Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-29
II KILLED IN
EXPLOSION
NEW YORK TENEMENT SHAT
TERED BY BLAST
SCORES ARE CRUSHED UNDER
FALLING WALLS
Bodies of Many Victims Are Recovered
from Blazing Ruins-Cause of
Disaster Shrouded In
Mystery

BY Associated Press.
NEW YORK, July 2S.-An explosion, ac-
companied by fire shattered an east side
tenement late tonight, and with the
crumbling walls fourteen persons, per-
haps more went down to death, while
twice as many were probably fatally in
jured.
The wrecked building tonight was at
222 Christie street, where six-story tene-
ment rose above the grocery store base
ment.
The explosion is as yet unaccounted for
and tore out the front of the building.
The fire that followed caught the twenty
families, numbering about 100 persons,
while most of them were sound asleep.
Not until the ashes had cooled was 1t
possible to recover the bodies of the dead.
OF the injured many jumped from the
windows and others were caught by fall
ing timbers
Many half suffocated by smoke were
dragged from the Railways, while others
sustained injuries during the panic and
mad fighting, while all were fighting to
reach the exits.
A passerby was attracted by the ex-
plosion, which apparently occurred in the
basement. AS he turned toward the
building the whole front with its fimsy
fire escapes fell into the street. and from
the sagging floors a score of half awak-
ened persons dropped into the street
Many of these were badly hurt, but they
proved to be the more fortunate OF the
tenants, for in another moment the build
ing was wrapped in flames and the cries
of persons burning to death rent the air.
Panic Follows
In the wild panic that followed many
received mortal injuries. The police and
firemen who early reached the scene at"
tempted to take the imperiled tenants
from the side and rear windows but a
few who were free to act did not wait
for assistance, but jumped into the street.
Several who sought escape by a rear
stairway were driven back by smoke.
Some of these made their way through
the fire to other exits, but more fell over
come in the Railways, to be dragged out
insensible.
| Of the dead and dying large part are
| women and children. In the scramble for
| an exit and safety the stronger in most
cases survived.
| The fire, however, was not without its
acts of hefoism.
Y WneD IRE pdtrOli NO dTIlNeu Oil tic
| scene Captain Albert Johnson saw how
he could save several. In a sixth story
window there were hanging group of
persons, women and children. Just across
from them, hardly three feet away, was
the window on the sixth floor of the ten
ement adjoining.
Accompanied by Detective Conners,
Johnson ran to the top floor of No 224.
There was a small ledge just below tho
L.. kr@I II
stand with Corners behind him holding
him. Reaching as far as he could, john
son could just touch the hands of Tom
maso Gazzaino, who with his three chill
dren and his wife had fled to the window.
The man was the first saved. He was
swung around the big fireman so that
Conners could reach him and drag him to
safety. The others followed in rapid
succession, while the crowd below roared
applause.
Mother and Babe Saved
After the Gazzaino family had been
saved the window was cleared for the
approach of Teresa COMA and her baby
who were also pulled across the gulf.
BY this time the entire neighborhood
was a lurid glare from the mass of fire
which. sweeping upstairs had reached
and burst through the roof. The roar of
the flames was deafening and the scorch-
ing heat drove the workers away from
the building after only few seconds of
blistering work.
From the streets around the building
there came continual chorus of groans
and screams from those who, having
been caught when the blaze started, had
been able to escape with their lives only.
Mothers called to children and little ba
bes ran to and from under the feet of
the big fire horses. The police reserves
were for a time unable to handle the
crowd. The flames were not controlled
until the building was practically in
ashes when search for the dead began.