Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1912-01-12
EQUITABLE LIFE
!. !. BUILDING BURNS
+" LOSS IN NEW YORK FIRE WILL
REACH FIFTEEN MILLION
DOLLARS.
7~IIVES LOST IN FLAMDS
Priceless Papers and Securities Are
Carried From the Vaults In Waste
Baskets.-Records Of the Com.
pany Are Preserved.


New York, Jan. 10.-Fire, which
started at 500 a. M, destroyed the
immense eight and twelve-story build
ing of the Equitable Life Assurance
society at 120 Broadway, entailing a
loss estimated at about $15,000,00O.
At least seven lives are lost.
Shortly after the fire got under
Roadway, three porters were seen in
the glare of the blaze, to leap from
flfth-story window. Tons of debris
fell Immediately upon the spot where
the bodies landed, and the firemen
have been unable to get near the
scene.
While the fire was raging several
officers of the Equitable Trust com
pany, escorted by tiremen and police
officers, entered the building on the
southeast corner and were successful
In opening the vaults. They put Sc
curities, money and legal papers val
ued at millions of dollars into waste
paper baskets and policemen carried
these to the vaults of the Hanover
Trust company. In this way the great
Equitable Trust company's vaults
wore emptied of all valuables.
:. William Pullion, one of the officers
,of the Mercantile Safe Deposit COM
Dany, announced that the vaults of
the company were intact and that no
losses would result to any clients.
Experts who manufactured the vaults
are at the fire, and they confirm Pull
hons statement
GibIin's Rescue Thrilling.
The most thrilling resuce ever seen
ut New York fire was that of Will
ham Giblin, president of the Mercan-
tile Safe Deposit company. in the
Equitable building. Giblin. driven out
Of the building twice by firemen, re-
turned the third time to rescue some
Of the priceless papers in his desk.
His egress was out off by the flames.
With two companions. whose names
were not learned. he retreated into an
empty safety deposit vault, closing the
door, but calling to the firemen
through grating.
Although tons of debris were falling
about them, and great flames licking
about them, 100 volunteer firemen,
answering a call for volunteers for
dangerous duty seized axes and crow
bars and fought their way to the
vaults smashing like madmen at the
grating to save the three men. Their
companions played water into the
vaults, submerging the imprisoned
men and covering the rescuers with
sheets of ice to keep them from burn
ing to death.
Father Mclean nearly lost his life
when administering the last rites to
the men imprisoned in the safe de-
post vault, the firemen dragging him
away just as shower OF bricks and
stone fell on the spot where he had
bean kneeling, in the street in front
Of the vault 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. am dying. Can't you get
ut me-"
For hours these heroes worked.
Finally the floors fell and Giblin, a
little man physically, and badly
burned dragged his unconscious or
dead companions onto the main floor
where few moments later, amid wild
cheers. the brave firemen fought their
way and dragged Giblin, dying, to the
street.
At the same hour part of the walls
Of the August Belmont building, at
Nassau and Cedar streets. fell in. Bel
mont himself. who had entered his Of
nce twice to rescue valuable paintings
from the walls. had been driven away
Q few minutes before by a policeman.
The big Equitable building was also
SfAe hoae ollthe Union and Southern
Pacific railways. the banking house of
August Belmont & Co., the Mercantile
Rnnkers Trust company, the Mercan.
tile Safe Deposit company and several
New York financial firms. Millions
upon millions of dollars in securities
and cash were cared for in the i'm
mense vaults of the Trust and Safe
Deposits company.
The fire was first discovered on the
ground floor of storeroom of the
Cafe Sarin and carried by draft of
ar shot upward through an elevator
shaft, setting fire to the upper floors.
The flames had the intensity of
blast furnace. The heavy floors OF
thesbuilding buckled under the white
hot fire and fell in, while the walls
crumbled and dropped pieCemeal into
the. streets. The building was abso.
lutely Quilted.