The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-03-28
DIED In TRAP
HauJ Persons Are Crushed and Burned
in New York Factory

DEATH: TOLL is HEAVY
They Arc Caught without Means OF
Escape, Many Jump from Ninth
and 7vntf Stories -'Idaves Are
Crashea Out on FavsMeRt Before
Horriaed Spectators.
One. hundred and forty-eight per,
sons-nir e-tenths of them girls from
the East !sideAwere crushed totdeath
on the pavements, smothered by
smoke OF shriyelled crisp Saturday
afternoon in the worst fire New York
has known since the steamer Geseral
Slocum was burned of North Broth
ers Island, in 1904. ,l.~l. =; -
Nearly all, If not all, OF the VIC
tins we're employed by the Triangle
Waist Company, on the eighth, ninth
and tenth floors of a ten-story lof,
building, at No. % Washington
Place, on the western fringe Of the
downtown wholesale clothing, fW
and millinery district.
The partners of the Arm, Isaac
Harris and Mac Blanek, escaped from
the Office on the tenth floor, carrying
with them over an adjoining roof
Blanck's two young daughters and a
governess. There was not an outside
fire escape on the building. =.
How the fire started will perhaps
never be known. A corner on the
eighth floor was. its point Of origin
and the three upper floors only were
swept. Cn the ninth floor, fiftv bod
les were found, sixty-three or more
were crushed to death by jumping,
and more than thirty clogged the ele-
vator shafts. The loss to property
will not exceed 100000.
Pedestrians going home, through
Washington Place to Washington
Square, at ten minues to five, were
scattered by the whiz Of something
rushing through the air before them;
there was terrible thud on the
pavement and a body fattened on the
flags. Wayfarers on the opposite side
of the street shaded their eyes
against the setting sun and saw the
windows Of the three upper floors OF
the building black with girls crowd
ing to thu, stills. There were no FIRE
escapes.
No Other Alternative.
Don't jump; done jump!" yelled
the crowd, but the girls had 20 alter
native. The pressure of the mad
dened hundreds behind them and the
urging OF their own fears were too
strong. They began to fall to the
sidewalk, in a terrible rain Of flesh
and blood.
Four alarms were rung within IL
minutes. Before the engines coulu
respond. before the nets could be
stretched or the ladders raised. five
girls had fallen from the eighth ano
ninth floors so heavily that they
broke through the glnss and iron
roofs Of the sub-cellars and crashed
through The very streets into the
vaults below. In an hour The fire
was out: In half an hour 1t had done
its worst. Probably the death. lis,
was full in 20 minutes.
The building stands on a corner,
with exposure on two sides, but the
only fire escape was in the rear, op'
ening into light and air shaft. In
all, there were seven exits-the sin
gle fire escape, two freight elevators,
at the rear; two passenger elevators
in front, and two stairways. All OF
them proved almost useless and prac-
tically ell who escaped either
climbed TO the roof and scrambled
thence to the roof of the building oc.
cupied by the American Book Com
pany, or fed in the first rush for
safety before the crush and the
smoke grew too thick.
The buildings stand tonight with
shell intact and barely scarred-rath.
er only snludged. The tiling between
the floors are sound, and it is i'm
possible for one, who did not see 1t,
to imagine how the flames in so short
a time could have caused such havoc
Seven hundred persons were en-
ployed by the shirt waist company
They sat in rows at their whirring
machines. the tables before them
piled with fimsy cloth, the floor lit
tered with lint, the air itself full oil
flying inflammable dust.
Died in Their Seats.
The first rush of flame was almost
an explosion. Operators died in their
chairs, their lungs scared by inhallng
fame. Others were crowded into the
elevator shafts, after the cars had
made their last trip. Still others were
pushed OF the inadequate interior
fire escape.
In such a horrible stream did tho
bodies overflow from the windows
that the fire nets, stretched by the
first company to arrive, were soor
gorged beyond capacity. Twelve
bodies dropped into one net, tearing
it to pieces, then fell to the pave
ment.