The New York herald., 1920-01-28
z CHILDREN DIE
IN HARLEM FIRE
Women and Others Rescued
When Trapped by Blaze
in Tenement.
TEN FAMILIES ARE HOMELESS
Bodies of Victims Recovered While
Mother IS Seeking Them
in Crowd.
'EN FAMILIES ARE HOMELESS

Brave rescJes OF a ged women and yOuf1tg z
children, including the rescue Of the
bodies Of two children who had perishcd
while their agonized mother was seeking
them in the throng In the street, marked
q fire that last night swept the five story
tenement house at No 76 East 115th street
and made ten families homeless.
While Jacob Goldstein and his wife were
in the kitchen of their apartment on the
accidentally overturned an oil heater in
the front of the house and the fire
started. Excitedly crying, "Fire" the
members of the Goldstein family rushed to
the hallway and to the street, leaving
apartment and street doors open behind
them. So did the tenants upstairs, as the
cries of alarm sent up by the Goldsteins
reached them.
fedsby the draught from the open doors
the flames licked their way to the hallway
to the wooden stairs, and by the time
the first apparatus had arrived. under
Battalion Chief Griffith, had reached the
roof. Mushrooming out on each of the
floors, the flames cut off retreat by the
tenants and sent them stumbling through
smoke filled rooms to the fire escapes in
the rear of the building. These were of
the balcony type, without ladders, and by
them the tenants reached the safety of
the building next door, at No. IL
Save Woman and Child.
Meantime Mrs Regina Neuman, had
rushed to a front window on the second
floor, dragging with her her granddaugh-
ter Ietta Rosenthal. six years old. She
screamed that she was going to jump,
but two passersby, Jack Levine, of No.
so Lenox avenue, and julius Orthoz, of
No. s. East 11sth street. warned her not
to. Climbing the brick facade by sticking
his fingers and toes in the crevices, Levine
reached the window where the woman
stood and smashed the glass with his left
hand, cutting 1t severely. He reached in
and took the child, passing her to Ortholz
who had also cliinJed up the brick wall.
Ortholz in turn handed the child to a
man who was standing in the street
Firemen who had entered the building
reached the grandmother and led her to
safety by way OF the fire escape in the
rear.
A few other excited tenants who still
sought escape by way of the front
windows made their way down ladders
which the firemen had raised against the
building.
Act on Mothers Appeal.
The flames were raging fiercely through
the building, when Mrs. Clara Hakin,
who lived on the top floor, broke through
the fire lines and rushed Historically to
where Policeman Joseph Crawley. who
was talking with Lieutenant Henry s.
Heithaus, Of the Fire Patrol.
MY two children are still in our flat; ;
save them!." she pleaded.
The entire interior OF the building
seemed to be ablaze by this time, never
theless the policeman and salvage corps
officer made their way through the ad-
Joining building to the balcony fire escape
in the rear Of No. 76. and into the burning
apartment up near the roof.
Stumbling around amid the smoke and
flames. they came across two tiny bodies
lifeless and scorched. They carried them
TO the street. however. and Mrs. Hakin
grew hysterical as she identified them as
Pearly, three years old, and Galaxy, ten
80 other children. Louis. seven. and
Victoria, twelve. she explained. she had
conducted through the smoke filled apart
ment TO tho rear fire escape and started
them on their way down. When she at
tempted 10 return for the other two the
smoke overcame her.
The bodies were taken to n neighboring
store where the firemen and policemen
worked over them with restoratives, but
to no effect. n call was sent to Harlem
Hospital for an ambulance, but all the
It was said, were engaged on
influenza cases.
Commanders m Automobile.
a search in the neighborhood for a
physician was without result. and then
Honorary Battalion Chief Manner, buff
Of the department" conmandeered an au-
tomobile and took the children to Mount
Sinai Hospital. whore they were pro-
dead.
Al last q physician was obtained 70 dress
he burns OF Policeman Crawley and Lieu
tenant Heithaus, both Of whom had suf-
Tered severely by their dash through the
burning apartment, and TO bandago the
acorated hand OF Levine.
In their hasty exit from tho building
many tenants sought to remove jewelryI
md other valuabes, but dropped much OF
hese as they clambered along the fire es-
apes. Mach Of this was collected by the
police and taken to the East f04th street
station. RESERVES from that precinct and
rom the East 126th and West 123d street
stations were on hand to keep the crowds
back. After more than half an hours
light the apparatus called by two alarms
,xtinguished the firo, but the building was
yuttcd and tho tenants sought shelter
with neighbors. 4