The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-04-16
tenement House
a Death Trap
Five Perish in Blaze Which Destroys
Three Story Building in San Francis
co--List of Fatalities May Grow
(By United Press Leased Wire. J
SAN FRANCISCO, April

16.-Eive persons are known
to be dead, eight are seriously
injured, one of them Fatally,
and IL is feared that from 25
to 80 more dead bodies will
be found I'm the ruins of the
st. George tenement, at the
corner of Eighth and Howard
streets, which was destroyed
by fire early today.
Five bodies have already been
taken from the ruins of the tene-
ment and are at the morgue
awaiting identification. Six men
are In the hospital one of their
number, a man named Cartwright,
who says he is the brother of
prominent physician at Salem,
Oregon, is believed to be on his
deathbed, and two firemen of
truck No. are lying on cots at
their engine house suffering from
Injuries sustained while fighting
the flames.
A Death Trap.
The st. George was a veritable
death trap and protest was made
at the time of its erection Just
after the great fire three years
ago. 1t was filled with tiny rooms
and several hundred men were
jammed into 1t last night. All of
these were asleep and had but
slight chance to escape when an
alarm of fire was sounded at 2:45
O'Clock this morning. The mar
row halls of the building were
quickly filled with a struggling.
fighting, screaming mass of hui
manity and several men were
thrown down and trampled al
most to pulp by their panic
stricken fellow dodgers.
Burned Rapidly.
The tenement was wooden
structure and burned like tinder.
Within few minutes after the
time the fre was first discovered
the entire building was a mass
of flames and every means of es-
cape cut off from the unfortunates
who failed TO awaken at the first
alarm. In a little more than an
hour nothing but a mass of en-
bers marked the spot where last
night three-story building stood.
The bodies at the morgue are so
badly charred that there is little
hope of their being identified.
Four of the bodies are those of
men, the fifth being that of a
woman.
Firemen working in the ruins
declare that there are dozens of
bodies still In the ruins and es-
Inmates of the number of. dead
reach as high as 80.
The Injured.
All the injured, except Cart
wright, are expected to recover.
They are: G. Cartwright, Pat
rick Guerin, John Mel, Charles
Potts, John Campbell, John Eric
son, James Rodgers, fireman;
William Mckinley. fireman; Pat
rick Haggerty, fireman.
Crushed by Falling Wall.
The firemen were caught and
crushed by falling wall. Eight
small buildings adjoining the st.
George tenement were destroyed
by the fire, the total property loss
being estimated at 100000
Nearly half a block was burned
over. The burned buildings were
situated between Eighth and
Ninth, Howard and Tehama
streets.
Full of Sensations.
The fire was replete with sensa-
tional features, including a panic,
hairbreadth escapes and daring
rescues. Officer w. F. Kruger
was the hero of the fire. Re-
spending to the first alarm, the Of
ficer sized UP the situation at a.
glance and after turning in sec
ond alarm, dashed into the build
ing which was already assuming
the appearance OF furnace.
Dashing through the narrow lit
the halls, Kruger kicked at doors
and shouted an alarm. Slapping q
one man to make him.quit HIS dis
tracted crying, the cool headed Of
flcer turned to another who was
aged and helpless and carefully
assisted him to the stairway.
There is no doubt that Kruger's
prompt action saved q score OIL
lives for had the panic, which fol-
lowed the awakening of the in
mates. occurred fifteen minutes
later. when the flames were at|
their height. few would have es-
capped from the building uninjur-l
ed.
The cause of the fire Is un-
known. Forty dodgers in the st.
George had not been accounted
for at noon.