The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-09
MANY INJURED IN
 KANSAS CITY FIRE Artist Killed, Others Missing
 and Thrilling Escapes S1,OOO,OOO PROPERTY LOSS
The University Building, Occupied By Offices of Montgomery, Ward & Co.,, Is Destroyed-Fire
 In Basement.

Kansas City, Mo, May Sire this aft ernoon destroyed the flve-story university building on Ninth avenue and Locust street, causing a property loss of about $1,OOO,0OO One life was lost, six persons are missing and many others seriously injured. The debris is still burning to- night and cannot be searched until to- morrow
 The building was occupied by Mont gomery, Ward & Co. as offices and by numerous artists and musicians, who lost everything.
 The known dead:
 George De'Mare, aged S2, an art instruc- tor.
 Among the missing is Miss Maud Wit tenborn, piano teacher, last seen at the window of her studio on the fifth floor.
 Injured
 Miss Alexandria Blumberg. Russian countess, skull fractured. may die.
 Maude Speyer. fell from ladder, serious
 Mrs. Eva s. Boyle, Sheridan. Mo-. fell from ladder, severe.
 J. M. Kranichfeld, fireman, leg broken
 William Van Dusen fireman, serious.
 Peter Karagard. violin teacher. fell from fire escape, serious.
 The University building was built by the Pepper estate of Philadelphia for the Young Mems Christian association, and the corner stone was laid by President Cleveland during his first administration
 The building was of brick, five stories high and extended one hundred feet north on Locust street and half block west on Ninth street. Because of the unsafe con dition of the building it was abandoned by the Young Mems Christian association ten years ago. Since then the first and second floors have been occupied by Montgomery Ward x Co.,. who used it as offices and employed 200 clerks, mostly girls Ii contains two small audtoriums, one of which, on the third floor, is used by the Kansas City Anthenaeum, which was holding a session when the fire start ed today, half hundred prominent wom- en being in attendance. The third, fourth and fifth floors were occupied by artists and musiciaBs and some of the upper rooms used as living apartments. There is but one elevator in the building, ad- joining the stairway, the only means of exit.
 The fire started few minutes before 3 o'clock in the basement in a quantity of twine in the Montgomery Ward & Co. StOreroom, close to the elevator. Ten minutes after the fire broke out the flames began shooting up the elevator shaft and escape. save by the fire escapes, was shut off.
 The halls quickly filled with a dense smoke, and ten minutes later when the first fire apparatus arrived on the scene, people crowded almost every window ap- pealing for help. while scores of others. mostly women and girls. filled the fire es- capes and were climbing wildly to the ground.
 George De'Mare, 32 years of age, art instructor in the Central High school, and portrait painter. jumped from his studio window on the fifth hocr and was picked up dead
 Miss Alexandria Blumberg, Q Russian countess who came to America two years ago, had a studio on the fifth floor, was overcome by smoke and carried from her room by a fireman, who started down a ladder with her. The firemen below, in their excitement turned a stream of water on them knocking them from a ladder Miss Blumberg was picked Up unconscious, suffering from a fractured skull. and may die. The fireman was painfully injured.
 There were many thrilling escapes Miss Hitler Burns, who had a studio on the fourth floor, stood at @ window calling for help while flames played with few feet of her A ladder failed to reach the fourth story, and a fireman stretched ont an iron rod and urged her to climb down it. The woman slid down the rod to the ladder and was landed safely on the ground