Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-10-08
FOUR ARE DEAD
Aspbyxlsied Lasl Night While yhey Several 0lhers
 Reseued Just in Tine
CORONER EXAMINES


 nor block at 202 Bank street last
 night and placed in jeopardy tho
 lives of almost twice as many moro. Although two of the persons found
 unconscious last evening seemed to have small chances of recovering early thls morning. they are now out of danger. The men who were as- phyxiated were all Italians and to- day the Italians of the city did noth- ing but discuss the calamity.
 The dead men, are Luzio Bacetta, aged 35; Sebastianna Bassamano, age 33; Luiggi Bassamano, aged 20, and Salvador Depietro, age 19. They boarded with Lucian Santoro and all slept in one room, which last night became full of gas when some one dropped quarter in a meter which had not been used in some months.
 The tenement, which is occupied by Lucian Santoro and where the dead men lived, Is piped for gas. but no gas has been used there for months. One of the chandeliers had been pulled from the ceiling and the gas pipe left open. Consequently just as soon as the gas was turned on 1t poured into the room and this room was the one where the four men were sleeping. The meter was located on the floor below and 1t was in this meter that the quarter was dropped.
 Mrs Nathan Solotorof, who with her husband and child moved into the tenement on the second floor, it was thought dropped the quarter in the meter. : She denies firmly that she placed any money in the meter, but the quarter was found there last evening by an inspector of the United Gas Improve ment Co. The meter on the second floor apparently was the meter also for the third floor.
 It was about 3 o'clock this morn ing that Giuseppe Santoro, brother of the proprietor of the house, heard some one fall in the room adjoining his. His wife, who was in the room with him, slept soundly, as did his sister Rosa, who was lying on couch in the room. Giuseppe hur- ried to the room whence the noise came and upon entering found the room full of gas. He ran back to his own room and opening his window shouted, for help.
 The cries of Santoro brought John Bowes, janitor of the Buckingham, Tony Demarco. North Main street barber, Patrolmen Lawlor and liar mon to the house. They had no trouble in finding the room where the gas was strongest. The windows were quickly opened and as the patrolmen threw their lights around the room their eyes saw a horrible state of affairs.
 In the room were found four beds, two of which were occupied. In one of them lay two men, the Bassamano brothers, dead. In another was Lu- zio Bacceta, also dead, while on the floor was Depietro. who apparently had lived longer than the others but he also had breathed his last before the patrolmen arrived. Depietro was evidently the one who had fallen to the floor while trying to get to window and it was the noise of his fall which had awakened Santoro.
 Physicians were immediately sum- moned, Medical Examiner A. A. Crane notified and Deputy Coroner Walter D. Makepeace informed of the accident. Meanwhile the police and the men who had come to the house proceeded to rescue the other in- mates In the room where Giuseppe Santoro had been sleeping the gas jet was partly opened but enough gas had not come through to cause fa- tality. Guiseppe's wife was partly | unconscious but her condition was not as bad as his sister who had to be l removed to the Waterbury hospital. | Her condition to-day was much im- proved and she will most likely re- cover.
 vincenzo Pavano and Carmela | Bashetto were sleeping in the room 1 on the east side of the one where the | four men lost their lives but they | were very little affected by the gas | fumes. No gas entered their rooms | through the pipes.
 Lucian Santoro and his wife occu- pied room in the rear of the house | but the gas did not reach them. Milk procured from the Why lunch room on Bank street was used as an anti- dote on those who were still alive. | Drs De Luise and De Ligouri also aid ed considerahlv in resuacitatin0 tba persons affected. It did not take the news of the catastrophe long to spread and soon people came in swarms to the house. For a time the was intense in the block. 1
 Deputy Coroner Makepeace and Examiner Crane began an on reaching the house and 1t was continued to-day with the aid of Detective Colesanto.
 The tenement on the third floor has gas fixtures but the family has not used gas for months-in fact they say they have never used it. Board Ing with the Santoros was Mir and Mrs Nathan solotorof and child. They a room in the front of the house. but yesterday moved down into k the tenement on the second floor.
 At first 1t was thought that Mrs Solotorof had taken some of the gas fixtures from the third floor but this Bhe denies and the deputy coroner is Inclined to believe her story.
 Those investigating the case think that Mrs Solotorof last evening want ed some light and decided to place