New-York tribune., 1919-12-19
Watchn,an Burned to Death
in Brooklyn and Body Is
Found Floating in Water
in Furniture Store Cellar
Firemen Suffer in Cold
Girls in Dormitory at Co.
lumbia Driven Out by
Blaze Starting at Night

One man was burned to death and
hundreds OF tenement dwcllcrs driven
to the Icy air in series Of fires in the
city yesterday. Firemen. their hands
frozen and their boots stuck fast in
the water that CONCEALED as fast as 1t
hit the psvemcnts. found the zero
weather a serious hindrance to their
work
Three hres started within short
distance of one smother on Columbus
Avenue between noon and o. m.
Thirty families were routed from the
tenement house at 602 Columbus Ave
nue., at West Eighty-ninth Street, when
blaze in the cellar of saloon on the
ground floor spread rapidly toward the
upper floors.
Mrs. Nj. A. Gers, sixty years old and
bed-ridden with q broken hip, was car
RED down fire escape by firemen, who
had to stumble up smoke-filled stair
ways to her apartment on the fourth
floor Whisky and beer, worth $4,000
and belonging to tho Martens g. Hollo-
cher Company, stored In the cellar, was
ruined. A like sum represents damage
to the building and the property Of
other tenants.
Forty Families Routed
About an hour and half later flames
broke out in the hve-story tenement
house at 730 Columbus Avenue, seven
blocks north. Forty families were
routed there. The loss So, ,0OO-was
confined to the grocery store of Chris
tede Bros
While the fremen were attacking
this blaze an alarm was sent in for an
other at $40 Columbus Avenue, also a
hVe-story tenement. Originating in
the basement, it threatened for a time
TO become q contiagraton. The flames
spread to the upper floors and the oc-
cupants were forced to flee The apart
ments of some of them were rendered
temporarily uninhabitable.
Not until q second alarm had brought
an additional force of frefighters was
the blaze eNtinguished. The damage
was about $4,000.
James Sweeting. sixty years old. of
JIG Penn Street. Brooklyn, night watch
man for Deutsch Bros, whose ur-
hlture store occupies the four-story
structure NJ 1880 Broadway. that bor-
ough discovered the front wall of the
basement abiaze as he was making his
tnai round yesterday morning. He
shouted TO a negro porter and .hen fell
TO IN an effort to. put out the flames.
me porter called Patrolman James
Garvin, who turned in AN alarm.
dents OF the neigh borhood piled the
hremcn with hot coffee, they struggled
TO suhdue the fire, which had eaten its
way INTO nearly every corner of the
building. Damage to the extent of
50,000 was done
Afterward. on the surface OF the sew
eral feet of water that flooded the base
ment, was found floating the body Of
Sweeting, the night watchman. The
flames he had sought to put out had
lgnited his clothing. Sweeting was a
IN bank. He had taken the night watch
mans job about SIX weeks ago. over
the protests OF his family, because he
did not wish to be idle.
One hundred families were compelled
to seek shelter in the knights OF Co
lumbus hut at 367 West Sixty fourth
Street, when ire gutted the tenement
mouse ~ Hl)-'lN Eighth Avenue early
yesterday morning. Tenants of adju-
cent buildings were ordered out by the
police. The blaze started in Remey's
Dancing Academy. Oh the second floor
and swept upward so quickly none of
the refugees had time to dress.
Guests of the Chelsea Hotel sought
safety OF the street when flames broke
out on the seventh floor of 244-246
West Twenty third Street, the novelty
factory of Leo Jacobs. The fire did
$4,000 damage
Colds Flee Night Blaze
The co-eds occupying Fcrnald Hall
had barely time to don presentable APP
! parel shortly after midnight yesterday
! when q blaze developed in the Column
hia School Of journalism, which ad-
joins the dormitory. The girls returned d
10 their quarters after the fire. which
did about 10000 damage to the Doug
las McMurtric printing establishment
in The basement of the Journalism
building. had been extingushed BY
the city hremen and q Columbia stu
dents bucket brigade.