The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-10-20

pany No. Z, fell off a ladder while dodg-
; ing a falling wall, and his ankle was
sprained.
-Four firemen who for a few minutes
were trapped In the flames on the roof
of the trunk factory saved themselves
in q spectacular slide Town q line OF
hose for three floors to the roof OF a
one-story extension. They were Acting
Battalion Chief Charles s. Macknet,
Captain william J.. Fischer, of Engine
Company No. IA; Lieutenant Peter j.
Norton and Fireman Leslie Van Hise,
of the same company. A minute after
they left the roof 1t caved in. The fire.
men below played water on them as
they slid down.
The heat became so terrific that the
f1remen in the streets had to strip to
the skin, so that they wore only rubber
boot and trousers.
When the second wall fell, the fire.
men, in the rush to get from under It,
stumbled over each other and Battalion
Chief Exall was plunged into the canal.
He was pulled out safely.
In the factory there were more than
125 men working when the flames broke
out, and a large office staff of young
women. All but a dozen Of the work.
men escaped without trouble. The
{ Sozen reached safety by the fre-escapes.
Lighted Cigarette May He Cause.
THE fire is believed to have started
IN the shellac room on the top floor
us.s Observation-Disclosures structure.
A n ranber of the firm said he believed
that an employee had carelessly
dron, ed a lighted cigarette among the
I'll .avi, azs and turpentines and varnishes
In tina { room, and that the blaze, which
spread so quickly. was the result.
The , men In this room fled before the
Aames and spread the alarm through
tbo hi, Eaing. so hat all of the en-
ployees Mcaped.
ux the uime the first alarm WINS sent
4. thSrc was n series Of explosions In
~. .heI lne room, caused by barrels
.rs c.n. " varnishes and t~uRpentines.
rrhese eru assions spread the flames
r,,s-LIx on ur the whole top floor, and
~. nrrnin. ! liquids, like vnrnfshes and
-.s.ss- hi. b. streamed down the stair
~,v. md evntor shafts, spread the
~. th,curh, uit the entire building with
nImo.t incre, Wble rnpidity.
1rt.r cnrme second, third and fourth
-v.ru. In vuick succession. This
.srtce u engines, five trucks and
the winter tow VT.
The heat be came so terrific by the
time the sixte en- engines brought by
the fourth alari q got to work the police
reserye from everal stations, under
direct command of Captain Ryan, roped
of the streets 81 grounding the factory
and held the re, sidents of the houses
opposite the burr Ding factory. in Canal
street, In their hoi mes.
Then. when It ltsoked like the flames
which leaped from the factory windows
N0ufd lick up the houses opposite, the
police went through them and cleaned
out the houses.
Leaping out the other side Of the fac
tory building, when the strong wine
shifted to the northeast. the flames
threatened with destr uction the row OF
houses In Cherry street. 1t was then
that the dead body Of Mrs. Matilda
.BranHagan, casket and all, was carried
from No. 10 into No. 1a.
The police went through the row and
got out all the families, In No. 10 they
removed the family of Mrs. Brannagan;
from No. u they removed James Boyle
and family; from No. IA they removed
c.. J.. Reilly and John I.uby and their
families, and from No. 16 they emoved
the families of Joseph Lynch and Pat
rick Dillon These families had been
tossing their household furniture into
The street, and as fast as they did so
vi would catch fire.
Unnrr Control at 12siH.
White the excitement was at it's
hAisht several barrels of naphtha In the
basement Of the trunk factory exploded
And created a panic In the streets for
blocks about. Every fire engine and
truck IN the ch was now at the blaze,
with the exception of the auto engine,
which Is in the hospital.
The strong ndrtheast winds carried
sparks from the fire to h cornice OF
the brewery of Lyons & Son, and for
81 while a merry blaze was burning
there. The fire squad Of the brewery
got out their appar atus. climbed to the
roof, put out the flames there n kept
the brewery buildings drenched with
water after that
AT 1915 the fire vans pronounced to be
under control.
In fighting the fire the firemen were
at a great disadvantage through the
location of the struct ure. 1t faces on
Canal street, and the re is but a mar
row roadway between the canal and the
building In which the .firemen could get.
And this was made n~linhabitable soon