The evening world., 1911-04-10
LONE FIRE ESCAPE
At FATAL FACTORY
LED TO DEATH PEN
Five Feet Short Of Vault Lights
and in Pit Enclosed by Eight
Foot Fence.
LAWS WERE EVADED.
Engineer Tells Coroner's Jury
of Experts How i44 Lives
Were Sacrificed.

me AVN Bt1infnH, scene or the Tfs
on March q vticre ~ employees OF tho
Triangle Shirt waist Company ios,
their lives. was built IN evasion of tho
building laws. according to the testi-
engineers and real estate opera tors on
Coroner Hohzhauser's jury at the In
quest which began to-day.
The law, when the building was
erected. In 1901. required three stair
ways for a building of its size, but the
Building Department accepted a death
trap flre-escape running into a sJurt-
yard ~ n modification Of the law,
Did the plans comply with the law
when they were filed ?" asked Foreman
Conover Of Engineer wischerman. who
had surveyed the building for the Cor
oner two days after the fire.
They did not answered the witness.
In what respect" asked the foreman.
They did not provide sufficien. stair
rays. The law was that for the first
ZOO square feet OF a loft buildings area
there should be one stairway: for tho
next 800. another. and a third for ad-
diuonal area up to 1000 feet.
The Asch Building has only two stair
ways ana a fire escape running into the
courtyard"
This one fre-escape that was provided
for the safety OF the several thousand
men and women employed In the twelve
stories Of the building led directly 10
death. Engineer wischerman swore
that h nre-escape ran through "a
narrow a~ir-courf. and endel ahrintly
hve feet above the glass flooring OF the
court. On one side tho courtyard was
hclosed by a wall $ feet 4 81 inches high
And topped py q picket Fence 3 feet ]
men hish'
HI moor OF the court was the sky
light OF the ground moor. On tbs three
other sides or the courtyard were
WINDOWS leading back Into the building.
and all but three OF these windows
were barred.
10 get out or thIs court IL would Do
necessary e'tner 70 ciinio over the
snarp picRets or preak throush ths
Tow uhoarred
Plans NOT NOW Acceptao'e.
The witness was sure that these plans
would not he accepted now. The pres
NV .' ''N
Independent hre escapes. with indepen-
dent exits to the street. either through
the yard or adjoining yards. but never
through the building proper.
twelve unusually quaiinod JURORS
were sworn ny coroner hoitznauser
In opening the omclai probe into tho
disaster. All may De termed experts
for the investigation OF conditions tnat
leo To the appalling loss OF ire
Inc jurors are FRANK = CohoVet'
oui'oeF' NO i' West Eishty-sevs"'"
street. FOREMAN ueh' oharies sooy-
smith, consuming engineer NO. u
James a. Mchim' architect,
OF Mckim Meade O. White. No . East
seventy-fourth street; Whiam Z. Tuck
er, civil engineer. NO. loo Fifth avenue:
william winter. Merchant NO. 2io'
BroadWay; GEORGE j.. iiilI, civil en-
gineer. No. 100 Firth avenue; John j.
Clancy. real estate, No. 1867 Broadway
Simon ii. Raphael. real estate. No. bol
Fifth avenue. George +. Archer. civil
engineer. No. 20 Cortlandt street. Henry
NJ. Brande. real estate. No, 3is7 Broad
way. Frank A. Brady. merchant. No
l2l Worth street: George W. Garland
automobiles, No. 15 broadway.
These tnlesmen were selected from a
list OF ~forty-Hve merchants, engineers
and architects, who. with one execution
expressed their willingness TO serve
n~otwithstandIng the great personal sac,
riAces entailed. In this. they declared
they were moved by the imperatiy. nest
for taking every possible means 10 pre.
y ven, the recurrence OF similar trapadias
The ,nouest was conducted hv ASH.
: ,ant Distrlc,. A,,ornsv. po.,u.cl an,
pnhon who anaonao.s .h., - -,
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