Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1908-01-17
FlREMEN DIE IN BLAZE
CONFLAGRATION IN NEW YORK
BUILDING CAUSES SIX MIL
LION DOLLAR LOSS.
FLAMES SPREAD RAPIDLY,
Members of Department Cut Off from
Escape in Upper Stories of
Parker Building.
.ES SPREAD RAPIDLY.

Parker building, a thirteen-stOry business
structure occupying "a block between
East Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets,
on Fourth avenue Fought by half the
hremen of Manhattan and apparatus
that blocks the streets for blocks, the
flames were never controlled, and only
with difficulty were they confined to the
building in which they originated Floor
after floor gave way and dropped to the
| basement, and beneath these and crumb
| lings walls, no less than thirty fremen
were caught and either killed outright or
seriously injured. A spectacular rescue
Of several men was accomplished by
means of a mortar and lifeline. The
money loss from the fire is estimated at
S6,O0O,O0O.
Four Firemen Are Missing
When the fire had burned itself out
and the tiremen's roll was called four
men of engine company No. ) failed to
hespond They We're:
PHILLIPS, THOMAS.
O'CONNER, THOMAS.
LYNCH, JOHN.
FALLON, JOHN,
Tim Hutchinson of patrol No. was
removed dying to the hospital. Capt.
Wilson and Capt. Garvin of engine com
pany Nos. "a and II, who We're injured
hurt.
Sensational Rescues.
With the streaks of dawn this morn
ing scores of firemen began the task of
searching in the ruins. Although ac
counted freproOf, the great building
burned almost like finder, the fire in the
upper stories gaining great Roadway I'M
checked, as it was far beyond the reach
of even the fire departments great wa
ter towers.
SenSati Onal .reScueS were the features
Of the fire. Five men who were at work
on the top floor of the building were cut
off from rescue from below and sought
against the flames which had broken
through the roof From the top of an
adjoining building, several stories lower
than the blazing one, line was shot up
from a mortar and with this line the
beleagured men drew up a stout rope
which they fastened to a chimney slid
ing down to the lower roof in safety.
Firenen Are Cut Off
Three firemen were caught in the sixth
story when a floor below them dropped
and were forced upward to the seventh
and then to the eighth story of the build
ing. From below it seemed that rescue
was impossible until several fremen seiz-
ing scaling ladders began to swing them
selves up the face of the tOttering wall.
Climbing to a window ledge, the ladder
with its great hook was drawn up and
swung to a high ledge, the men working
theoretically until their endangered COM
rades were reached. Down the smoking
wall the men came slowly, almost pain
fully, until they were near enough to
the ground to drop into their comrades
Outstretched arms. SO narrow was the
escape, for reScuerS as well as rescued,
that the ladders themselves were burned
where they hung when the fremen
dropped from their rungs.
But even the rescue of these men was
not complete, for the four who went up
into the building failed to return. 1t is
their bodies that Borrowing comrades
are searching for among the smoking
ruins. In addition to the missing a score
or more of tiremen were hurt. their in
juries ranging from painful bruises to
hurts which may prove fatal.
Losses Are Very Heavy
The heaviest individual loss was that
of n. NJ. karaghension, dealer in anti
que rugs, who claims that his will be
more than $100O,0OO, as his vast stock
is totally ruined. The Ditmar w oolen
company and the branch office of Col
lier's Weekly also suffered heavy losses.
The destruction of the building is so
complete that it is thought that all loss
es will be total.
Robert Boyer, a printer employed on
the fifth floor of the Barker building.
was reported missing today. He was at
work i'll the building when the fire start
ed and has not been seen since.
Fourth Avenue Tied Up.
The fire was officially declared to be
under control soon after o'clock but
Deputy Chief Binns warned the police
to keep the crowds as far away as posi-
BILE from the wrecked building as there
was still danger that it might collapse
as a result of the contraction of the steel
Orders as they cooled. This resulted in
a complete tie-up OF the Fourth avenue
trolley line and it was not expected that
any cars would go over the Eighteenth
street crossing during the day. 1t was
feared that the building might collapse
and crash into the underground tube.
After that hour no trains were run be-
tween. the Grand Central station at
Forty-second street and Fourth avenue
and Fourteenth street During the fore
noon it was not at all certain when the
great underground highway would be re-
opened to traffic.
Fire Got a Good Start.
From information given by occupants
of surrounding buildings it is believed
that the fire was in progress fully an
hour before it was discovered. Supt
Fullerton of the American Lithographic
company, directly across the street from
the burned building, said today that fully
an hour before the alarm was given he
smelled smoke and had a thorough
search made on every floor of his build
ing.
Deputy Chief Binns said: The fact
that the fire gained great Roadway was
due entirely to the lack of water. There
are two twelve inch mains on Fourth
avenue fed from Central Park reservoir.
There is no pressure whatever. In the
side streets there are six inch mains and
on Broadway there is 36-inch main
But the pressure from the Broadway
main was more than half lost as a re
suit of the distance from the fire. Many
of the engines worked under a FIVE
pound vacuum instead of fifteen to TWEEN
ty pound pressure which is ordinarily
found in the street hydrants.
MANY RESCUED IN ASHTABULA.