New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-10-26
FIRE ESCAPE USELESS,
INVESTIGATORS REPORT
Officials Learn That Ladder on
Canal Street Building Was
Bound with Wire.
THREE INQUIRIES BEGUN
District Attorneys Office Pre-
pares for Criminal Action as
Hughes, Seventh Victim,
Dies in St. Vincent's.


| A seventh name was added to the list
OF dead as result Of the factory fire
Friday afternoon which destroyed the
buildings Nos 2O6 and 212 Canal street,
when Frank Hughes, 80 Corona, Long
Island. who lighted the gas Jet which
caused the explosion and started the fire.
died Yesterday morning at St vincent's
, Hospital.
| There will be three Investigations to de-
! termine whether there was any violation
OF the fire laws. In addition to the In
quiries begun by Joseph o. Skinner. As
sistant District Attorney, and Fire Mar
shall John p. Prial Immediately after the
fire there will be another investigation
Labor Under the new factory laws, which
went into effect on october l, the en-
forcement of fire laws as they apply TO
factories now falls under the Jurisdiction
OF that department
The feature OF the fire that caused most
comment and engaged the attention OF the
Investigators yesterday was the discovery
that one OF the fire escape ladders was
found TO be useless. The hook by which
Il was held In place was found bound with
wire and could not be released. Charles
+. Lentino, one OF the men who helped
rescue many of the persons caught In the
,F..,- 10y,
day.
Il went up through the building TO the
first floor and helped n number OF people
10 the fire escape" he said, but when
came TO let the ladder down I could not
bulge IT, Then l found that the hook
which holds II in place was fastened by
wire. Then we had to guide two girls
we were trying TO save along cornice TO
the building next door and finally got
them 10 the street"
Lentino. who is a Carnegie medal man.
said that although he was awarded $4,000
for the exploit by which he won the
medal he had never received the money.
Mr.. Skinner said yesterday that as
result OF his investigation he was conf
dent the FIRE started In the japanning oven
In the Royal Machine Works, as original
ly reported. He said that. aside from the
reported condition OF the patent ladder.
he found I'm his preliminary investigation
that the fire escape facilities on the build
ings were ample. and that he had found
nothing as yet 10 make him call the place
a firetrap. He suspended his exam .ation
Of witnesses yesterday, he said, so there
would be no conflict with Marshal Priars
inquiry.
Mr.. Skinner took several photographs
OF the interior for use in case OF criminal
proceedings. The photographs show that
the wooden ceiling beams OF the second
door. directly beneath where the explo-
sion occurred. were snapped clean in two.
like matches which have been broken in
the fingers. Mr.. Skinner hopes that the
FIRE marshaVs investigation will show the
nature and cause OF the explosion II II
does not. another inquiry into that phase
OF the fire will be started Immediately by
the District Attorney.
Marshal Prial had a number OF tenants
and employees I'm the building in his office
AT Fire Headquarters examining them on
the incidents Of the fire and the condi-
ton OF the building before the blaze
started He is expected to give his re-
port TO Commissioner Johnson next week
Battalion Chief Weber, who was
placed in charge OF the work Of search
ing the ruins for more bodies. said yes
terday afternoon that he was satisfied
there were no more bodies in the building
There was one heap Of debris that had
not been completely examined, he said.
but owing to its situation lie felt sure no
bodies would be found under II.
The body OF the girl reported at first
10 be that OF Mary Bnrkoff was correct
~ identified yesterday by her mother as
Lucille Borrow. eighteen years old. Of
No. 1926 Amsterdam avenue. She was a
stenographer employed by the Lindhe-
SHIN Company. which occupied the fourth
floor.