Terrible Disaster in New York

Evening Star, Issue 8644, 12 October 1891, Page 3

Terrible Disaster in New York

A disaster, involving fearful loss of life, occurred in New York on Saturday, August 22. A five-storey building in the heart of the city collapsed, and buried all who happened to be in it at the time. The 'Standard's' correspondent, describing the calamity, says:—At the south-east corner of Greenwich street and Park place there stood on Saturday morning a brick and stone structure five storeys high. Upon Greenwich street it had a frontage of 50ft, and included Nos. 245 and 247. The frontage to Park place measured 150 ft, and here the numbers were from 68 to 78. The building waa a veritable hive of various businesses. Upon the ground floor was a restaurant and Beveral shops. The upper storeys were occupied by some finall manufacturers, by plinters, by lithographers, bookbinders, and other kindred trades, which usually employ a large number of women. There were nearly a hundred human beings in the ill-fated structure.

A few minutes after twelve o'clock the four houßea numbered 68 to 1i Park place fell forwards into the street. Immediately a flame of fire blazed up, and in less than an hour the entire premises were more completely destroyed than if they had been bombarded by artillery. The weight of the debris broke the network of telegraph wires, from the ends of which sparks issued. A band of rescuers was instantly at work, and many of these received shocks of electricity. Moreover, the fall also broke the main pipes by which the New York Steam Heating Company conveyed steam for heating purposes, and for power to the factoiies in the neighborhood. Blinding clouds of steam arose from the fractures—more terrifying, happily, than hurtful. All these things combined—the dense steam; the pitchy smoke ascending from the ruins ; the screams of the injured, who could not be rescued, and knew that a horrible ('oath was only a question of a few minutes; and the shouts of the firemen and police, who strove heroioally to keep back the crowd and hasten to afford help, if perohance they mighi! save some alive—formed a soene that cannot be adequately described. Three children who were playing in the street opposite the building were overwhelmed by the falling wall, but not so deeply buried that they could not be heard, The firemen, stripped to the skin—grimy but heroic figures—tore at the prostrate beam* and heaps of brick like so many madmen, their hearts fired and their musolea steeled by the little voices crying to bo released. At last the three little form* were uncovered. Only one was able to speak, and what he said was: •* Please save my little sister; Bhe's all bloody." They were tenderly borne to the ambulance; the brave, unselfish boy waving his hands to his mother. The unhappy woman had witnessed the occurrence from her lodgings opposite, and, half-crazed, was struggling with her husband to throw herself from the window and get to the ohildren.

Probably only one man escaped from the buildiug that fell. He waa at work on the top floor, and is unable to tell how it hap. pened; but unquestionably he slipped unaided down the debris that blocked the street, and found himself, although bruised and shaken, praotically uninjured. There is little to tell about most of the inmates of the building, as their destruction was complete. The fire that originated on the-acene of the collapse spread to the adjoining houses within the numbers given above, and burned them out. But the workpeople here had j ost time to escape. Scores of working girls, only partly dressed, were let down by ladders. As to the cause of the disaster, some attribute it to the explosion of the boiler in the basement; but other explosive material was stored in the building in large quantities for the trades carried on therein, including barrels of turpentine, varnbh, benzine, oil, and aloohol. The explosion theory appears to be contradicted by the faot that the ruins rather indicated a collapse than an outburst, which would have scattered the debris. On one floor were over a Bcore of huge printing presses, weighing fifty tons, and revolving large fly-wheels outwards towards the street. Each of these would contribute to put the struoture in a condition of unstable equilibrium. The construction also has been faulty, both in design and exeoution. There were no ! divisional walls in the entire block. Above the ground the partitions and pillarßwere of wood only. Most of the bodies were burnt and mutilated beyond recognition, and were only identified by means of remnants of clothing, trinkets, and the like. Six corpses, those of five girls and one boy, were found huddled together. They were very much swollen, and all the appearances pointed to the faot

that death In their case had been cailsed by Buffooation.

A deserted damsel struck her lover with a poker, exclaiming with a sigh: ««You have broken my heart, and I'll break your head, sir J" The name of MrM. Fagan was Inserted in error as being a director of the Caledonian Society. He was not re-elected, having left the district. ______^__