New-York tribune., 1920-10-25
J. J. Shubert
Hurt i'm Fire at
Winter Garden
Manager Is Cut by Flying
Glass When $25O.OOO
Blaze in Seventh Avenue
Menaces His Theater
Two Firemen Overcome
Captain Francis Ford and
Battalion Chief Cur
tain Are Nearly Drowned

Fire which started about a N
yesterday IN the basement of an auto
mobile accessory shop at 77s Seventh
avenue spread to the Winter Garden,
where 1t caused slight damage, and to
other buildings in the rear of the shop.
}. j. Shubcrt was slightly cut bv fall
ing glass while marshaling Winter
Garden employees in a volunteer fire
brigade. A fire captain was carried
INTO waterilled cellar by falling
floor and several other flemen were
overcome by smoke. The damage was
estimated at S25O,000.
Burning rubber in the automobile
accessory shop sent up dense clouds
OF lnky smoke, which drifted across
broadway under the impulse of a brisk
breeze, putting that street into eclipse
and attracting tremendous crowd
The firemen were hampered by the
strangnng smoke, and before they
could get water to the seat of the
fire the flames were being driven
against the walls and across the roofs
Broadway. Several alarms were sent
in.
J. J. Shubert Hurt
and after posting employees at danger
points in the Winter Garden to guard
| against invasion by the flames, went
to the roof Of his theater, Where the
fremen had several lines of hose. 1t
was during one of his inspection trips
to the interior of the Winter Garden
that he was struck by some of the
glass from a shattered skylight. He
said that his injuries were mere
otoh md t,,ol !. .,1 :,
the fire was extinguished, when he
gave orders to pull a tarpaulin over
the broken skylight and sweep up the
mess in the theater in preparation
for the evening performance.
Firemen of Engine Company 81,
under the command of Captain Francis
Ford. were sinside the automobile &C
cessory shop fighting their way toward
the stairs to the basement when the
and Captain Ford gave the word to re-
tire. The hremen got out with their
line Of hose and were scarcely in the
street when a crash and a shower CT
sparks from the burning shop gave
evidence of the scant margin by which
they had escaped.
Captain Ford was not with them,
however, nor could he be found any
where in the street. Captain Dennis
J. Mcnamara, of Engine Company IS,
with Charles White and Harry Smith,
two of his men, slid down a. line of
hose into the reeking backness Of the
basement, where timbers were churn-
ing in the water they had poured into
the building.
Captain Ford, bruised and half suf-
located, was found by the trio, who
pulled him out of the water and carried
him to the hose line, where he was
hauled up by a rope lowered by his
companions in the street.
The hose line ladder was called into
play again when Battalion Chief Cur
tain failed to return from an inspection
trip to the cellar of the building. Fire
man Hanlon, Of Engine Company 80
slid down the hose into water thai
reached his chest found Chief Curtain
bewildered in the darkness and brough
him to safety.
Two Kittens Rescued
The battalion chief was unconscious
when he reached the street, and Han
lon was in scarcely better shape. A
soon as he had been revived, however
the fireman announced that he ha'
heard other cries than Curtains whil'
in the cellar and was going in again
In he went, and this time he had It
swim. He emerged safely, however
, with bedraggIed anu "ocpc-V"o ~"
kitten under each arm. Engine Com
panv "a adopted one Of The kittens an
Engine Company 16 the other
Seven firemen were hit by back
draft. but managed to stagger to tn
street, where they were revived and re
turned to work.
:. Valuable rugs and paintings in tn
auction rooms of Floyd. Grant Co
above the automobile accessory shoI
we're damaged. The Lakewood res
taurant, adjoining The sh9p, sqttere ater.
severely, as did the Woodbury., beaut
pf the Green Engraving Company, o
the tor floor Of that building, also wa