Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-07-23
f|FTY WOMEN BURN 70 DEATH IN
AWFUL CLOTHING Factory FIRE

enough to hold all who rushed TO the
/ exits and there was dash for win
dows. the trapped victims shriekng
with pain as the flames swept upon
! them from behind.
Then from windows and fire es-
| Capes bodies began falling rapidly.
| The building was four stories and
/ many who Jumped even from the
] tOpmost floor escaped with their
| lives although most of them were
manned Most OF the women oper-
ators We're working on the fourth
| floor and II was among these that
! the loss OF life and injury was the
--latest.
As soon as the first of the fire vic
! Tins were brought to the hospitals,
! conyalescents among the other pa
| tients set to work caring for them.
| With the injured and the dying lying
! all about the hospital doctors und
nurses worked rapidly. Scarcely an
hour after the fire all the patients
there had received medical attention
/ Most Of them were badly burned.
One Pathetic Case.
One OF the most pathetic cases at
| the hospital 10 that of Miss Ruth
/ Crotty, who is slowly dying with a
! Binghamton one week, coming from
| Port Jarvis to work with her two
sisters. neither OF whom, so far as
can be learned, escaped from the
| fire.
When l first heard the alarm -
/ said Miss Crptty II Jumped from my
chair and started for the stairs, but
when ] reached them they were so
| crowded with other operators /
could not get down and in another
instant the whole floor was ablaze.' -
Miss Crotty jumped from a win
! dow
Mary McDonough. an employe.
said she was on the fourth floor
when the fire broke out. The en-
ployes on that floor thought 1t was
a fire drill and marshailed into line
slowly.
When the flames burst upon them
many tainted and a panic ensued.
Over I'm Flash.
1T was all over in a flash" Miss
| McDOnough said. There was great
confusion. ! do not know how | got
to the street. hut think tainted and
was carried out by some one"
Vernon Wilbur, superintendent Of
Z service in the burned factory, said
/ the girls, shrieking with pain, We're
standing five or six deep I'm each
I window Of the factory with flames
directly behind them.
| Esther Raskin, 10 years old
: Jumped from the second story, suf
/ fering a compound fracture Of the
/ leg. She also was badly scared by
! the flames In broken English she
/ told her story.
when the warning was sent In ev-
] .Ity I'm ly
us because they did it two weeks
! ago. When | heard everybody shout
| ing fire" and saw them running, !
| ran down the stairs. When | reached
/ the third floor / found the stairs
afire. hut ran quickly down them to
/ the second floor Here a dozen or
more girls had gathered, driven back
! by the fire into the stairway. Every
thing was on fire about mo and
could not breathe. I managed to get
to window and jumped. How long
| | lay | don't remember. / tried to
| get up but fell back when several
men picked me up and put me in an
ambulance"
Tried to Aid Others.
Mrs IDA Prentice did her best to
get the other women employees to
flee when the alarm first sounded
directing the girls several minutes
then wrapping a large sheet OF avn
ing about her she jumped from a
| fourth story window.
When the fire alarm sounded the
girls hesltated." said Mrs Prentice
Il called TO the operators that the
alarm had rung and all must hurry
out Then the flames burst upon us
was nearly smothered, and, hang
| ing to the steampipe was barely able
to make my way to the window
| Here wrapped an awning about
me and Jumped. Before I jumped
| looked back and saw scores OF girls
/ There surely were many left to burn
alive"
Difficulty was encountered in COM
billing partial list Of the dead and
injured tonight because the list Of
employees was kept in the safe which
is buried benath the ruins.
Reed Il. Freeman, president Of the
company who operated the factory
attribuis the origin OF the blaze to
| cigarettes Smoking was prohibited
In the building. he said. and employ
es were accustomed to seek the alley
to enjoy a smoke Mrs. Freeman,
he said. notified him the structure
was on fire He saw smoke coming
| from the space under the open stair
way near his office on the ground
floor At that instant he saw his
wife with the telephone receiver
down endeavoring TO notify the fire
department. but so swift was the
progress OF the fire that she was
compelled to flee.
"As we ran out" he continued.
the bodies OF girls began to drop.
They seemed more like sacks of flour
than human bodies. ! saw three
/ girls jump from windows
at being a comparatively warm
day all the doors and windows were
opn and this made a bad draft.
Under the rules Of the fire drill
the girls were so instructed. and
believe all stayed at their posts
some to<perlsh in the flames"
The fire besides destroying the
Bnghamton Clothing company build
Ing damaged five others. The total
money loss however, Is not expected
to exceed 100000.
Forest Fires Threaten Life.