Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-08-02
FOUR BIC FIRES
STARTLE GOTHAM
SCORE PERISH IN TENEMENT AND
500 ESCAPE FROM BLAZ-
ING HOTEL.
DAMAGE AT CONEYlSLAND
Old Buildings Go Up in Smoke and
Freaks Make a Wild Scramble
for Safety.

NEW YORK. July 29.-Shocking loss
OF human life and destruction of prop
erty estimated at more than 81. 900. 900
Were caused by fires in New York and
It's Immediate vicinity i'll the twenty-four
hours ending at o'clock this morn
ing.
Twenty persons are dead and fifteen
suffering from injuries rs Il result of the
burning of Il siX-story double tenement III
! Chrystie street and financial loss re
suited from the destruction Of the Long
Beach hotel at Long Beach, l.. l., today
ana the SteeplechaSe park and other
property at Coney island yesterday. In
addition. the steamship Hamilton. Of
the Old Dominion line, came into port
yesterday with part of her hold ablaZe.
The Hamilton WAS at her dock before
any OF the passengers knew there WAS
a fire on board. The flames were eX-
tlngulshed after about $4,000 damage
had been done.
BLACK Hand" in Tenement Fire.
The explosion Of Il bomb placed, the
police believe by agents OF the BLACK
Hand III an italian grocery store on
Chrystle street, started the fire which
swept through the teeming tenement
The noise of the explosion caused a pan
lc. The police say that many persisted
fearing to escape to the streets where
they believed death awaited them from
the BLACK Hand" \ second explosion
from a kerosene tank followed and the
whole lower floor was Il mass of flames.
Die in Rush for Safety.
The fire shot up the stairways, cutting
off all escape from those i'll the bed
rooms above. Many rushed to the fire
escapes which became clogged. The
house was filled with smoke, and the
flames drove the half crazed people To
the roof. Many were killed as they
were about to be rescued from the roof.
There We're many heroic rescues by fire
men.
The bodies of the dead were found in
all manner of places. -Four women
were discovered i'll a closet where they
had gone to hide from the flames, which
found them out The body Of woman
was found lying over a child as though
she had tried to protect it. Five We're
found crowded around one doorway on
the top floor.
Coney Fire Is Serious.
The fire wave first struck Coney Island
yesterday and before it subsidized. steeple
chase park, score OF hotels and many
amusement attractions We're i'll ruins and
many persons were homeless. y dozen
fremen were overcome by smoke and
three seriously hurt The loss is $780,
600.
Freaks in a Panic.
Inside the burning park all was excite
ment and confusion among the employees,
who slept in a house near the entrance.
Carrying grips and luggage, they sour
ried to the streets, and while the exodus
was in progress Il cry went up that San
Dora, the armless and legless man, who
eats a dozen meals day just to show
that he can do it without the aid of
arms and legs, was missing. Selling Il
basket, two employees hurried back and
found San Dora wiggIing along the floor
toward the door. The wonder was
piled into 4 basket and, though the
flames and smoke threatened to enguIf
his rescuers, he was carried to hotel,
where he remarked that his escape had
been effected without the loss Of life
or limb
Eight Hundred Escape
The next fire was the steamship fire.
Then came the Chrystie street, tenement
disaster, and next the Long Beach no.
tel. today. was destroyed. The 500
guests were all in their beds when the
flames were discovered, but all left the
building i'll safety.
The fire was discovered on the first
flor shortly after ) o'clock. Hall boys
and clerks hurried through the smoky
corridors and reused the sleeping guests
The flames spread so rapidly in the great
wooden structure that the guests had
barely time to seize some scauty clothing
and escape. They fled to the beaches
and We're taken care of by the cottagers.
The frightened guests huddled togeth-
er in groups along the beach watching
the flames destroy the hotel. Sparks
from the fire set ablaze the cottages
of A B. Chapman and three others and
these too were destroyed. The hotel
burned SO rapidly that the employees had
no time to save any of the furniture or
contents.
The hotel burned like finder and with
in a short time was a smouldering mass
of ruins. 1t was three stories high and
nearly 500 feet in length and when
filled to its capacity, housed 100 per-
sons. The loss is about 100000.