Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-12-07

; Mrs Emma Woods, of ss Summit
street, and Miss Matilda Doege, of 55
Beech street, Arlington, the first two
to leave the top floor by way of the
stairway, gave it as their opinion that
all of the girls could have escaped
had they not gone to the far end of
the room to get their wraps from the
lockers.
Doege, who died at the City Hospital
Sunday. making the twenty fifth vic
tim of the disaster.
The Alarm of Fire.
Miss Maibauer in her recital of her
escape said: II was at work at my
machine about in the centre of the top
floor when l saw Miss Haag so rapidly
to the stairway. In a moment she
came back and raising her hands for
attention said: Girls, get out of the
building; there is a fire on the third
floor
There was a stampede at once, but
Miss Haag did everything possible to
quiet it. Some of the girls rushed for
the stairway, some to the rear fire.
escape, but most of them went to the
front escape. There was an awful
crush and great excitement prevailed
up to this time there had been but
little smoke of the fourth floor, but
1t soon commenced to pour up the
stairway so rapidly that it was impos-
sible to breathe. One by one the girls
managed to get out of the window and
onto the fire-escape and then came the
flames 1t was then that the girls
commenced to jump from the windows
but [ personally did not see any of
them leap
IT climbed out of the window, and
as l did looked back into the room.
1t was black with choking smoke and
could hear girls screaming. When /
got down to the third floor 1 heard
someone say, Miss Haag has jumped,
and when / got to the sidewalk saw
her lying on the sidewalk.
Went Back for Cont.
Miss Haag must have gone back
for her street clothes, for the last time
1 saw her in the factory she did not
have on her coat. When I saw her
put into the ambulance In the street
she bad it on
The first of the survivors to be called
was Mrs. Emma Woods. In her testi-
mony she said: THE first we knew OF
the fire was when Miss Haag came
running up the stairs and called out:
Girls, get out of the building at once.
There Is fire on the third floor 1
rushed to the stairway and started
down. / noticed that the door which
was always kept locked was open and
hooked back With me was Matilda
Doege We had not waited to get our
clothes from the locker and were the
first to reach the street from the top
floor"
In answer to question by Mr.. Mott,
Mrs Woods said there was no fire ap
paratus on the street when she reached
the sidewalk, but that she had passed
one or two firemen on the stairs as
she was coming down. Mrs. Woods
said she left the scene of the fire and
did not see any of the girls jump from
the fourth floor.
Practically the same testimony was
given by Matilda Doege, except that
she said II stopped for just an in
stant to look for my sister, but when
/ did not see her I started down the
stairs There was little smoke to be
seen at that time | caught hold of
Miss Haag at the head of the stair
but she shook me off aid said; Won go
on. l have got to stay here.
Corroborate Testimony.
Other survivors to give the same
testimony were Emma Miller, Susie
Kapler and Elsie Lucking, the latter a
remarkably pretty 15-year-old girl,
living at 277 Fourteenth avenue, who
talked so rapidly that Stenographer
Walter w. Ressland almost gave up
his job in despair. Both these wit
nesses made it plain that Miss Haag
had first gone down stairs, unlocked
the door and hooked it back and then
returned to the top floor.
How Girls Met Death.
After hearing the testimony of these
witnesses all of whom said they did
not wait to get their street clothes be-
fore fleeing the burning building. Prose-
(COntfuued ON Second PaRel