The Irish standard., 1907-11-30
thirteen perish
IN GOTHAM fire
WORK OF INcENDIARlEs IS sus
PEcTED BY NEW YORK Po.
LICE OFFICIALS.
BODIES ARE FOUND
HUDDLED TOGETHER
Saloon Keeper Discovers Flames az
He Opens Place Of Business
Reseues His Family-FIames and
Smoke Do Deadly Work.

NEW 1OTk, NOV. So.-l nltle6n per-
sons lost their lives and several 9th.
ers were injured Monday in a tene.
ment house fire at One Hundred and
Ninth street and Second avenue. All
the dead were Italians. Seven Of the
l3 were children. The bodies were
found huddled together in rooms on
the top floor of the four.story build.
ings where the terror-stricken people
had been driven by the flames which
rushed up from the lower. floors. They
had succumbed before they could
reach the windows which led to the
fire escapes. Some had been envel.
oped in the flames and burned alive
Others, overcome by smoke, we're
spared the agonies Of death in the
flames.
Work Of Incendiarles.
That the fatal fire was the work Of
incendiaries who, sought revenge is
the opinion of the police and f1remen
who made the first hasty examination.
Three weeks ago three Italians were
caught in the act of attempting to
rub a safe in the saloon of Giuseppe
Cudano, on the ground floor. The safs
contained over $4,000 which the sa-
loon keepers friends had withdrawn
from banks during the money panic.
The would-be robbers were arrest.
ed and are now awaiting trial The
FIRE started in Cudano's saloon and
the police believe that it may have
been the work of friends Of the pris.
oners who took this means of squar.
ing the account with the saloon keep
,er. Cudano discovered the fire when
he went down to open his place of
business. AS he opened the door he
was net. by rush of flames and
;" without waiting a moment to investi-
gate dashed up the stairs to the. tene-
ment above, crying out for the occu.
pants to run for their lives
Rescues His Family.
When he reached the rooms occu-
pied by his own family he burst in
the door, and, selling his young son
Dominic in his arms. told Mrs. Gu.
eano and other members of the fam.
ny to follow. Cudano and the boy
managed to find their way down the
stairs to the street, but before the
women could get through the flames
had cut of exit by that avenue. 1t
10 supposed that Mrs Cudano and the
other children sought safety in the
upper part Of the building.
Just what happened in the burning
building before the fire was checked
never will be known. So quickly did
the flames spread that almost before
the firemen arrived the whole building
was furnace and IT. was impossible
for anyone to enter. Even the cries
of the agonized women and children
were drowned by the roar and crackle
of the flames, the kissing engines and
! the frantic, babbling crowd which
pressed as closely as possible to the
fire lines. Not a single person was
seen to appear at any of the windows
of the blazing building with the ex.
! ception of those on the second floor
from which several persons reached
the fire escape and were rescued. The
reason for this was explained, when
after the flames had heen partially
checked, flremen fought their way
through the smoke to the upper floors
Find Fallen Victims.
There they came upon piles Of dead
where they had fallen victims to the
rush of flames and smoke even before
they had chance to attempt to save
themselves. In one Of the heaps the
firemen found woman who had made
one last desperate effort to save the
life of her baby even when she knew
that she herself was doomed to l1or
rible death. She had folded her arms
tightly around the little one and hnd
died down close to the floor, her owr
body protecting that of the child. The
mothers body was badly burned. Thai
of the child bore scarcely mark, but
it was dead from suffocation. Or
every side Of the mother and child lay
the bodies of other victims.