Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-10-23
"a DIE AS FLAMES
|. SWEEP TENEMENT;
CHILDREN VICTIMS
Fire Spreads With Light.
ming Su4denness From
Cellar to Attic.
NEW YORK OFFICIALS
SEEK PYROMANIAC
Several Of Those Who Lost
Lives Are Found
Dead in Bed.
MANY ARE RESCUED BY LADDERS
Score brought to safety by I7-Ycnr-
Old Youth Who Braves
NEW YORK OFFICIALS
SEEK PYROMANIAC
Many ARE RESCUED ny LADDERS
score brought to Safety by 17-Ycnr-
Old Youth Who Braves
Icrils.
LBv .Assoclated press.l

j
NEW YORK, oct. 2o-Fourteen
persons. NEST OF them children. lost
their lives carly today In fire,
believed by city officials to be the
work of pyromaniac. Tho flames
swept with murderous suddenness
from cellar To attic OF hve-story
brick tenement ~ Lexington Ave-
nue. and One Hundred and Tenth
street. III the thickly populated East
Side
The blaze parcntly started In 2
baby carriage under tho stairs In the
lower hall under almost Identical cir
cumstanccs as the recent incendiary
fire in an upper West Side apartment
house which resulted in seven deaths.
So quickly did the flames shoot
through the building that n number
Of the dead We're found in bed,
burned or sunocatcd without tho
slightest opportunity to escape.
Mas, of FLAMES.
Nathan Silver and four OF his chill
drcn We're among the victims Mr.
and Mrs Abraham Matilsky and sid
ney and Catherine Sugarman. brother
and sister OF Mrs. Matilsky, also
persisted
Shortly after o'clock this mcrn-
ing. city Marshal Joseph Lazarus.
while on his way home. saw smoke
issuing from the hallway OF the
building. He ran TO the next corner
and turned in an alarm When ha
returned the whole building. tho
ground hoor of which is occupied
by stores. was mass II flames and
exit by the stairways was cut OF.
Most OF the persons on the second
hodr succeeded In making their way
down the fire escapes. but those on
the upper floors had to battle through
The smoke and flames pouring cut
of the windows.
Several tenants perched on upper
story windows threatened TO jump,
nut were prevailed upon By fire.
men to remain until ladders could
DC raised. one aged woman. Mrs.
Mary lnE!dss. disrcgardcd the warn
ing and lcarcd from the fourth floor
receiving injuries which probably will
cause her death.
Floor CoIlapscs.
While the nremcn were AT work on
the second and preparing TO fight
their way TO the one above. the third
h""r collapsed, hut not before a
warning roar had sent the tiremcn
TO safety.
Nearly score Of persons eve their
lives To l'-year-o!d James OdonncIl.
"a machinis,s' helper. who was eat
ing at restaurant in the vicinity
when he heard woman cry for
help. Running to the street. he saw
tho woman leaning out OF the win
dow on the second floor OF the burn
inS tenement with two small chill
dren hy her side. The young man
ciambered on the sill of store win
dow, jumped and caught swinging
sign and pulled himself up to tn.
window. He led the three frightened
tenants down the fire escape to the
street and then raced back and res
cued the wonian's lS-months'-old
baby, who was asleep In crib.
Later he went To the roof OF an ad-
joining building and by throwing
a board over the alley space, made
ants. who seemingly had been cut
IF from escape on the roof. to eros.
~ safety.
William conners, 80. who lives
with his mother across the street
from the burned building, also res
'Hcd number Of persons from the
third floor including Mrs Silver He
was badly burned when a gust OF
flame burned the cloihing from his
back as he was walking down the
hr" escape with a woman In his
arms.
Gives Life for Engagement Ring.
Assistant District Attorney Hennis,
one OF the first officials to visit the
scene while the blaze was in prog
rcss. noted the marked similarity
between tcday'S fire and that in tho
West side apartment house several
weeks ago. when seven persons wero
burned 10 death.
At that time, in doorway next To
Continued or Page ., Col. 5.)