The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-09
Especial from United Pre-


 Special from United Press.
 New York. Jan. 9.-Six. men -are known to be dead and property var sons estimated at from S1,0Oo. 900 to $2o.0o0, GOO has been destroyed in a fire which. in three hours. today. totally destroyed the mammoth build ing of the, Equitable Life Assurance Society, commonly known as I20 Broadway. but occupying nearly all of a block bounded by Broadway, Pine. Cedar ard Nassau streets. in the very heart Of the greatest financial center of the world. It was the most spec tacular fire in the history of New Ydrk
 The real property loss may not be known for weeks or until the debris has been sufficiently cooled to permit an extended examination of the great znce Society, the Mercantile branch of the Bankers Trust Company and other great financial institutions in Fire Battalion Chief william K walsh fs missing and believed to have been killed. four men are reported dcwk while tvor others died in the first floor of the building. How many others died it is impossible to learn
 .Tf1s reported dead: Battalion Fire Chief W1fiur1 K. walsh. Conrad Sefz harts special policeman, Guisseppe Gemtf. porter, John Savzi, porter, John Eampeon, captain of vaults. ufifdentf- fed porter, unidentified citizen.
 It ts believed that all the valua ables are saS ed from the vaults of the Equltahie Trust Company.
 FIremen's Heroic Work
 The fife was accompanied by won derfuE rescues and heroic work on the part of the fitemen, who worked in 1Aa. cakes of ice forming on their cloth ing So dangerous did the blaze be- come that five poroush'' alarm. oNn NsE ork ctS was 0s nss ouRded sPpirat" at o'clock, by Fire Chief Keplon, the first tfme such an alarm ever was rung in New York
 For a time it was feared the fire would extend across the narrow can yt,ssS and start a Sl<y6craper con 1iagration that would, have been the
 The suffering of the fremen. ae- corolng 70 Ken on, was Ine greatest he had ever seen. Men came from the blazing building literally caked in fec which formed on their clothing az the mist from the streams poured about them Dozens were overcome. their faces cut by falling ice.
 One of First Skyscrapers.
 - The building. one of the first sky scrapsrs, built in America, was eight stories tall in portions and I2 stories in. others It was erected at a total cost of S14.0OO.000 and has been a s shay place. of the financial district for Ehany years.
 Of the six known dead are four the fifth story window within 20 min utes after the fire was discovered each being crushed to death as he landed in Broadway. Their bodies gue. A fourth man who prepared to. jump with them fell back into the Conrad Seibert. a special policeman, was found on the first floor, fright fully crushed.
 According to President Day, of the of that company had recently been moved to the Hazen Building and, therefore. are saved Only tho execu- tive and financial offices remained in fl1e home office building
 The fire was discovered at 5:20 o'clock this morning. and spread with such a frfghtfuf rapidity through the sEabyrintfs and mazes of the i'm fnense structure that, by 8 o'clock the entire building was doomed and had been practically destroyed. z At 9s30 o'clock, only the bare walls Of the Equitable Building stood and police reserves were driving back for the tons of water that had seeped through cracks in the building were freezing and the walls were shaking as m rocked by high explosives. OS&ANbcu Esn2luc ttOOm.
 The fire was, discovered in the en- zine room in the basement of the building, at the corner of Pine street The flames were sucked up through ghe air shafts and spread quickly Throughout the building. By the time the dremen arrived, from six blocks away. the entire building was burning nerceIy. every floor being on fire with flames shooting from hundreds of Windows on all four sides of the mann noth structure
 2 Then began the task of fighting the most spectacular and destructive fire New York has ever with essed. Three sides of the building were bounded by streets that elsewhere would be called alleys. Rising on all sides were i'm nense skyscrapers. forming great canyons with walls of granite and znsrble- Even if they stood with their backs against the buildings on the opposite side of the streets, the fire men could mot approac ch to within 90 see- of the fire which ragged about shem.
 Water Freezes Leaving Hose
 Alarms followed alarms until three ahousand fipemen were fghting-and sDfKerings A sudden drop in the tenn perature ca used the water to freeze as tt left the hose. Descending mist and steam fell upon the firemen and