The Libby herald., 1912-01-11
EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE
SOCIETY BUILDING RUINED
BY GREAT FLAMES.
-Four Persons Are Known to Be Dead
and Several Missing, Including Fire
Chief-Safety Vaults Believed to Be
Intact-Falling Walls Trap Firemen
and Employees.

New York-The great marble nine
story building of the Equitable Life
Assurance society at 1870 Broadway, the
home of the Mercantile Trust company
the Equitable Trust company, the
bankink house of Kountz Brothers and
the Mercantile Safe Deposit company
was destroyed Tuesday by fire.
Four men are known to be dead and
five injured in the fire, and several
persons are missing, including Battalion
Chief Walsh. Conservative estimates
of the damage plnce the loss in the
neighborhood of $1O,0OO,OO0.
The great safety deposit vaults in
the building contained securities aggre-
eating between $3.50, 900 900 and $780,
100000. The vaults are believed to be
intact.
William Giblin, president of the Mer-
camille Safe Deposit company was i'm
prsoned with three other employees in
the vaults and was rescued after the
firemen had sawed through several two
inch steel bars.
Business Stopped.
The fire was in the heart of the inan-
c'al district, and the flames were fought
mainly from the tops of skyscrapcrs.
Records Destroyed.
The heaviest loss besides that of the
was caused by the destruction
of insurance and railroad records.
Started in Restaurant.
The Equitable building occupies the
block between Broadway and Nassau
street and Pine and Cedar streets. The
fire first was discovered on the ground
floor in the storeroom of the Cafe Say
arjn, and carried by draught of an
air shaft upward through an elevator
shaft, setting fire to the upper floors.
gale sweeping through the streets
drove the flames through the building
from end to end.
Five alarms were turned in and fire
tugs from the North and East rivers
themselves at convenient
dock and pumped streams of water into
The building.
Fire Commissioners johnson discov.
cred man imprisoned in the vault of
The Mercantile Safe Deposit company.
He could be seen from the street, his
legs pinned down by mass of fixtures
and debris which had fallen from
above. He was alive and held ont his
hand to the frcmen, who made frantic
-hongh futile attempts to break
through the heavy steel doors. Father
Mclean of the fire department admins.
erred the last rites to the man
Father Mclean nearly lost his life
when administering the last rites to the
nan, the fremcn dragging him away
lust as a shower of bricks and stones
ell on the spot where he had been
ineeling
AS the fremen carried. Father Nc
iean away the dying man turned to
1m and piteously pleadcd
"For God s sake, father, take me
nut of here. am dying. Can't you
get at mc?i
Deputy Fire Chief William Walsh
md five fremen were caught when a
section of floor in an upper story gave
way. The fremen managed to reach
| window ledge, from which they were
escued by means of lifeline But
when they looked back Chief Walsh
lad disappeared in the smoking ruins.
Two Men Saved.
Firemen at last succeeded in batter
ng in a steel door and rcscuing Will |
am Giblin, president of the Mercantile
safe Deposit company, and a watch
nan who was with him in the com
,any's vaults.