South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-07-23
s. ARE DEAD AS RESULT OF
FIRE IN CLOTHING FACTORY
Building Bursts Into Flames Like finder Box and Becomes
Roaring Furnace in Few Minutes After the First Alarm
is Turned in-Manager BIameS Cigaret For Tragedy.

NCONllNI Ed KUN FAGE ONE.J
the disaster bears a strong resem-
blance 10 the Triangle Waist company
holocaust in New York city where 147
lives were lost when the infammable
material upon which the employees
were working and the waste which
Uttered the floors blazed up with in
conceivable rapidly and set the i'm
prisoned workers jumping from the
windows 20 their death.
The parallel here fails only in the
lesser height and different construc-
ton OF the building and in the length
OF the list Of dead and injured An
other resemblance to the New York
disaster is that the fire Tuesday is
believed TO have been started by the
careless throwing Of a cigaret butt
or match.
Fire Drills MOnOtonOus.
In the tragedy Of Tuesday after
noon the killing burst Of flame fol-
lowed quickly upon the heels Of the
alarm. There was small opportunity
for any one to use the ordinary OF
even the emergency means Of escape.
Fire drills had been carried on regu-
larry, so frequently in fact, that the
employees had found them monOtO-
nous.
The building was equipped with
Microscopes and an automatic alarm
system. The alarm tinkled at $3.50
o'clock. Mrs. Reed B. Freeman. wife
of the proprietor. telephOned TO the
central fire station. The usual appa-
ratus for first still alarm responded.
Some excited person at Warren and
ChenangO SITS. four blocks away saw
burst Of flame and pulled the box
there. The rest Of the companies an
swered this alarm
That meant o minutes Of delay for
part of the firemen. But even those
VINO arrived first were unable to do
anything. The first puff Of flame was
hardly discerned before the fire leap
ed along the staircases and walls. up
the elevator shaft. along the floors
and ceiling. There was a roar, front
and rear, and the flames belched
forth clear across Wall St. on which
the buildings frOnted, whitening the
shade trees on the river bank and
scOrching the building across an al
ley at the rear.
After this fierce blast the fire
seemed the burst from every part of
the building at once. Upon the fire
escapes girls. women and men were
clustered and inside others were wait
Ing 10 get onto the iron ladders But
the flames were too quick for them
Fire Drill Was Slow.
The slow starting of the fire drill
may have contributed to the disas-
ter. the delay in getting all the fire.
men TO the scene may have been re-
sponsible for part of the loss of life
But persons who were early on the
scene said that these things did not
materially affect the result
When the firemen arrived in re-
spouse to the telephone alarm they
were unable to get within 200 feet
OF the burning building and the ends
or the streams from the hose were
turned into steam without effect upon
the fire The life nets. and extern
sion ladders Of the firemen were
equally useless. There was no chance
for those caught on the upper floors
except the last resort To jump and
this many took, while other fell
shrivelled and crumpled with the
heat.
Scarcely one Of the survivors was
able TO give a connected account Of
what took place on the upper floors
of the factory when the employees
there mostly women and girls. real
lied that the fire call was no false
alarm and that death was sweeping
upon them. The coolest among them
recalled that women tainted by doz-
ems and that the scene was of in
describable confusion. Some of the
men employees apparently kept their
heads and did their best TO rescue the
imperilled women.
Dash For Windows.
The fire escapes were not large
enough To hold all who rushed madly
TO the exits and there was dash for