Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1911-03-31
al PERISH IN FIRE
SCORES OF EMPLOYEES DIE BY
JUMPING FROM BURNING
ShIRTWAIST FACTORY.
OTHERS KILLED IN PANIC
Victims Crash Through Life-Saving
Nets Held by Rescuers or Are
Trampied to Death in Rush to
Escape.

New York-One hundred and forty
one people, mostly women and young
girls, were killed In a ire Whlcn
burned out the ten-story factory at
the northwest corner of Washington
place and Greene street Saturday.
The building was occupied by a
number of factories, and at least
| 1,5OO persons we're at work when the
| fire started.
The victims were either burned to
death or were crushed into lfeless
forms on the pavements when they
leaped to escape the swift rush OF ire
which quickly enveloped the building.
| One hundred and thirty-four bodies,
were taken from the ruins and OF the
scores injured seven died in hospitals
and many more are in a dying condl-
ton.
The search of the ruins is not COM
pletc and it is expected that other
bodies will be reached.
Not since the burning of the excur-
| sion steamer General Slocum, OF
! North Brothers island in 1904, when
1920 persons persisted, has the city
been SO excited by a fire horror.
It was the most disastrous fire in
the history Of the city.
At least fifty of the victims were
killed by leaping from the windows of
the seventh floor, and floors above
Many persisted in the flames on up
per floors, remaining, afraid to leap
until the fire surrounded them.
Although the fire started on the
eighth floor, it spread eventually to
the basement and Quilted the whole
building The blaze started in a mo-
| tor in the cutting room of the Tri-
angle Waist company, on the eighth
floor. This concern occupied the up
per three floors of the building.
Joseph Devontry, a Brooklyn auto
mobile dealer, who was passing the
building when the fire started, says
that it was IL minutes after the alarm
was turned in before there was a
stream of water on the blaze.
By that time there were 80 dead on
the sidewalks. The scele was sick
ening. With wild shrieks the girls
leaped from the windows, and, above
the din and roar Of the flames, their
bodies struck the street and sounded
like claps of thunder.
The extension ladders of the fire.
men reached only to the seventh floor.
The f1remen we're unable to get above
that with scaling ladders because Of
the intense heat and the dense smoke
pouring from the upper windows.
Unable to reach the upper floors,
the firemen resorted to the use of life
nets. In most instances the nets
proved to be worthless. Some of
them broke under the pressure of a
single body Others were torn by
two or more persons alighting in
them at the same time. One net was
lying in the street after the fire with
six bodies tangled in it.
Grocery wagons and even pushcarts
we're pressed into service to get the
wounded people, most Of whom were
young girls, to drug stores and hos
pitfalls Stores in the neighborhood
were turned into temporary morgues
when it was seen that the death list
was likely to reach a hundred or
more.
The first dead bodies were taken to
! the Mercer street police station, and
few moments later a crowd of rela-
tives and friends Of girls who had
been employed in the burning build
ing stormed that place and were kept
! back with the greatest difficulty
| A great crowd gathered around the
| scene of the fire. Factories in the
neighborhood were soon emptied of
their employees. Thousands of hys-
terical girls ran through the street
weeping and tearing their hair.
City officials announced that the
usual rigid investigation which fol-
lows such disasters will be instituted
at once.
This calamity is just what l have
| been predicting" said Chief Croker.
There were no outside fire escapes
on this building. I have been advo-
eating and agitating that fire escapes
be put on buildings just such as this.
This large loss Of life is due to this
| neglect"
The police say that the fire is the
sixth or seventh in the building with
in IL months, all Of which, they say,
| occurred in the shirtwaist factory.
The factory, incidentally, is said to
be the first in which operators struck
during the widespread shirtwaist
strike settled several months ago.
By this disaster the total of shirt
waist operators who have persisted in
New York and vicinity recently is
raised to nearly two hundred. Not
many weeks ago % girls met death
under somewhat similar circum-