The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-10
AMERICAN KILLED
 IN LONDON FIRE Severe Disaster Narrowly Averted in Hotel Blaze MANY CLOSE ESCAPES Hotel Carlton Catches Fire in Ele- yator Shaft and American Actor
 Is Asphyxiated in His
 Bathroom
MANY CLOSE ESCAPES

ney the American actor, Is believed 10 have perished tonight in fire which destroyed a portion of the Carlton ho- tel, where he was a guest. He has not been seen since the fire and roll call of the hotel staff shows that none
 of it's members is missing. The body was found in the bathroom,
 adjoining Mir F'inney's room, in the l fifth floor of the annex. The face was
 so badly charred that the features were
 unrecognizable. Apparently MT. Finney had gone into the bathroom to bathe
 before dressing and was asphyxiated.
 The body was removed to the morgue
 later in the evening.
 This death was only one resulting
 from the fire, which, however, was at
 tended by exciting scenes and consid- erable loss to the building through fire and water.
 A large number of American guests escaped from the hotel, but lost their baggage. identified the charred body as that or Jameson Lee Finney, the American actor.
 The Carlton is one of the fashionable resorts and many Americans are among it's guests Of the 200 persons staying at the hotel when the fire broke out, many were from the United Statr, ana while all had narrow escapes, none eA- eept MT F1nney. suffered any injury.
 The fire was confined mainly to that end of the hotel adjoining his majesty theatre and the fifth and sixth foofs, which were gutted. Part Of the rooi also was destroyed. Only the hardest work by firemen saved the hotel and theatre.
 Damage by water is greater than that done by the fire. Most of the in. terior of the buildins was thoroughly soaked. The manager of the hotel safd the hotel was not badly damaged and will resume business Immediately.
 The alarm was sounded at ' o'clock while most of the guests were dressing for dinner. The blaze started in the eie- vator shaft from the fusing of an elee-' trie wire and roared so threateningy that the people poured out into the streets leaving all their baggage Men In thelr underclothing, with overcoats over them, and women half-dressed, fled the aulld- ing.
 Bremen arrived quickly and ran up their ladders and rescued a number or servants who, from the upper windows, were shrieking for help. They also car ried out two invalid guests.
 The upper floor, where most of the damage by fire was done, was given over mostly to servant quarters. Compara- lively few guests lost their baggage The salvage corps removed trunks ana pags and piled them in the streets.
 Many Americans who had been staying at the Carlton sailed for home on the Olympic today, but incoming steamers had brought new guests and majority pr the 200 in the hotel were Americans. Most of the guests had returned to the hotel after a round of sightseeing 10 dress for dinner. The alarm caught them in every condition of undress. A L. Pratt of New York, with his wife, occupied a room on the top floor. After the fire MT. Pratt said; q was looking out of the window and saw a crowd in the street and reckonei there must be a fire somewhere. Sud denly volumes of smoke burst into my room and the alarm began to ring. Sparks were falling about I. was dressing for dinner and grabbed my coat and hurried Mrs Pratt into the street. We saved nothing"
 Mrs. C. Shippy and son, and Miss Jessie Gardiner of Chicago had just time to leave their room in the scantiest attire and lost all their luggage, which the porters had only moment before depos- tied in their rooms Among other guests they were sent in cabs to other hotels be- longing to the company that owns the Carlton.
 James R. Keene, the we'll known New York financier and horseman, was one of the coolest victims of the fire. He was sitting in his room when the alarm rang and calmly walked downstairs lighting a cigar and then stood on the sidewalk and watched the progress of the ! Ff. l.. he -lv ley hotel, where he spoke of his exper- fences as mere incident. He did not even inquire whether his baggage had been saved.
 James Purroy Mitchell. president of the board of aldermen of New York, was asleep In his room but Mrs. Mitchell who was in an adjoining room, awakened him they quickly made their exit from the building Late tonight MT. Mitchell was trying to find his baggage in order to make a change of apparel. Both he and Mrs. Mitchell took their experiences good naturedly and spent the evening in their wet clothes. taking notes of how the London fremen handle a big outbreak.
 Among other Americans in the hotel when the fire broke out who lost all or most of their baggage and some of whom only had time to don few clothes were F. w. and c. c. Woolworth of New York! R. W. Daniels of Philadelphia, J. P Scott of Chicago, George Parpuy of Pittsburg. F. D. Harvey of Baltimore. H. F.. Gurben and F. w. Brother of Mexico Barton French of Baltimore, ex- Governor Brown and son of Maryland, John Greenway and party of Bisbee, Ariz
 ], One of the features of the fire was the bravery of the Americans. What little 1 panic and excitement existed was among employees of the hotel chiefly, the conti-
 mental women in the servants quarters,
 screaming at the top of their voices. l John Greenway of Arizona took two
 women and a boy down a fire escape while R. W. Daniels slid down rope to l the street from the third floor with an l English friend who was visiting him.
 Thomas Edison was staying at the 1 Carlton but was out when the fire oc- l cured.