Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1889 — FIFTEEN LIVES LOST. [ARTICLE]

FIFTEEN LIVES LOST.

Frightful Holocaust in m Novytpapor Hollaing at Minneapolis. One of the most horrible holocausts that ever happened in Minneapolis took place Saturday evening at 10:30 o’clock. An alarm of fire was turned in and it was soon knoWn that the Tribune buiidfngwaa on fire. This is a tall, eight story building, occupied almost wholly by printing offices. In an incredibly short time the flames were bursting through the roof and the windows of the upper stories. The fire department was promptly on the ground but was powerless to stay the flames. Now came a scene that stout men turn from in horror—one that froze the blood of the thousands who looked, but were powerless to save. Faces white with terror wore seen at the upper windows, piteous cries for help and shrieks filled the air. The largest, ladder hardly reached the fifthstory windows. The flames at the very first seized on the elevator, and the only stairway and all means of exit from the upper stories were cut off excepting one fire escape at one corner of the building. This afforded a means of escape to a number, but many »were cut off from this by the flames. Some men were seen to leave the buildxig by means of telegraph wires. They went fifteen or twenty feet, hand over nand, and then dropped, and were j crushed out of all semblance to humanity. Three others jumped from the windows near the same place, and were instantly , killed. One poor wretch in the upper window was seen, in his desperation, to, place a revolver to his head aad fire and fall backward in the flames. The firemen; did everything possible, but the doomedmen being in tho sixth and 1 seventh stor-' les, were out of reach, and little could be> done for them. One man jumped from thei seventh story on the First avenue side,snd was crushed to a pulp. It is now 1 thought that at least fifteen or perished in the flames. (. James F. Igoe, the night- operator of the Associated Press, met with a sad death as the result of his faithfulness to his em- i ployers. He was at work on the seventh floor when the report of tho fire was first., received, and immediately opened his key, stating the. fact to the head office at Chicago, and asking for a minute’s time to investigate. Soon lie returned to his : instrument apparently thinking he was lase, and told the sending operator to continue. In a moment he said he would have to “skip,” and found too late that escape was cut off. He jumped from the seventh-story window, and was so badly injured that he died before reaching 'he hospital. | The fire originated in a law office on the Ihird story of the building about 10:30. The elevator man noticed the smell of. smoke, and called attention of some of the' persons around the building to it. The ;ry of fire was raised and several persons' went do wn stairs from the seventh story, to investigate, and then returned to work. Before long smoke began to fill the narrow itairway, tho only one in the building, and everybody began leisurely making preparations for their departure. No immediate Hanger was feared. The only exits to the building, which was erroneously supposed to be fire-proof, were a narrow stair-case scarcely wide enough for two persons to some down abreast, the elevator aud a single fire escape, at the north end of tho building. Several persons had made their escape in tho meantime, but in less than leu minutes the fiamos sought tho elevator shaft, which, acting as a mammoth flue,- 1 Conveyed the flames to the top story, and soon the editorial rooms, in the same side otthe bui 1 ding where the fire originated, svere a seething mass of flames. In a few minutes it reached the other side, where the composing-room was situated. A gen_ tral alarm was turned in and all the engines in the city responded to tho call. Mr. A. J. Blethen, the proprietor of the Tribune, says that he heard the cry of fire snd started down stairs to investigate. On iihe third ffoor_he. found .The. fl.am.aa- hurst.ing out of the Union League rooms, some man trying unsuccessfully to subdue themHe Jumped into the elevator to get a fire extinguisher, which he supposed was on the fourth floor and started up after it. Before reaching the supposed location of the extinguisher ne was half suffocated by the dense smoke and compelled to leave the building, which speedily burned down. The flames were to the north of the elevator snd shot up the elevator shaft and stairway with terrible rapidity. Those on the upper floors who had not previously got out were penned in by the fire, which cut off the way in most instances to the fire escape on the north side of the building Mr. Blethen is of the opinion that eleven lives have been lost. The loss is placed by Mr. Blethen at $250,000, with an insurance of about $125,000. The following are among those lost: James F. Igoe, Associated Press operator Walter E. Miles,Associated Press agentW. H. Millman, commercial editor Tribune. Jerry Jonkinson, compositor Tribune. Robert McCutcheon,compositor Tribune Prof. Edward Olsen, Vermillion, Dak. Milton Pickett, reporter Pioneer Press