The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-03-25
Building Occupied by Furniture
Company in Chicago Catch
es Afire and the Workers
Were Trapped.
HELPLESS CROWD SAW
VICTIMS MEET DEATH
Majority of Those Burned to
Death Were Women-In-
dignant People Take Lad
derS From Slow Firemen.

Chicago. March 25.-Twenty or
more girls and three men. according
to estimates of the firemen and en-
ployes, were burned to death today in
a fire which destroyed the six story
building of the L. Fish Furniture COM
pany, corner Wabash and Nineteenth
streets. Five dead bodies Of girls
have been recovered and one jumped
to her death from the sixth story,
striking a steel awning. The flames
trapped the girls at the windows
where they were screaming for help
after the stairway escapes had been
cut off and the elevator put out Of
commission. The immense crowd was
unable to offer assistance and saw the
girls drop back from the windows into
the flames. Isaac Fish, proprietor.
said that seventy-five girls were in
the building when the fire broke out.
Fish siames Firsmen.
Fish claimed the loss of life could
have been prevented II the firemen
had raised the ladders from the roof
OF the ad1oining three story building
Indignation among the spectators
spurred them to seize the ladders
from the firemen and they attempted
to raise them to windows. but they
were driven back by the firemen
After hasty investiGAtion Chief
Hufan declared that the ffremen were
not to blame. as they did everything
possible but were hindered by the
crazy actions of the members of the
firm, who became panic stricken.
Oils, varnishes and other highly in
fiamable material caused the fire to
spread with incredible rapidity.
Brutal Actions Charged. ..
Many spectators said that life nets
would have saved most IL not all of
these victims. Crazed by fire behind
her one girl, Miss Ethel Lictenstein,
hung out of the fifth floor window for
fully half an hour while the firemen
made not the slightest attempt to res
cue her. according to eye witnesses.
Some Of the crowd made a rush and
captured a long extension ladder from
the fire truck, put it against the side
of the building and attempted to climb
up to rescue the girl. They were
driven away by the firemen, who took
the ladder down and threatened them
with arrest
Several times the crowd attempted
to seize the ladder, but each time the
firemen drove them away. Finally the
firemen put up an extension which
broke the window just under which
Miss Lictenstein hung. A dense vol.
ume of smoke poured out in her face
and she lost her head and fell to the
pavement and to her death.
When Chief Horan of the first de.
partment, heard of the charges against
the firemen, he demanded an explana
tion of Battalion Chief O'Connor, the
first commanding officer to reach the
fire.
Gives an Explanation.
when we got there said O'Connor
81 saw several girls at the front win
dows of the store and I saw the girl
hanging from the ledge on the sixth
OIu "udl i WOulU uO again
under the circumstances. We tried
our best to get them up, but found i,
impossible. An immense steel avn
ing and a large sign in front of the
entrance prevented us from raising
them.
Il did my duty and I did it as I saw
it, and every man that was working
with me, did his too. When we go,
to the fire we were met by a mob tina,
not only did not help us, but by trying
to get US to do something that the,
thought ought to be done, they EN-
barrassed US and prevented us from
getting to work quickly. Fish acted
like a maniac