New-York tribune., 1910-07-30
SAVE 81 HORSES At FIRE
Department of Street Cleaning
Station Provides Spectacle.
POLICE MAKE BIG ROUNDUP
Hotels and Apartment Houses
Emptied Into Great Crowd
Attracted by Blaze.

A spectacular fire. caused by defective
insulation on the third floor, burned out
the three top floors of the five story build
ing No. 219 TO 223 West 77th street last
night. The building was occupied a
stable and district station by the Depart
ment of Street Cleaning. The damage will
amount TO about s25, coo
The fire was discovered simultaneously
by f1remen attached to Hook and Ladder 25
and Engine Company "a, quartered at No.
207 West Tth street. and by Patrolmen
Kear. of the West 6Sth street station. and
BIass. of Traffic Precinct C. The fremen
left their quarters after turning In regu-
lar alarm. Each of the patrolmen sent In
alarm from neighboring fire boxes. Am
balances were called from the Flower and
}. Hood Wright hospitals.
BY the time the fireTnen reached the
building from the nearby fire house flames
had eaten through most Of the third floor
and had caught the ceilings. The men
turned several streams of water on the
worst part of the blaze, but made little
headway. Other apparatus came from
time to time but by the time the last en-
third to the fourth story. Under direction
of Chief Croker the mer turned their at
tention to keeping the flames from reach
ing the fifth floor. but they were unsuc-
cessful and the roof was burned through.
When the alarm was first turned in pa
trolmen from the West 6Sth street station
hurried TO the building and they irnme-
diately entered to rescue eighty-one horses
quartered inside. They ran to the base
ment- where some of the animals were,
and succeeded in getting them up a run
way to the street level, where they were
driven out by the liberal Of the Off
GERS nightsticks. Then the rescUers ran
upstairs to the first floor and got out
number of horses quartered there These
ANNALS were also driven to the street in
safety
When they got out of the stable the
horses ran in all directions. Owing TO the
small number of policemen. the animals
got some distance from the building before
a roundup was started. led by Frederick
Steinbuck night foreman of the stable,
and Frederick HaIzman, his assistant
With the exception of five, all of the horses
were caught.
In the rear of the building is the Wick
life an apartment house The superin-
tendent and employees ripped away all
the rear awnings when sparks threatened
to set them afire. Next door employees OF
the Metropolitan Garage were kept busy
running out automobiles and taxicabs-
The place was not threatened The blaze
was seen by tenants Of the Hotel Belle
claire, at Broadway and nth street. and
the Hotel Ansonia 74th street and Broad
way Many of them viewed it from the
hotels. while others joined the crowd OF
persons which caused the reserves of the
West 6Sth street station considerable
trouble.
Among those early al the fire were Deputy
Commissioner Scott of the Street Cleaning
and Henry o. Wolter, chief
veterinarian, who saw that the rescued
horses were given quarters in Stable B, in
West SD street, near Tenth avenue
When the fremen finished their work after
over an hours hard fighting it was found
hat a quantity OF broOms and hay and
several small wagons stored IN the build
ng had been destroyed. When the fire
started William Stackpole, the district SUI
oerintendent with nine hostIers, was in
he buildings, as we'll as Steinbuck and
Holman They got out In safety. The
stable was known as Station K The two
op floors were used for the storage of hay
and supplies.