Evening star., 1922-07-07
HEROES AID MANY
IN SUBWAY PANIC
Drag Victims Of Gas and
Fear to Safety Through
Inky BIackness.
By the Associa ted Press.

! NEW YORK, July Trapped in
a dark subway tunnel, seventy-five
! feet below the street and reeking
| with gas fumes and smoke. nearly
| 500 men, women and children passen-
gers on an East Side train Of the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
were converted into frenzied.
| shrieking mob, almost a third of
| whose members were overcome be-
fore they could fight their way to
safety in yesterdays fire. Three
| probably will die. Police officials
said it was a miracle many were not
f, trampled to death.
A worse spot for such accident
| Lexington avenue at 6Oth street,
| where the train came to its sudden
halt. There is no express station be-
| tween Grand Central terminal, at
| 42d street. and S6th street. The ex-
press tracks are three tiers down
and the crosstown tunnel of the
| Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company,
and the only exits are narrow little
spiral stairways at SD, 5Sth and SD
| streets. These were jammed with
fugitives from the scene below.
1 HIAthE
| A little fire extinguisher, whose
| contents were turned on tiny blaze
in a motorman's control box, was
held responsible for the clouds of
poisonous fumes and smoke sent
swirling through the tunnel by police
and fire officials.
More than three-score OF those over
come were in so serious condition as to
1require hospital treatment, while the
number who were treated on the streets
and in emergency hospitals, set up at
the scene was placed at about 100.
AS the fire broke out, Patrolman Fred
Norman, who was riding in the car,
tseized a fire extnguisher from Its rack
land rushed to the compartment and shot
the contents Of the extinguisher on the
splitting flames. Instead Of checking
them, he declared. the extinguisher
lserved only to spread them, and in a
imoment the car, and soon the entire
tunnel, were choked with smoke and
fumes.
Bullying the panic-stricken passen-
gers into some semblance of order, Pa
trolman Norman seized a woman, who
had been overcome, clambered down
into the darkness of the tunnel and COM
mander other male passengers to follow
his example. He groped his way with
his burden to 59th street and led the
refugees up a long, winding emergency
stairway to the street.
Sends in Alarm.
Then he sent in alarms which brought
all available fire apparatus, ambulances
and police reserves in the vicinity rush
ing to the scene. and plunged back down
the stairs to rescue other victims.
In the meantime passengers In the
other cars Of the stalled train. ignorant
at first of the cause of the delay. were
growing nervous, and the guards opened
the doors and advised them to seek
safety. Smoke and fumes poured in as
the doors were opened, and they dropped
frantically to the tracks and began MAX
ing their way toward the faraway exits.
Many, fearing the deadly third rail,
dropped down on their hands and knees
and literally crawled to safety
A moment after the general push
for safety started, a Southbound ex-
press roared in on the opposite track
and ground to a sudden halt as train
flights and tunnel lights went dark.
Power had been shut off to save the
passengers from possible electrocu-
ton, but the darkness only added to
the panic and the passengers on this
train smashed their way out of the
cars and joined in the scramble for
exits.
Many Drop in Tracks.
| Men, women and children were
dropping in their tracks as the fumes,
the smoke and the excitement over
came them. Others of stronger
4 IpnySlQuo duu OF HSTtSS pfChCo
them up and dragged them along to
safety.
President Frank Hedley Of the Inter-
accident was laid on the chemical fire
Iextinguisher by Capt. Thomas Rush
of engine company 80, which was the
first to reach the scene.
!. President Frank Hedley of the Inter-
borough later issued a statement in
which he denied the use Of the chemi-
cal extinguishing fluid had been the
cause of The, smoke and gases which
filled the tsain. The extinguisher he
said, had been adopted only after
it had been approved by the fire
und derwriters and the United States
igovernment as one of the most effec-
tive in putting out fire similar to
that of 9yesterday