Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 426: Volume 17, New Series, February 28, 1852Various
History
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 426: Volume 17, New Series, February 28, 1852
Various
Periodicals
Strangely enough, the sensation caused by the above catastrophe had
not subsided, when another case of destruction of life occurred in New
York from a similarly groundless fear of fire. This second disaster is
noticed as follows in the newspapers:
'Monday night (January 12), between the hours of nine and ten o'clock,
a frightful calamity occurred at 140 Centre Street, in a rear building
owned by the Commissioners of Emigration, for the reception of the
newly-arrived emigrants. The building is five storeys high, and each
floor appropriated for the emigrants--the upper rooms principally for
the women, and the lower part for the men. In this place, six human
lives were lost, and perhaps as many more may yet die from the
injuries sustained. It seems that between nine and ten o'clock, the
City Hall bell rang an alarm of fire in the fifth district, and some
of the women on the upper floors called out "fire," which instantly
created a panic of alarm on each floor among them, and a general rush
was made for the stairway, which being very contracted, they fell one
on the top of each other, creating an awful state of confusion. So
terrified were some, that they broke out the second and third storey
windows, and sprang out, falling with deadly violence in the yard
below. The screams and cries of the affrighted women and children soon
called the aid of the police; and Captain Brennen, aided by his
efficient officers, rendered every assistance in his power, and
succeeded, as quickly as possible, in extricating the injured as well
as the dead from the scene of calamity. Six dead bodies were conveyed
to the station-house, and eight persons were conveyed to the city
hospital with broken arms and bodily injuries, some of whom are not
expected to survive. Many others were injured, more or less, but not
deemed sufficiently so to be sent to the hospital. Those killed are
all children, except one, who is a young woman about twenty years of
age. They were all suffocated by the number of persons crowded on
them. The scene at the Sixth Ward Station-house presented a woful
sight, the mothers of the deceased children bewailing over them in the
most pitiful manner. At the time the alarm was given, there were about
480 emigrants in the building, the larger proportion women and
children, who were up stairs; and in forcing their way down stairs,
the balusters gave way, thus precipitating them down in a very similar
manner to the unfortunate children at the Ninth Ward School-house.
There was, it seems, no cause for the alarm of fire any more than the
bells rang an alarm; which alarm did not refer to that district, but
was misconstrued by the emigrants to be in their building. Alderman
Barr was quickly on the spot, rendering every assistance in his power
to alleviate the sufferings of the poor unfortunate emigrants.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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