Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-12-22
FIRE HORROR ENDS
CHRISTMAS PLANS
william Giazier, Now Tele-
phone Operator, Describes
TwodIolidays in Hospital
auREAus JIMMY KEATH"


=. toss OF two successive Christmas Days
e,s.ed in hospital suffering from injuries
,,.urrsd a, the greatest caiamlty recorded
!. IN. annals OF the Bureau Of Fire--ihe
s..,,,c,ien OF the Frledlander factory
n.SIns street below Glrard avenue. on the
e.,at niGht Of December 2l-22, 1910
rhlrteen members Of the bureau went
s,~n 10 death on tn eve OF the Christ.
80 holidays and more than score nursed
s..Lured bones or other wounds IN hos
,is,i wards on December 2S. 1910
wunan q. GiaSier. now telephone oper-
-. a. the hlgh-pressure pumping station
:. tshiah avenue west OF Sixth street. was
ereJof the latter
LIVED UNDER RUINS
After an unprecedented experience under
~ ruins Of the burned factory. whose
eoo,s and walls collapsed like a house OF
e.rds Giazier. then a hoseman on Engine
No q was dug out OF the debris at i2:2S
.'elock on Thursday December %. taken to
Ed Josephs Hospital. to undergo a period
~ treatment lasting siNty-three weeks and
~ constitute an unparalleled case In med
,raI AZ well ns Fire Bureau records
Monday. Christmas Day 1915. will nnd
,hls survivor OF the Philadelphia Fire Blu
reau's blacsest tragedy enjoying a day at
IA home. 25ii North Howard street show
,nr no traces Of his frightful ordeal save
heelleHs foot that incapacitates him from
setlye service. but in no way lnterfcres
~llh his cheerfulness or hts duties st the
pumping station.
I'm g0ng TO have a Merry Christmas
M, ysAf. | hope said Gla1,e-, smiling
then adding bit more cautiously, but I
kadhpianned Merry Christmas six years
40 with my wife aud son. But something
kanpened that spoiled my plans and those
az the following Christmas as Well
rnsan the Bodirc street Are Thirteen Of our
fellows went out that night who never re-
turned TO their stations. Forty or nifty
ethers we're taken TO hospitals anl most of
them spent their Christmas In the accident
wards.
Charlie Edelman, OF our company was
one OF those who never came back George
wentE was one who was lucky enough TO
escape alive from Bodne street. where he
was seriously hurt but on Christmas Day.
1919. ne died In ST Mary's Hospital from
a broken back received when he was tossed
eR the wagon on Glrsrd avenue on the way
10 another Are a couple OF weeks before
mo; I'll never forget that Christmas or
what led up 20 H.
iMy wife and | had planned to have
tree for our boy. then eight years old. and
while II wasn't my day on we had every
thing prepared to celebrate the day as best
We could
. THE Fatal. CALL
II was a two-meal man at that time
rot back to the station In East MontRom-
cry avenue, below Girard avenue on that
Wednesday night about o'clock ! hadn't
been In the house more than hfteen minutes
when the Joker tapped on II was from
Box 294, at Third street and GIrard ave-
nue. one of our frst-alarm runs. We got
cut In a hurry and when we located the
blaze Edelman and were sent Ia the second
heor with the line We hadn't besn in there
hut few minutes when heard n crash
right above us We dropped the line and
an for the window. Edelman must have
reached II. but I didn't. ran into a
workbench. my hat caught on protrudjng
gas jet and I went down, 7 don't reuiem-
Der anything for the next twenty minutes
or so, when ! came TO and found myself
pinned down by the debris. / heard the
fsllows calling for help, so yelled also.
Presently I saw reflection and heard
the rescuing party working 10 reach us.
They were above me and they let down n
rope Ny right arm was pinned down by
some of the fallen timber so ! tried To
grasp the rope with my left arm but
couldn't move II, / found out later that my
Rtt arm and both ankles were broken.
u lay on my back, Right above me were
two pieces OF shafting that made RI OF
wedge, They looked as II they MIGHT come
Really, that shafting was my salvation,
for II held up a broken rafter and pre-
vented any more OF the debris falling in
en- me-
In the meantime the rescuers were try
ing To get a rope around my legs to haul
ne out that way. Right In the midst OF II,
down came the other wall. That was when
most OF the victims lost their lives I
had managed to swallow a little liquor
lat haNnFE 10 FrNa IN haaN
Shen the second collapse came everything
vas cut on again.
FOOD AND AIR THROUGH TUBE
I called out for help q second time,
but couldn't get reply. I thought Il was
AZ up with me. but after a time I heard
mem coming nearer. and they answered my
SHOUTS could talk TO them, but we
souient see each other then for the piles
OF debris. Our only communication was
when they would pull on the line and
Sould answer back
After while Doctor King. OF the Med
ieo-chirurgical Hospital. took charge of
ny case. He dropped tube with a light
sutaehed. and In this they let down liquid
tood and pumped oxygen into my mouth.
toward morning / felt my feet and
- burning. l thought ! would be burned
2 death The boys turned line OF water
mo where l was pinned down and relieved
mat danger, but the water kept backing
sP until 1t reached my aFmpits, and
.sArsd would be drowned so they turned
on, leaving me in a pool OF ley water
mat nearly froEs me.
when they had made a hole big enough
sns Of the men was lowered by a rope,
sat he jumped on my broken legs and
nAd TO ask them not 20 continue that
snort 10 release me
Tried 10 raise one leg. but Il fell back
paralyzed. My left arm was bent
s@ek OF ne found out later Il was caught
i pulley. Finally. they sawed through
shs machinery over my head and lifted me
~ had been In that position from s;4b
sloeh Wednesday night until 1925 p m,
t1steday. almost fftsen hours.
can recall them putting me IN an am
ulenee and hearing the shouts as We gal
speo out Glrard avenue 10 ST. Joeeph's
aespltal As they laid me on the table Ia
receiving ward l remember looking AZ
CLOCK and noticing that Il Was ten
"9neles 10 one. Then 1 went over.
Doetor Herman. Of the hospital stan
ss9oed some cocaine into me, and they
spped me In several layers Of blankets
zha hot-wstsr bottles
ELEVEN DAYS OF DELIRIUM
was dslir.ous for eleven days after
- They tell me when / reached the
-sspital | was blue and they were afraid
-