New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-09-13
THOUSANDS SEE BIG
BRONX FACTORY BLAZE
Captain Hughes SCorched in
ReSCulng an Unconscious
Woman.
ALL BUT TWO HORSES SAVED
Valuable Lumber Destroyed
and Many Poor Families Made
Temporarily Homeless in
Spectacular Fire.

| 9PSCbdS OlsI1 IL
| Thousands Of persons saw a spectacu-
| lar fire last night which totally de-
/ stTOyed the plants OF the Van Nest Sash
and Door Company and the Bronx Win
/ dow and Sash Company in the Van Nest
| section OF The Bronx and badly dam
age seven of a row of ten two-story
frame houses A woman living in one
| OF them had a narrow escape from
Ceath. Besides doing damage TO the
| lumber yard and houses estimated at
| more than S250.000. the fire burned hun
dreds of dollars worth of lumber stored
near the buildings
Patrolmen Crank and Burke of the
/ West Chester police station, riding by
the sash and door company's yard,
which faces in Adams street between
! Walker and Commonwealth avenues,
/ saw smoke coming from a window in the
firms Office building, a five story wooden
structure. They sent in an alarm.
The first company TO respond was Van
Nest Volunteer Hose Company ?.
While the volunteers were hitchtng up
pair OF horses borrowed from livery
stable the old fire bell. used in Van
Nest when the section was a separate
village was rung- It attracted instant
attention. and almost the entire town
followed the hose cart to the fire
Soon after the arrival of the Van Nest
crew regular city firemen arrived. A
second ard a third alarm was sent in
Chief Croker responded on the third
He found the Van Nest Woodworking
Company's plant mass of flames, and
the fire already laying hold upon the
seven rwo-story frame dwellings from
No 1872 10 1924 Adams street.
The factory is in a hollow fully fifty
feet below the level of the bounding
thoroughfares and is of triangular
shape Piles of lumber seventy-fve feet
in height and covering ground for hun
bred or more feet in all directions around
the Van Nest Woodworking Company's
factory were burning with all the fury
OF a furnace. and a deluge of sparks
vas being whirled aloft and then
showered upon the twenty buildings in
Van Buren, street. which backed UP on
the burning houses on Adams street.
Deputy Chief Ahearn sent f1renen TO
the roofs of the Van Buren, street houses,
and fresh streams Of water were played
on the Adams street houses.
The families living in them, mostly
Italians. fed to the street, struggling I'M
der heavy loads of household furniture
and vaIua bles The women were panic
stricken and ran about in all directions.
striving to get back TO their rooms for
more property. They We're finally quieted
bv policemen sent from the fremont.
Wakefield and West Chester police sta
tons
The fronts and roofs of the seven cot
tages were the worst burned. They were
built practically in the yard of the com
panv. and close to the plants Firemen
ana1Iv got enough water on them to save
them from complete destruction
HuqFes Rescues Woman.
At No 1914 Adams street Mary Kane.
rhirtv-ffve years old. was rescued from
possible death by Captain Hughes of
Engine Company 81, stationed in
T-nionport. one Of the woman's neigh
bors told the police and Hughes that the
woman had not been seen. Hughes ran
into the house while it was af1re- He
found the woman unconscious, over
come nv smoke. He carried her 70 the
open air. where she was treated by DR.
Hoey. called from Fordham Hospital
The surgeon next dressed burns on the
fir captains face and arms.
Before the arrival of the fire appara tus
and police reserves from the eight pre-
cincts in The Bronx there were several
rescues-
Aaron Sercta. Of No. 1914 Adams
street. had succeeded in carrying out his
wife who had been overcome by smoke
on the top floor of their home. Mrs.
Sercta was treated by DIR. Carey and
taken 10 Fordham Hospital
Isaac Friedman. of No. 1913 Adams
street. rescued his wife, who was over
come by smoke in their home
SAVING the Horses.
In a stable close by were ten horses be
longing 10 the sash firm. Policemen and
Ilovd Howes. of No. 1913 Common
wealth avenue. went to the rescue of the
horses. The stable was af1re, and the
smoke was so thick that the men had
10 run for air several times. They got
eight Of the ten animals out in safety.
Two OF them were burned TO death in
their stalls.
The fire was watched by the girls and
bovs attending the Catholic Protectory.
which stands about a quarter of mile
from the burned factories. and could be
seen plainly all over The Bronx.
With every car arriving near il and on
foot came people from all over the up
per parts OF the city. The police re-
serves had TO handle a crowd OF about
6ftv thousand persons. who remained to
watch until the blaze was under control, |
about TWO hours and d half after 1t
ufa