El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-01-09
S300,000,000 FIRE
IN new YORK CITY
CONTINUED from Page IL

upward through an elevator shaft, set
ting fire to the upper floor.
A general alarm was turned in
A gale sweeping through the streets
drove the flames through the building
from end to end. Within two hours, 1t
was mass of flames and the firemen
working to prevent the flames from
spreading TO surrounding buildings.
Fire Tugs Render Assistance.
Five alarms were turned in and fire
tugs from the North and East rivers
grouped themselves at a convenient
dock and pumped volumes Of water m
the building.
Three watchmen in the building he
roically remained TO fight the flames
with fire extinguishers, but they
were finally driven to the roof Fire
them and scaling ladders were run up.
Three Leap TO Death.
Rescuers got as high as the fourth
floor, when the Watchmen, their forms
outlined against the glare Of the flames,
were seen to kneel and pray and then,
as the corner Of the building on which
they were standing fell, they jumped
to the street.
The firemen on the scaling ladders
had difficulty in making their way
back to the streets.
Fire Chief Imprisoned.
Deputy fire chief William Walsh and
five firemen were caught when a sec
uon OF 1loor~ in an upper story gave
a window ledge from which they were
rescued by means Of a life line, but
Wnen they looked back chief Walsh had
disappeared in the smoking ruins. Com
missioner Johnson discovered William
Glblin, president, in the vaults Of the
Mercantile Safe Deposit company.
where he had gone in an attempt to
save some valuable papers.
Giblin was rescued after the firemen
had sawed through several steel bars.
rrrU q fl1Nn ar
Mr. Giblin was then taken to the
hudson street hospital He was very
weak, but in no immediate danger.
Priests Narrow Escape.
man pinned under a mass Of debris
near the vaults received the last rites
from father Mclean, Of the fire depart
ment- Father Mclean nearly lost his
life when administering the rites, the
firemen dragging him away just as
shower Of bricks and stones fell on the
spot where he had been kneeiing.
AS the firemen carried father Mclean
away, the dying man turned to him
and pityingly said:
For Gods sake. father. take me out
Of here. I am dying. Can't you get at
me?"
Two porters in the safe deposit com
pany were rescued from the basement
when the sidewalk caved in. They were
injured and removed to a hospital.
The fire was finally confined to the
Equitable building
Heat Is Intense.
The flames had the intensity OF
blast furnace. The heavy floors Of the
building buckled under the white heat
and fell while the walls crumbled and
dropped piecemeal into the streets.
Parts Of the Brooklyn fire depart
ment was sent to aid in preventing the
spread Of the flames.
With the exception Of one insurance
building. the building of the Equitable
Life Assurance society had a greater as
sessed valuation than any other build
ing in the financial district, the fig
ures being So, 100, 000
Other occupants OF the Equitable
building besides the Hartman railroads
were the executive offices of the Vest
ern Maryland railroad, together with
the law offices OF Herbert Satterlee,
sOninlaw OF J. p Morgan, and AleXan-
der and Green
Railroad Loss Not Heavy.
The offices Of the Hartman lines
which were in the building were being
moved TO 165 Broadway. Everything
had been moved except the papers IN
the legal department Many valuable
records, including the autobiography
of E. H Hartman, we're there mad q
was believed that these and other val
liable records were destroyed.
President LOvett. Of the Hartman
lines, said that, as all Of the Union
and Southern Pacific securities held in
the treasury were kept outside the city,
the monetary loss 20 the railroads
would be small.