Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-07-30
lTHOUSAND GUESTS FLEE INFERIOR
Great Summer Resort HosteIry De- strOyed at Early Dawn. Together With Congregational Church
 and AdfOfnfux COttaRes.

and Adjoining Cottages.
 NEW YORK, July 30.-The Long Beach hotel, on the seashore beyond Far Rockaway, occupied by HOO guests, burned to the ground at an early hour, carrying with 1t two cot tages, the adjoining Congregational church and separate building con taining the servants quarters, in which were lodged 300 servants, and causing money loss estimated at fully $1,Oo0,0O0. besides injuring ten persons and perhaps causing the death of two others who are thought to be missing.
 The fire was discovered bursting from the storeroom on the top floor of the hotel at the west end of the long building.
 The bellboy who discovered 1t gave the alarm to the elevator boys, and the night help and the servants rush. cd through the building on each of its five floors pounding on the doors to awaken the guests. The hotel was filled to it's capacity, 100 arrivals hav- ing been turned away the evening be- fore. Those chiefly in danger were the guests on the fourth and top floors of the big frame structure.
 A west wind was blowing along the beach and 1t carried the fire rapidly through the upper hallway. Hardly had the POO guests on the top floor been awakened when the flames and a drive of smoke were upon them. There was no time to dress or to save anything except their own lives. Down three staircases, one in the cen ter of the building and one at either end, poured the crowd of frightened guests, few carrying anything from their rooms. Those nearest the place where the fire started were able by running out upon the veranda to gain some distance on the fire and take other stairways when the west stair way was no longer tenable.
 No attempt was made to check the blaze. Such apparatus as the hotel was supplied with could not cope with a fire of this size All the efforts of the management were to make sure that every guest got out in safety. It is not believed that any were unable to leave their rooms. Not long after the people had poured out on to the beach the roof of the structure fell in, flaming for Its whole length of 1,200 feet. forcing draft of flame that drove the crowd back in terror.
 Rescners taking last trip through the halls found no less than six per sons lying overcome by smoke who would undoubtedly have lost their lives if they had not been found at the moment. Among these were two DOT ters and a colored bellboy, the rest be- ing guests. All were revived on being taken to the open air by Dr. Bogart, physician among the guests.
 Sophia Kimball, maid to one of the women guests of the hotel. tried to make her escape from one of the up- per floors down a ladder which had been laid against the front yeranda. She slipped in her excitement and fell to the ground. breaking leg. She was attended by Dr. ]. B. Bogart and carried with the other injured to quar- ters in one of the cottages at a safe distance from the fire.
 The haste of some of the rescuers in the hotel to throw trunks out of dan ger caused the injury sustained by three other of the hotel employees. Frank Smith of ocean Side, assistant carpenter of the hotel, was standing with Albert Golden of Freeport, a su- perintendent of construction, and Per cy Williams, negro waiter, trying to remove baggage that had accumulated fin the main hallway and was impeding the efforts of the crowd to leave the building. Several trunks pitched over banisters by others overhead came down among them.
 Smith. struck by the fragments of one, had one rib broken and dislo- cated shoulder. Golden was injured in the neck and left hand and Williams, the negro, also suffered a broken rib. James Wall. porter, was hurt by jumping from a window. His injuries were internal.
 1 A guest. Paul Pappe of New York. was hurt fin the same way as the DOT ter. Finding his escape cut of by the stairs. he decided to risk jump from the upper story. He was thought to be seriously injured.
 Four men who were accused of loot ing were taken before Judge A. b. i Wallace and remanded.
 Many women complain of heavy losses of jewelry gone before they were able to take it from its place in | their rooms. Mrs. Simpson, the widow of a pawnbroker. asserted that she lost $50,00O worth of valuables. Mrs. R. F. Cartwright estimates her stolen jewelry at S3.O00. and many others complain of the loss of like large sums. It is probable that several hun dred thousand dollars worth of jewell " will never be recovered. Many looters are believed to have made away with their booty fin the con- fusion.
 Senator McCarren. who is interested in the ownership of the hotel and spends much of his time there. was in the building at the time of the fire. He joined in the rescue work of guests. baggage and valuables. Senator Key holds. the chief owner of the hotel. was also in the hotel He. like Sen ator McCarTen. took part fin the res cue work as long any one dared to re- main near the blazing structure.