The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1909-12-21
SIX DEAD IN FIRE.
Five Girls and Man Perish
in Burning Building.
WERE BURNED TO A CRISP
Rush For Clothing Proved Fatal For
Employees of Philadelphia Fac
tory - Bodies Identified
by Jewelry.
WERE BURNED TO A CRISP

Philadelphia. Dec IS. - Six lives
we're lost in the fire which destroyed
the slxstory caskct factory Of Schrack
& Sherwood. at l5lGl51S CallowhilI
street Five others were badly burn
ed and were taken to hospitals Tor
treatment The financial loss IS $3.50
600
The dead are: Joseph Toner 1917
Parrish street. a fireman, twenty-lour
years old. fell into the interior Of the
building and was burned to death;
Catherine Schsele nineteen years DID,
G81 Meeting House lane, Eva Arepa'
twcntyone years old. l2il South For
ty-nlnth street, Lucia Porter. twenty
wears old. $50 North Forty seycnih
street: Rebecca Smith. twenty years
old. 1903 Panama street, and Louise
Camac. seventeen years old. t35 iiD'
erty street, Camden. y. j.
The bodies OF the five girls were not
found until nearly twenty four hours
after the fire started. Burned TO a
crisp. and IN some cases iismemberoi.
The bodies were almost unrccosniz'
able. but they were identified by jew
elry and other articles
All these bodies were discovered A.
the foot Of the stairway on the third
floor. They were piled in a heap 10.
gether. and the suppogiuon is that
ono or them fen or tainted I'm IN" rush
downstairs. and tao others stumbled
over her and were unable 10 rise.
The dead girls are believed 20 have
lost their lives In an effort 20 save
their hats and coats Three Of their
comrades said that when the rush Tor
escape began Luela Porter AMI Re
becca Smith ran into the cloak room
on the fourth floor. crying that they
we're going to get their hats and coa'5
The other three young women ran mp
to another dressing room on the sixth
floor. That was the last seen o. any
OF them.
While the exact origin of tho bleze
is not known and may never be def
ritcly determined. George S. Sher-
wood. a member OF the frm has a
theory that it was due 60 spontaneous
combustion
Recently" said Mr. Sherwood I'VE
got IN a lot Of cotton warm for the
interior Of cheaper caske's and This
yarn was stored on the fourth floor
in bins and boxes. There might have
been spontaneous CONFUSION among
this: I can't imagine any other cause.
The electric Hight system had inst
been inspected and was in perfect con
iitlon. There was no fire above the
first floor, and there were strict orders
against smoking. don't know II
there was a radiator near the yarn or
rot
The building and lis contents were
not fully insured. but what worries
me more than the monetary loss is the
death OF the i've girls We always
took every precaution to safeguard
our employees from fire"
The girls who were seen al the fac
tory corrob0 ated this They declared
that ,he fire tower Afforded q safe ave
nue. of escape. and said that II all the
employees had used II there would have
been no trouble The foreman they
added, threw open the door to this
tower and called on all the girls to go
cut that way. but some Of them rushed
down the stairs.
The fire swept through the build
ing with remarkable rapidity. and In
few minutes the upper floors fell
crushing all who attempted to escape
by the stairway.