The sun., 1908-04-18

He and Another Chap DO Span Of life"
Performance From = House Next Door
TO the One Burning and Save BOY Ly'
lns There. Half Dead, on a window SILL
Iadderman Tom Dugan Of Truck ?,
which has headquarters in Fittieth street
near Lexington avenue, had an afternoon
on yesterday, So just to show that he
earns his salary he saved a life. George
Sythes Of the same company helped him,
and the pair Of them performed stunt
that would have made the author OF 'The
Span Of Life tired II he had ssen H.
Dugan was loanng along Third avenue
with his store clothes on, enjoying the sun
shine Of the spring afternoon and thinking
how good II was to be young and strong or
something Of that kind Tor maybe he was
wondering whether or not he was thirsty,
when around the corner swung the engine
compsny and the truck and the extension
ladder from his firehouse Full tilt mp the
avenue they pelted and Dugan, forgetting
all about il being his afternoon on throw
on the high speed and galloped along after
them
The FIRE turned out to be a pretty smoky
crackly blaze in the FIVE story wooden
building at 725 Third avenue There's a
restaurant on the ground floor at that
address and the four floors above are ten
anted by pnnilies from whose like the pO'
ice force is largely recruited
The fire started in the cellar, Just how
nobody knows II got going with extreme
rspidity, and by the time the iiremen got
there the house was full Of smoke and the
blaze was shifting up the rickety staircase
Most Of the tenants hustled out Of the back
windows, scurried down the fire escapes
and dropped in safety into tho little back
yard. There was no getting down the stair
cases for anybody
But George Dietz wasn't 50 lucky He
il a bellboy who bellboys at the Grand
Union Hotel at night, He lives on the
top floor OF 725 with his mother, and she
had gone out some time before, leaving
him asleep in the fat b. the time the
uproar awakened him the back hall was
full Of smoke and fire. 80 that he couldn't
get To the fire escape He rushed back
into the fat, threw open window and
fell gasping across the sill. burst OF smoke
with here and there. tinge OF fame, en-
veloped him as he lay there
At this appariton there came a big roar
from the crowd below and the aremen
tried to raise an extension Ia der. Some
how the cogs got jammed and the thing
wouldn't work
1t looked pretty bai for Dict2, hec1Hs,
he .was practically helpless, To jump
meant sure death and no fireman could have
lived long enough on that burning stair.
case TO get up 20 the fifth Aoor. Nor would
he have been any uss il he had got there.
Tom Dugan saw the only thing that could
be done, and singing oit % Sythes 70 follow
him, he ran up the stairs NJ the hous, next
70 the one that was blazing 80 merrily
The burning house was Ave stories high.
Its next door neghbor is only four, 80 that
the roof Of 723 comes about to the level OF
the top windows Of 725.
Dugan and Sythes hurried to the roof.
Then Dugan crawled to the edge, keeping
close to the wall Of the burning house. and
cautiously let himself over the edge Sythes
sat down and took a good grip on Dugan's
ankles. Dugan was then hanging head
downward over the sidewalk and II Sythes
had let 60 Il would have been all over with
him. Sythes had no such intention.
Dugan clawed desperately at the window
ll;nA nf tho hnvpipV hui ildiug until la Tnou-
aged to drag his shoulders 50 far in that
direction as TO get grip on Detz, who was
by this time limp and helpless as he lay
across the sill, more dead than alive. Thus
the fireman dragged the unconscious boy
out OF the window More hremen had
reached the roof by this time to help Sythes,
and between them they hauled resouer and
rescued up to the roof
The crowd Ind up to this time watched
the thrilling performance in absolute silence.
but now a tremendous cheer went up. Du-
gan suffered a compound fracture OF the
cutaway coat and much adulation. Dietz was
taken to the Flower Hospital, but he wasn't
badly burned. Fireman Burns got one
finger badly crushed trying TO make the eI
tension ladder work. Fireman Brennan
was cut by broken glass and had his wounds
dressed at the hospital.
Mrs. Dietz. Georges mother came home
about the time il was all over. When they
told her what had happened che made
remark about the Deity and tainted. The
Fire Marshal made an investigation after
the firemen got the blaze under. He said
it looked like an incendiary Are. The loss
,vaa az OOO