Year: 1871

Fire In Syracuse-Tvo Men Burned to


Death In BagniO-Tnju urIes and Narrow


Escapes of Other Parties.


The Syracuse IN. Y) Journal of Saturday
says


At twenty minutes past o'clock last evening,
an alarm of fire was sounded from box l6
corner of Fulton and Olive streets. 1t was
occasioned by the discovery that the bdgRio
kept by James Dings and Della Foster, No. 50
Pearl street. Fourth ward, was in flames. The
origin of the fire was as follows:-A lad named
Frank Robinson, employed about the house,
went to fve-gallon can of burning fluid, which
was in the saloon on the ground floor, and filed
q lamp. Alter filling the lamp, he lit it, throw
ing the still burning match upon the floor, not
observing that some of the fluid had leaked
from the can. The burning match fell ia the
spilled fluid, and in second the blaze commu-
nlcated to the can, which soon exploded, scat
tering its contents over the floor. At
the time OF giving the, alarm there
James Dings, Della Foster, Alice Gardner, and
Mary White, all inmates. The boy ran up
stairs to the room occupied by Dings, whom
he found lying on the bed asleep and tried to
awaken him. but was told to clear out aud let
him alone. The boy next went up stairs and tried
to awaken Hand, who was also asleep, but with
no better success. By this time the flames had
spread so rapidly that the boy was compelled to
leave to save himself, which he did. The girls
White and Gardner had, on the alarm being given,
fastened to their rooms to try and save their
effects and after staying long they could and

tempted to descend the stairs, but found their
retreat cut off, the stairs being all in flames.
The girl White started for one of the front
windows in the second story, and, kicking out
the glass Jumped out, landing on the roof of
rear shed, from which position she was rescued.
She had several cuts about her foot and leg.
The Gardner girl ran to a window Ia the rear of
the house and jumped out landing on the
ground and sustaining severe cuts about the
face and bruises on her back and arm. Tue
woman Foster attempted to get into the room
where Dings was, by means of a balcony ia
front but on opening the trout door the flames
and smoke struck her in the face, burning her
s quite severely and driving her back The fact
: that two men were in the burning building was
not generally known, and the rapdity with
which the flames spread would have made it eX-


tremely hazardous for any one to attempt to get


to them.


AS soon as il was possible search was made
for the missing men. Ga entering the bedroom
the body OF Dings was discovered. The Stats of
the bedstead, on which he had lain down after


supper, had burned off, and the mattress and
bedding had fallen down upon the floor. In the


eeptre of this, and cross wise of the he'd, lay


Dings upon his face The back portion of his


body and his head are burned to crisp his


clothing being almost entirely burned from his


bady. In the third story was found the body


of Hand, who, It appears, must have made an


attempt to save himself on finding the house was


ON FIRE. The body lay near the bed, the feet


being beneath it. A quilt, partially burned was


found wrapped about him, as though he haa


sought TO protect himself from the flames Both


DiDgs and Hand had been drinking freely aud


after supper both thought to take a nap. The


deep sleep induced by their pOtations was no


doubt, the cause of their not understanding the
\. boy who attempted to save them, and their
refusal TO get ue ensured their horrible deaths.