67/ t §mml\ HmrOTitg ^ihxm^ THE GIFT OF IL. \l.suXWv A. 14-^^03 \A.\v\oi no, 1 Cornell University Library H TH 2274.B71 ■ Special report on tenement tiouse fires 3 1924 015 346 335 NEW YORK ^^ J » TENEMENT HOUSE COMMISSION OF ipOC DATE DUE ■^ci SPECIAL REPORf ON Tenement House IN NEW YORK. GAYLORD i97F -:i~inU~ 1)4^ -J^f-^ ..-^■^^84, .»««-^ ^,,j,,^i,,»M^^w^m'tJmi3<'»K m k^Mmsf oajt- ^*«^ HUGH BONNER LAWRENCE VEILLER Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924015346335 Tenement House Fires IN NEW YORK PREPARED FOR TheTenement House Commission OF 1900. HUGH BONNER LAWRENCE VEILLER NEW YORK : Thb Evening Post Job Printing House, 156 Fulton Street. (evening post building.) 1900, K .JHltrfir^ afl — 105 East 22d Street, New York City, November 1, 1900. Mr. Egbert W. de Forest, Chairman, Tenement House Commission : Dear Sib, — We beg to submit herewith a report on tenement house fires in New York City during the past two years and a half. In preparing this report we have sought to present only accurate facts and not impressions, and to this end have drawn our information from the original records of the Fire Department. Respectfully submitted, Hugh Bonner. Lawrence Veiller. THE TENEMENT HOUSE COMMISSION OF 1900. KOBEKT W. DB rOBEST, Chairman; E. F. ALMIBALL, HUGH BONNEB, CHABLES S. BBOWN, PAUL D. CBAVATH, WILLIAM A. DOUGLAS, OTTO M. EIDLITZ, GEOEGE B. FOWLEB, F. NOETON GODDAED, WILLIAMS LANSING, WILLIAM J. O'BEIEN, JAMES B. BEYNOLDS, I. N. PHELPS STOKES, MYLES TIBENEY, ALFEED T. WHITE. La-wkbnoe VBiLiiEB, E. B. Whitnbt, Winthbop E. D-wight, Secretary. Counsel. Associate Counsel. TENEMENT HOUSE FIRES. During the past twelve months 41 persons have been burned to death in tenement houses in this city, and 34 persons have been more or less seriously injured. The newspaper records of these fires relate an almost con- tinuous chapter of horrors, describing panic-stricken tenants jumping from windows and heroic rescues by fire- men. The following headings of tenement house fires taken from the New York Times, the Commercial Ad- vertiser, the Evening Post and the Mail and Express, all papers thoroughly conservative and in no way sensational, give one a realizing sense of the horror of such occur- rences : Crazed by Fright at a Fire! Youth Eefuses to Follow His Father and Jumps from a Window! {Oom. Adv., Deo. 27, 1899.) Fire Empties a Tenement! 12 Families Forced to Flee to the Street! {.Com. Adv., Jan. 1, 1900.) One Dead, 11 In- jured in Fire! Crowded First Avenue Tenement Wrecked! A Baby's the Only Life Lost, but Brave Rescuers Prevent Long List of Casualties! Flames Shoot up Air-shaft! (Evg. Sun, Jan. 2, 1900.) Loss of Life in a First Avenue Fire —2 Children Dead— 3 Missing and Y Persons Injured! Flames Burst Out Suddenly! (Kmes, Jan. 2, 1900.) 3 Perish in Midnight Fire. Flames sweep through a Big Five- Story Tenement! Other Tenants are Missing! Policemen Make Many Rescues! 4 Firemen Overcome by Gas and Smoke! (Times, Jan. 6, 1900.) 16 Families Homeless! A $10,000 Tenement House Fire! Rescues by a Policeman and Watchman! {Mug. Post, Feb. 4, 1900.) A Tenement Fire Panic! Tenants Rush to Escape from Flames and Smoke in a Broome Street Blaze! (Post, Feb. lo, 1900.) Panic at Har- lem Fire! Negro and 2 White Men Rescue 6 Children— the Negro Makes a Derrick of His Body, His Legs Held by the White Men, and Swings the Children to Safety! (Times, March 21, 1900.) Fires Menace Many Lives! Two Victims of the Flames will Probably Die! The Bravery of Policeman Saves Women and Children in East Side Tene- ment Houses! {Times, April 14, 1900.) Three Die in Flames! Children Victims of Fire in Tenement at No. 74 Forsyth Street! Girl Saves Her Father's Life! Policeman Falls a Story with Two Babies in His Arms! Many Walk a Plank Across Dizzy Abyss to Safety. {Mail and mpress, April 25,1900.) 11 Persons Dead in Tenement Fire! Policemen Face Flames and Smoke and Make Brave Rescues! Entire Family Wiped Out! Of Another Household 3 are Dead and 6 Lie in Gouverneur Hospital Terribly Injured! CRmes, June 16, 1900.) Second Tenement Fire! One Woman Burned to Death and Many Other Persons Injured ! Panic- stricken Inmates of Building Leap to Adjoining Roofs — Women and Children Trampled On! (Times, June 16, 1900.) Panic-stricken at a Fire — Firemen and Policemen Have Difficulty in Rescuing Tenants from Burning Building! {Timis, July 5, 1900.) Fire in Italian Tenement-- The Men Seek their Own Safety. Police Rescue Women and Chil- dren! (Times, Aug. 9, 1900.) Eight Dead by Fire! Awful Tragedy this Morning in Hester Street — The Work of an Incendiary— Woman Burned to Death on Fire Escape in Sight of Crowd! Faces of Tortured People Seen at the Windows! {MaU and Ex-press, Oct. 17th.) During a period of 11 years from January 1, 1884, to January 1, 1895, only 177 persons met their deaths in tenement house fires, while during the past twelve months (November 1, 1899, to November 1, 1900) 41 persons have been killed in this manner, the number of deaths caused in this way in this one year being one-fourth of all the deaths occasioned by such cause in eleven years. This has been the loss in life only; unfortunately there is no way of estimating the suffering from exposure and panic and the