New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-11-05
Aged Men Trapped BY
Flames in Barrack,
at Paterson
Six Badly Injured;
Ruins May HoldBodies
Only Eight Victims Are
Identified; Firemen Do
Heroic Work

PATERSON, n. j., Nov. 4.-Eisht..,
men, at least, we're burned to death
here to-day. when fire destroyed IN.
/ Salvation Army's House OF Refuge. q,
az Mill Street. Another inmate Of IN.
lodging house died as the result O,
falling from a window. Half a dozen
are in hospitals, some of them ne,,
death. It is believed that other hodiv
remain in the ruins.
For twenty-five years the dingy, fcu,
story brick building had sheltered IA,
homeless and kept them from the cit,
morgue, directly across the street
Many of those it sheltered were edp.
Piles, most of them were aged.
No register was kept, and Of the
ninety or more who went 70 sleep in
the place last night there are some.
probably, who will never leave so much
as a record of who they were in hi,
world.
Only Ten Bodies Identified
Ten of the eighteen bodies recoy.
cred have been identified, and, with
the freemasonry prevailing among
such dereicts which forbds curiosity
concerning ones neighbor, IL is likely
that several victims will 90 nameless
( to Potter's Field.
Walter Dodds, night clerk in the in
stitution, discovered the flames in the
baling room, a one-story extension In
the rear, where waste paper Is pre-
pared for sale, at 1:10 o'clock this
morning. He knew that the first, third
and fourth floor dormitories were
filled with men, many of whom had
difficulty in negotiating stairs, even
under the most favorable circum.
stances, and lost no time in dashing
through the building shouting the
alarm.
His singed hands and face testify to
the faithfulness with which he per.
formed his task. Half dozen persons
saw the flames or heard the cries Of the
night clerk az about the same time, and
the confusion of fire alarms which fol.
/ lowed resulted in a slight delay in get
/ ting fremen to the spot.
When they arrived men already were
clustering and fighting at upper win.
dows. The only fire escape on the
building was in the rear, and the famei
already had cut of access to il. Sew
eral ladders were run up, but il was
/ speedily seen that this method of res
cue was too slow, and life nsts we're
| spread while policemen and fremen
dashed inside to save as many as pos.
sible.
Eleven of the inmates mustered
( courage to jump into the life nets.
/ One hesitated. He was Frank Bal
lance, sixty years old, who was hud-
died on a fourth floor window sill A,
last, in response to shouts from be.
low, some of the men who clustered
behind him in the window pushed him
off. He clutched at the cornice, de.
fleeing his course so that he fell
/ sprawling on his back across an iron
/ picket fence. He died from his in.
juries.
Saved by Heroic Fireman
At another fourth floor window, re.
mote from any life net and isolated BY
flames, Louis Braegen, sixty years old,
crouched. Louis Rodensky, Of Hook
and Ladder ., got a ladder up and
brought him down over his shoulder
Pstrolmen Fred Bishop and Eugene
Wilde, members OF the champion de.
/ pGrtment relay team of three years ago,
made numerous trips into the blazing
/ building, bringing out ten men. From
/ the last trip Bishop, who was behind
/ his teammate. did not return. Wilde
went back after him, and found him,
singed and knocked out by backdraft,
at the foot of the stairs TO the second
floor. That time they came out to-
; gether.
! Half a dozen bodies we're found
I heaped at the foot Of the stairs from
the third floor.
! The identified dead are:
Bremen. John.
Clark. John.
/ Costello, Frank.
! Donnelly. Henry.
Grimes, Michael.
McNabb, William.
Meyers, Jacob.
Schell Patrick.
Slaufer, Emil s.
Tigh, John
I Many In the Hospital
+ In the General Hospital is Charles
Gard, a negro, who has broken jaw
and internal injuries. Those in 81
Joseph's Hospital are Peter Nc,
Cam. sixty-four years old, shock ana
contusions; julius Buysen, broken baes
and internal injuries; Alexander Nc
Luckey. contusions; Michael breeh'
decorations; Stephen Thompson, IN
:ernal injuries, and Edward Owens, m
ternal injuries.
Walter Dodds, the night clerk, ana
Charles Santro, who was knocked down
while helping TO hold a life net, wers
taken 10 st. Joseph's Hospital for re'F
ment. but were able 20 go home later
Four Of twelve horses in a stable %.
joining the baling room were burned '.
death The damage is estimated
$4,000. The building was eompleVe''
burned out.
Michael Dunn, County Prosecutor
will start an inquiry into the cause
the fire tomorrow. John QulgieE
building inspector. said ;o-night InS
the structure complied with the 0-'''
ing code.
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