The Penn's Grove record., 1912-01-12

New York.-The Equitable Life AS
a Society's b~lock-square build
ing at No. 120 Broadway was destroy
ed by a fire that caused the death of
at least six persons, tied up the bust
ness Of the Stock Exchange and sew
eral banking houses and gave the Fire
Department of the city the most siren
uous task of the last half century.
Fire Chief Kenlon declared, after a
late inspection, that the huge vaults
of the Equitable and those of the Mer-
camille Safe Deposit Company are in
tact and that their contents, estimated
at fully $500, O00, 900 in stocks, bonds,
negotiable securities and cash, jewels
and valuable articles, are secure from
any damage.
Those who met death in the fire
were:
FIRE BATTALION CHIEF WILL
LIAM WALSH, forty-fve years old,
veteran hero of many fires.
WILLIAM CAMPION, a Waterman,
employed by the Mercantile Safe De-
post Company.
FRANK j. NIEDER, also employed
by the Mercantile.
JOHN SAZZI, a kitchen helper in
the Cafe Savarin.
JOHN CONT, also employed in the
Cafe Sayarin.
MESSINA FRATTI, employed in
the building.
The origin of the fire was investigat-
ed by Fire Marshal Prial, but not
definitely ascertained beyond the fact
that the flames were first seen in the
rear of the Cafe Savarin, where sew
eral bakers were at work. The eleva-
tor shafts acted as chimneys, convey
ing the fire directly to the roof, the
flames mushrooming on several floors
so that in less than half an hour from
the time the, first alarm was turned in
at 5.34 A. M. the interior of the entire
building was in flames.
The value of the property destroyed,
from the point of view of cost, was at
least $4,000, 900, but owing to the fact
that the building itself, which cost be-
tween So, 100000 and 50, 000, 900 to con.
struct, has not been carried as an as
set on the books of the Equitable So
iety for the last three years the esti
mate of loss to property is reduced to
between 81, 900, 900 and ST. 900. The
land occupied by the Equitable Build
ing, in the WV of experts, will be in
trinsically more valuable without the
massive old-fashioned structure. A
huge ~skyscraper will undoubtedly
take the place of the building which
has been destroyed.
Chief Walsh died carried down by
a %collapsing floor as he was leading
his men upward toward the Lawyers
Club rooms.
In their struggle to obtain mastery
of the flames the firemen were handi
capped by the bitterly cold weather
the heavy gale that prevailed and low
water pressure.
Every available piece of fire ap
paratus in the city was brought to the
scene of the fire, in response to the
borough ALARM" the call which al
ways indicates a catastrophe. Every
fire company in Manhattan, below
Fifty-ninth street was rushed down
town, the companies above them be
ing moved down to take their places
while practically all the available ap
paratus in Brooklyn was summoned
and raced across the Brooklyn Bridge
the north roadway of which was closed
to all other traffic. 1t was the most
serious fire in a financial way, New
York had ever known.
The most thrilling incident of the
early stages of the fire was the kill
ing of three men who had fed to the
roof to escape the fire that was burn
ing fiercely beneath them. They were
seen on a cupola On the Cedar street
side of the building just when dawn
was breaking. Firemen in the street
yelled to them not to jump, and hur
ried away for scaling ladders. When
thy returned the men still were
there, holding out their arms appeal
ingly to those in the street below. The
firemen started up the Cedar street
side of the building on scaling lad.
ders, and were nearing the men when