Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1913-07-25
MANY LIVES LOST
IN FACTORY FIRE.

Binghamton, N. Y, July u.
Fifty and possibly eighty lives
were lost and fifty to seventy
five persons injured in a fire
which broke out at 2:30 this
afternoon in the factory of the
Binghampton Overhaul Company,
four stories high on the bank of
the river at Wall Street.
Most of the dead were women
who were employed on the fourth
floor of the building. Many were
killed by jumping from the win
dows. Others were caught in
the crush in the narrow hall
ways.
Three times within few weeks
the employees had been called
from escapes the exits were crowd
ed and fire drill signals and
marched to the street. When the
call came today, thinking it was
another fire drill, the employees
on the fourth floor left their places
lleisurely and started for the exits.
When the smoke from the first
floor burst up the stairways,
| many rushed to the windows and
jumped to the street below.
The hospitals are filled with
injured. The exact number of
dead will not be known until to-
morrow. There were IA persons
at work in the building when the
fire started. Twenty-Five bodies
have been recovered. Twenty
five minutes after the discovery
of the blaze beneath the front
stairway, the roof and walls
COLLAPSED, The fire was COM
municated to the postoffice and
to other nearby buildings, all of
which were destroyed.
] The total financial loss is esti-
mated at 100000.
simultaneously with the alarm
for the overall factories, another
alarm came for a trivial fire a
short distance away aud the COM
/, panies were delayed in the con-
fusion. When they arrived it
was too late to rescue any of the
inmates of the building. All
who had escaped went by the
stairs before the walls caved in,
down the fire escapes or had
jumped from the windows, while
others had fallen back into the
flames rather than jump.
The women were seen to plunge
from fourth story window. Two
were crushed I'd death on the
sidewalk, while tue third was
caught on an awning. In the
rushes for the fire escapes the
exits were or DIVIDED and many
were burned to death before they
, could make their escape.
E. L. Lawrence, who worked
t in an Office nearby, said that
! when it was found that the wo-
J men were not responding to the
alarms from the upper floors,
men were sent into the building
to drive them out. Before the
men could return with the wo-
t men, their escape was cut off by
: flames bursting up the stairway
4 Panic ensued and the women and
women and their would-be res.
cuers were burned to death in the
Railways.
Estelle Morgan, a girl en-
3 ployed on the fourth floor, said
the women did not pay much at
Itention to the alarm at first UNI
til they heard the screams Of wo'
men and the yelling of men on
the lower floors. She said:
/ Il rushed for the halls and
the flames almost drove me back,
made my way to the first floor
, where tainted. When / came
to man had me in his arms and
was carrying me out Of the doors.
His arms were badly burned. l
don't know who he was.
| when / reached the street l
Isaw twelve girls at the windows
trying to reach the fire escapes.
ISeveral jumped, while most of
Them were unable to make their
Iway down the ladders and fell to
the street below or back into the
fire."
Coroner Seymour will make an
Investigation to fix the respon-
Isibil1ty for the fire.