badly dishgured and none of the
excited tenents could identify her. On
the fourth floor. near the stairway. were
found the bodies of two little girls about
three years old. They, too. were badly
scorched by the flames, and no one
could say who they were. 1t seemed
strange at first that no one could be
found to identity the dead. but when
Coroner Hamburger, who arrived early
at the fire, started an investigation that
brought out the fact that over 200 per-
sons had lived in the fivc-story tenement.
1t did not seem so strange that some OF
them should have been strangers or that
baby or two should have been over
looked in hurried flight