Evening star., 1922-10-23
Is DIE IN FLAMES;
PROBES BEGUN
Fire Starts Under Tenement
Stairway, Where Six Baby
Carriages Are Parked.
18 LIVES SAVED By MAN
Hero, on Hospital Cot, Fails to
Say Anything About It, But
Patrolman Saw Him.

NEW YORK. October. 23-Two
separate inquiries were launched
today into the origin of the fire
early Sunday morning In which hf-
teen persns died. seventeen were In
Jured and $50 made homeless. Fire
Marshal Thomas Brophy was In
charge of one Investigation. and As
sistant District Attorney John K.
Hennis of the homicide bureau of
the other.
The fire was thought to have start
cd under the main stairway in the
hall of a five-story double tenement
structure at 11eth street and Lex,
ington avenue. Six baby carriages
had been parked there the evening
before In many respects the fire
was similar to one on the same street
but on the west side month ago. in
which seven lives were lost.
Six members OF the family Of Abra-
ham Sugarman were burned to
death, and fiYe or six members of the
silver family lost their lives in the
flames Several of the dead were
killed in jumping from the burning
structure. Two bodies. those of q
man ana a "OEnan, were tiidii Gu ~
badly as to render Identification diff
ficult, If not impossible.
Fire Spreads Rapidly.
The fire made rapid headway.
sheets of flame roaring through
wooden air shafts and Railways up
five floors in fifteen minutes. Many
thrilling rescues were made, Freder-
ich Strokkac being credited by
police with saving eighteen lives. He
was taken to a hospital severely
burned.
Neighbors gave shelter to the
homeless families.
The blaze apparently started in
baby carriage under the stairs In the
lower hall under almost identical cir
cumstances 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 number
of the dead were found in bed, burn
ed or suffocated without the slightest
opportunity to escape.
Several tenants perched on upper
story windows threatened to jump,
but were prevailed upon by fremen
10 remain until ladders could be
raised to take them down. One aged
woman, Mrs. Mary InglasS, Disregard
ed the warning and leaped from the
fourth floor. receiving injuries which
caused her death.
While the firemen were at work on
the second and preparing to fight
their way to the one above the third
floor collapsed. but not before warn
ing roar had sent the firemen to
safety.
Youth Saves Many Lives.
Nearly score of persons owe their
lives to seventeen-year-old James
O'ponnell, a mechanics helper. who
was eating at a restaurant in the
vicinity when he heard a woman cry
for help. Running to the street, he
saw the woman leaning out Of the
window on the second floor or the
burning tenement with two small
children by her side.
The young man clambered on the
sill OF a store window. jumped and
caught a swinging sign and pulled
himself up to the window. He led the
three frightened tenants down the
fire escape to the street and then
raced back and rescued the Woman's
eighteen -month-old baby, who was
asleep in a crib. Later he went to
the roof of an adjoining building, and
by throwing a board over the alley
space made 1t possible for a number
of tenants. who seemingly had been
cut off from escape on the roof. To
cross in safety.
The card on the bedstead of Strok-
kach, who is recovering In the hos,
pital from the effects of smoke. bears
notation that makes him one OF the
heroes Of the fire.
He saved the lives of eighteen per-
sons" tho notation says. 1t is signed
by Patrolman Cash, who was on duty
at the fire. Strokkach said nothing
about 1t.