New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-03-27

the irc escapes. therefore, We Wouo "i'
sist upon n freproof passage from the
court at the foot Of the fire escapes &c
The street Evidently the condition n
this building met the approval OF the
Building Department when it was erect
or in 1900.
when 7 investigated the building
found the structure all right. EXCEPT to'
the !intcls on the top floor ard some til
irg which had been destroyed. There
we're fire escapes. because all loft build
ines must have them 4"
Safety by tho Roof Was Possible.
An examination Of the building yes
tcrGav showed that If those employed on
the three floors which were burned could
have rot 10 the roof there would have
been no loss of life. The roof was not
damaged In any way. The two SKY
tights were destroyed by the heat from
below. but the roof showed no marks ex-
cept a few pools Of water on tho cement
and gravel covering. while half dozen
marks on the bricks Of the building adj
ioining in Greene street showed where
solne OF the girls who escaped to the
roof made their way to the next build
ins over the top Of the shaft Of the
freight elevator and up a ladder Of half
dozen steps.
| The floors below the ones burned were
dripping with water and desks and
stock were covered with tarpaulins but
there was no sign of the fire having
| reached below the eighth floor. where It
started The walls and windows of the
adjoining buildings. however, showed
, the terrific heat that they had had 10
endure. The bricks were scorched and
the paint scaled of, while the glass OF
windows that had been protected by
heavy iron shutters was melted and the
shutters were twisted into fantastic
forms that never would suit again 70
save the windows.
Across the narrow court on the west
the iron shutters Of the library of the
New York University Law School were
hanging twisted and torn from their
hinges. while the glass Of the windows
was gone and books. shelves and chairs
were all scorched and SCARED by the
terrible heat from the flames that mad
not penetrated the building.
Shows How Victims Were Caught.
But II was on the three floors through
which the flames swept with such rear
full rapidity that the signs were all about
of the way in which the girls and men
had been penned in and held to meet
their death in the fire or jump to an
equally terrible death on the stone pave
ment more than hundred feet below.
on the west side Of the building were
two passenger elevators and next to
them was a narrow inclosed stairway
two and a half feet wide This stairway
was unlighted and ended at the top
floor. There was no egress from 1t TO
the roof, though the shaft penetrated the
roof. where it was covered by a light
metal skylight. Next to this shaft on
the roof was the shaft Of the passenger
elevators, and it was over the two shaft
coverings that many Of those who es-
capped climbed with the aid Of the stu
dents OF the Law School.
TIE walls Of the stairway shaft were
unscorched and unmarked by any sign
of fire, except Immediately around the
doors. where, as the fire burned its way
through the doors. the whitened walls
had been blackened for two or three feet
only. The fire had not entered the
stairway shaft One pane of glass in the
skylight over the shaft had been broken
by the boot Of one of the girls in climb
ing 10 safety on the Law School roof,
and around this hole there was q slight
smudge. showing where visp OF smoke
had made its way through the cracks Of
the doors and drifted up the shaft as
through chimney.
Factory Hose Not Put to Use.
Hanging beside each door in the shaft
was roll Of fire hose. untouched on
the ninth floor only had the hose been
takens from its hanging. and that II vas
not thrown down until after the fire vas
out was shown b. the white wall under |
the place 81 the hose. contra ted with |
the scorched condition Immediately |
around IT, showing plainly how the roll |
Of hose had protected the wall during
the fire.
IN no instance 1as the hose attached |
20 the standpipe system with which the /
building was provided a careful exami-
nation on all the floors showed that the |
hose hung beside the standpipe and the |
for use. while the doors were closed be- !
tween the hose and those whom II might
have saved
The doors 70 the stairway shaft had |
been burned and aftervard torn from
their hinges. bvt the doors 70 the two
passenger elevators still stood intact.
The wire glass panels we're broken and |
melted. but on two of the floors the |
glass was still in such condition that
the name Of the firm could be read upon
II. The doors TO rhe right hand elevator
were tightly closed on all three OF the
burned floors. and the doors to the left
hard elevator were closed on both the
eighth ard the tenth floor II was evil
dent that no one had escaped from
either the eighth or the tenth floors by
the passenger elevators
Shows Frenzy That PrevaieJ.
On the ninth floor the door Of the left
10 IN 'l"Ndlol NtS open, ana tne ole-
vator az the bottom Of the shaft showed
for what terrible purpose Il had been
torn open The two elevators stood az
the bottom Of the shaft the right hard
one sunk partly below the floor level and
the left hand one. With the door onen
and tho iron top broken through as
though I, had been bur model OF paper.
was evidence Of the desperate leap
through the >ne,a DIOR on, The 4 H.