The Washington herald., 1908-01-11
USE GUNS
Fourth Blaze in Two Years
Ruins Gotham Building.
NEW APPARATUS SAVES LIVES
Three Men AIissinE-CrOIsd of 10000
Hampers the Department - Daniel
FrOhman Leads Bucket Brigade at
Players CIub-HoteI and boarding.
house Residents Escape.

New York. Jan IA fire which for
nearly eight hours resisted the efforts of
the dremen. about destroyed all Of value
in the big Parker Building. at Fourth
avenue and Nineteenth street. tonight
The building is twelve stories in height
and as the blaze started on the NTH floor
and worked upward it made as much OF
a fire as the department has had to con-
tend with in some time.
At late hour. three fremen, two 4
whom were seen last on the fftn door
were missing. and fears were entertained
that they had been overcome or burned to
death.
The three were O'Conner- and Phillips,
OF Engine Company -. and John Falon.
of Fire Patrol 8.
Fallon was seen last on the second
floor, where one man, who tried 20 60 10
help him. was overcome and had - be
taken 10 a hospital.
Firemen Lyuch, Of Engine Company No.
2. was with the TWO others on the fifth
floor. and for "a long time It was be
lieved he was lost. When he was dragged
out he was unable 10 tell what had be-
come of the others, and he was taken to
the Bellevue Hospital
Fourth Fire In Two Years.
It was the fourth fire in two years in
the place. and besides the possibility Of
the loss Of three lives. il was the occasion
of many minor hurts to fremen and or
danger to houses not only IN the neigh
borhood, but some distance away. mon
aced by flying sparks.
The FIRE was discovered shortly after 3
o'clock, on the fifth floor, in the offices
Of the Hooker-Jackson Company, publish
ers Of the Encyclopedia Britannica, The
fire spread rapidly. and alarms were sent
out in rapid succession, summoning extra
engines. Five alarms in all were sent
out.
a crowd estimated by the police at over
10000 persons gathered from all points
and the police reserves from four pre-
clnCts were called out to keep members
Of it from hamperiDg the fremen.
The crowd was treated TO many spec
tacular sights from the very start Of
the fire. After it had been in progress
about an hour it was discovered that six
men. employed in the offices Of the Suf-
folk Engraving Company had gone from
the fifth story TO the roof and were
penned in. with no means Of escape.
Life-saVeFS' work.
The fire department has recently been
equipped with a new gun for shooting
ropes to the tops of high buildings and
this apparatus came into play for the
first time tonight Capt. Gordon took
some men from Hook and ladder TO
the roof of the Florence Hotel, next door,
which is seven stories high. The gun
was loaded and fired. The rope shot up
20 the twelfth floor of the Parker Build
ing, and was made fast TO a chimney
and the men gotten down safely.
Caught on "HoodOO, Floor.
The men from hook and ladder No :
were the next to get into trouble, and
got caught on what was later to prove
the "hoodoo" hoor-the fifth. They were
sent up to that floor TO get to the roof tc
fight the fire from there. but 1t proved
too hot for them on that floor and they
found themselves penned in when they
started TO come down. They were taken
down with ladders by company No. 3
from the outside of the building.
The fire had been spreading with such
raDiditv. meanwhile. that Commissioner
Bugher ordered Manager M. B. Barry, ol
the Florence House, TO get every one out
and 200 guest went across the street tC
the Clarendon Hotel for shelter. The
sparks from the fire carried far and the
police of the precincts north Of Twenty.
third street reported that the house-tops
were crowded with bucket brigades fight.
ing incipient fires.
FrOhman Leads Brigade.
Daniel Frohman led one of these bri
gades at the Players Club. The Colum.
bia Club was also turned out, as were sev
eraI clubs in the neighbOrhoOd Of Gram
ercv Park. Along the side streets Com
missioner Bugher soon had the polio,
turn out the residents from the prlvat,
houses at 104 and los East Eighteenth
street
/ Mrs Leslie CarteT-Payne's house at Il
! East Eighteenth street was entered b,
! hremen to protect it. Several boarding
/ houses were also turned out and TIN
! houses "wetted DOWN
/ A little after 10 O'Clock the fire seemed
to gain new headway and got completed,
away from the fremen. With almost in
credible rapidlty it spread over the re
| mainder of the building, and the firsmel
gave up any attempt to save It, and con
fined themselves to saving suTroundini
buildings and to keeping the fire confne,
/ to the Parker Building.
Insurance adjusters who visited tn,
scene of the fire made various estimate!
of the total loss Of building and stock
The highest estimate was S6000,000 Other
\ placed the total loss at between $4,000, 90
and $4,000
Removal Notice.
TErachiurtou- -SuuCnf Roufn has y,7ouad a.