Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-25

House; hands badly burned by sliding down
rope from third story.
6. H. McCauley. Missouri Pacific fireman;
cut by glass;.
Frank Otterman. railway mail clerk; cut
and bruised.
Never Used as Board.
The chamber of commerce building was
situated at Park and Central streets, In
the Riverview district of Kansas City,
Kan. 1t was at junction of the ele-
waited railways. two blocks west of the
Kaw river and a mile southeast of what
now is the business district of Kansas
City. Kan. 1t was erected fourteen years
ago at a cost of $50, to be used by the
board of trade. The city grew away from
1t, however. and it was never used for Its
original purpose, but for many years had
been used as an apartment house. Inc
Structure was four stories in height. with
deep basement and faced the two
streets. 1t was built of brick and stone
alone
1t contained 100 rooms. almost all of
which We're. far can be learned. occu-
pied by families or individual laboring
men or railway employees at the time the
fire started.
The ground floor was occupied by w. A.
Iovelace's barber shop. Edward T. Sum-
mers' drug store, Central Avenue Gas Fix
ture Company. Mrs. Belle Wagner res
taurant and the Smith Overall Laundry.
Many of the persons in the interior of the
building We're already overcome by the
dense smoke and had to be carried out by
the f1remen. But many were able to es-
cape down the ladders without assistance.
After getting every one they could find
out of the second and third floors the fire.
men turned their attention to the people
above. AS the ladders did not reach above
the third floor the men on the fourth floor
v nil not vii nd oh
down to the firemen on the ladders and
then jumped down themselves. Some of the
more eXctable ones jumped to the ground
and were either killed badly injured.
Some whom the fremen tried to catch fell
the entire distance to the ground.
Jumped From Fourth Floor.
Frank Otter. mail clerk, jumped from
the fourth floor and caught hold of lad
der two stories below. Although he saved
himself he broke all of the fingers of both
hands.
Jesse Ford, laborer. carrying his wife
in his arms climbed out of the fourth
floor. He walked along a beam until he
reached point directly above freman's
ladder and then dropped the woman to a
fireman below. The fireman caught her and
passed her safely to the ground. Ford
then went back and got his nine-months
old baby and saved it in a like manner.
He then jumped himself and was caught
by fireman.
H. G. Wilson was one of the first persons
on the fourth floor to get the attention of
the firemen. He appeared at window
directly above ladder and dropped his
baby down to a fireman. Wilson then drop
ped his wife down and she was saved, and
he followed, escaping serious injury.
The fire broke out on the ground floor
from some unknown cause at 1880 o'clock
Isolated as il was the burning building was
difficult of access, and IL was some time be-
fore the fire department reached the scene.
Several companies were at a fire in another
part of the city.
Building in Flames.
When the firemen arrived the entire
building was In flames. So quickly did the
flames spread that when a few minutes
after the fire was discovered all means of
escape by the stairways for the scores of
occupants was shut off On two sides of
the building the elevated railway tracks
hemmed it in. and made still harder the
work of the firemen- Then another obstacle
arose. The flremen did not have sufficient
ladders and many of those they had were
too short to reach the upper stories.
sitting smoke filled the building. evidently
coming from the burning stocks of mer-
chandise on the floor below. and some of
the occupants probably were never able to
leave their rooms.
When the firemen arri we'd at the burning
building they saw men hanging from win
dow sills on the upper floors. and frantic
dren elinging to them leaning far out from
the windows. unable to find any means of
escape and yet taking advantage of the lit
tie fresh air which the windows afforded.
The firemen quickly ran their ladders up,
but they did not reach above the third floor.
Many persons were on the floor above. The
firemen first devoted themselves to the peo-
pie the second and third floors and did
not then heed the screams of the. people
above.
Man and Baby Killed.
John Lynch grabbed the baby of John N.
Sparks and jumped with 1t. and with the
child Tell in the burning debris below. Both
disappeared and were killed.
Another baby thrown from one of the up
per windows. was caught by a fireman I'M
injured
The fire interrupted street traffic on the
elevated road, and a motorman whose car
stood just opposite the burning building
said he saw five or six persons in the up
per floors struggling frantically to escape,
and he is certain all of them succunbed to
the smoke and topped over into the ruins.