Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-11-10
Caused by |ncendiary Fires
in New York City.
One Death, Several Injured and
Thousands Badly Frightened.
Boston Man Arrested on Suspicion
Of Being Firebug.

dead, Il man is in a hospital suffering
from severe burns, 20U0 persons fled
from their homes in panic, and thou
| sands more passed a SleepleSS night
as IL result of Il series of incendiary
fires i'll the two blocks bounded by 10Th
and G1st and Columbus and West End
lavenues early today. Scores of per-
sons whose lives were endangered We're
lrescucd by fremen. Many of the res
cues We're of a highly sensational or
der and were witnessed by the thou
sands who crowded the streets around
the burning buildings. In all there
were five fires, every one Of them in
| cendiary, between midnight and 5
O'Clock this morning.
The woman who lost her life was
Mrs. Caroline Swain. 20 years old. She
lived at 107 West Goth street, adjoiN-
ing one Of the buildings which was
fired. She died of heart failure in
duced by fright.
Adrian Tompkins, 40 years old. of
10 West Goth street. is in a hospital
with his hands and feet severely burn
cd as result of climbing down a
red hot fire escape. He is in q serious
condition.
The rapidly increasing fires. the
| crowds of evicted tenants and the ter
rifying rumors spread through the
! neighborhOOd with the constant aP-
pearance and re-appearance of the fire
engines, and the big squads of police
raised the people throughout the vi
entity to a high pitch of excitement
which did not lessen until daylight
| brought a measure of assurance that
the incendiarism was stopped for q
| while. The excitement spread even to
| Broadway and in the Marie Antoinette.
Ansonia. Empire and other big hotels
| in the neighDOrhOod Of Lincoln square
the guests were aroused by the con-
| tagion OF fear and many remained up
for the rest of the morning, discussing
the situation. In the ST. Paul hotel at
the southeast corner of 61st street and
Columbus avenue and the Hotel Hull
son at ed street. both close to the
fires, all the guests We're aroused and
few slept any more.
| All the houses where the fires Oc-
Cured were fiat houses. Three of them
We're occupied by whites and TWO by
negroes. Most of the tenants We're in
bed when the fire broke out and es
| capped to the streets in the scantiest
clothing.
| The first fire was in q fVe-StOry
tenement house at 105 West 18th street
occupied by five families, all of which
| escaped. Mrs. Caroline Swain, the
woman whose death was induced by
fright in the adjoining house. had been
taken by her daughter to a window
in preparation to flight when she col
lapSed and died.
The firemen were still fighting that
fire when the second blaze began ut
1877 West Goth street, in lot of rub
Dish in the basement. All the tenants
escaped.
At the third fire at 231 West Goth
street. there We're several narrow cs-
capes and daring rescucs of the ten
lants.
An hour later the fourth fire was
discovered block north at 2i9 West
61st street. 1t was quickly extinguish-
ed.
| The fifth and worst of the fires was
| discovered at 40 West 61st street at
Is A. NJ, while the street was still
| thronged with frightened people. There
| were 20 apartments in the building anu
| the escape of the occupants of the up
| per floors was cut off by a blaze in the
lower hall The tenants were so daZei
l
their lives when policemen and FIRE
men went up on the fire escapes and
drought them down. Adrian Tompkins,
who lived on the top floor. fingered so
| long that he was painfully burned
while climbing down the fire escape.
| In each case the firemen quickly
stopped the progress of the flames. the
| loss was about $4,000.
| ISrarE Morris of RpStOn 4 vaudeville
performer. was arrested on suspicion
of setting the fires. The police allege
that in each of the fires tenants re-
ported that when they fled from their
apartments, Morris was the first person
| they met.
| Morris. who is about 90 years old.
said that he was formerly newsboy
in Fall River but had been in Boston
| lately.
| Morris was arraigned before a mag
istrate. Fire Marshal Prial expressed
| the opinion that he was mentally ire
sronsible and asked the magistrate to
commit the boy to Bellevue hospital for
| five days for examination. The magis-
! trate. however. refused and held Nor
ris in $4,000 bail for further examina-
ton Sunday.
Later young Morris said that his
home is at 1870 Harrison avenue, Boston.
and that his father is William Morris.
a compositor, employed on the Boston
American.
New York, Nov. 9-Three fires. all said
by the police to be of incendiary origin.
| caused a panic tonight among the people
living in the block on East 65th street
between Second and Third avenues. ,
After the fires had been extrr guished
the police found that gasoline had been
freely used in the places where the fires
started.
The police believe the same persons
, who started three fires last night in the
neighborhood of 6lst street and Columbus