mental strain engendered by such calami- ties, nor is there any way of estimating the financial loss to the poor people, from whom fire nearly always sweeps away all their possessions. To what extent these calami- ties could have been prevented and how far the construe- tion of the buildings in which they occurred was respon- sible for them, it becomes of the utmost importance to know. Forty-seven per cent, of all the fires in the city occur in tenement houses, although these buildings are only thirty-seven per cent, of all the buildings in the city. During the years 1898 and 1899 there were 6,324 fires in tenement houses in Greater New York. If all these fires had gained full headway before the arrival of the firemen, what the loss in life and property would have been one hesitates to imagine. Only a small number of these fires, however, became so serious before the arrival of the fire- men that it was not possible to check them before they had spread throughout the building. The possibilities, however, for disastrous consequences existed in almost every case, and had it not been for the efficiency of the fire department, the results would have been far different. In order to ascertain how tenement houses should be constructed so as to minimize the danger from fire, it be- comes necessary to have exact knowledge as to the way in which fires ordinarily spread through such buildings, so that those parts of the buildings which are the dangerous parts may be more fully protected. Do most tenement house fires extend from one part of the building to another by means of the light-shafts, or through the stairways and public haU, or directly through the floors and partitions enclosing the rooms ? — or in what ways do such fires spread, and to what extent? To ascertain these facts the original records of the Fire Department, con- tained in the reports of the chiefs of battalions, have been placed at the disposal of the Commission through the courtesy of the Fire Department. Over 60,000 of such records have been examined. From these records have been selected all those relating to fires which occurred in tenement houses during the years 1898 and 1899 in all the different Boroughs of Greater New York, and also the records of similar fires occurring during the first six months of the year 1900 in the Boroughs of Manhattan and 8 the Bronx. It was originally planned to extend this examination and study over a period of five years, but it was found that the original records of the Fire Depart- ment prior to 1898 were not available in such form as to be useful for this inquiry. An examination of the records for this period discloses the fact that during this time t,943 fires have occurred in tenement houses. A large number of these, however, were found to be of comparatively slight importance, having been extinguished in a few moments after the arrival of the apparatus of the Fire Department. It became neces- sary, therefore, at the start to distinguish between those tenement fires which were of relatively slight importance and those which extended throughout the building. It was found that in 329 tenement houses during this period the fires had extended through the buildings. The following table shows in detail the total number of fires in each Borough, as well as the total number for the TENEMENT HOUSE FIEES IN GEEATER NEW YORK— 1898-1900. Borough. 1 Si Tbnbment FIBES. CocBSB OF Fire Through Botldings IN THE Extended Fires. ' Date. ij "8| 1 3 Hi H 1| "S i 1^ CO 111' 1 O l| 1 35 6 81 18 14 32 IS 76 h 38V 19V 34V i u 6 H i ^ i J. {5 1 i ¥ i .i i 1898- BrooUyn and Queens.. Total 4,289 2,203 8,220 623 28>f 2,142 699 78 24 4H 8 2 UV 9V 7 4 lOV 17V 3 DV 13V 15 5 21V 22V 4 6V OV 1 1 IV 4V 10 2 14V 9V — 8 1 6.442 4,872 2,660 2,843 2,551 980 525ir 855ir 2,741 2,445 888 102 106 42 S'4 10 10 2 IIV lOV 5V 11 25 11 12V 26V 27V 3 8 SV 8V OV 80 18 11 22V 19V 27V 4 10 4V lOV OV 2 9 2 2V 9V 6V 12 4 1 ISV 4V 2V 9 9 1 1899 Manhattan and Bronzi- Brooklyn and Queens. . Total 7,532 2,974 8,481 1,619 46^ 54V 3,338 1,540 148 79 5% 23V aov 26V 12 7 9V IIV 36 12 26V 18V 8 8 2V 12V 89 21 21V 82V 10 7V OV 11 3 8V 5V 5 1 1900*. Manhattan and Bronx. 2V 14 Total 16,948 7,943 47V 7,614 329 iX 29 lOV 59 20V 14 5V 70 24V 14 5V 16 5V 18 6V 33 * First six months. t Eleven months. whole city, the number of tenement house fires and the percentage of such fires. Of the tenement house fires, the number that were serious, and the number of those confined to the point of starting, and also the percentage of the extended fires, has been given. Of this latter class a very detailed analysis is made of the course of such fires through the buildings, showing the number and percent- age of those that extended through light-shafts, through the dumbwaiter and elevator shafts, through halls and stairs, through partitions and flooring, and in other ways: It appears from a study of these statistics that, during the period under examination (1898, 1899 and the first half of 1900), there were in the City of Greater New York a total number of 16,948 fires, and that 7,943 of these occurred in tenement houses, *'. e., that 4Y per cent, or nearly one-half of all the fires occurred in buildings of this kind. Of these T, 943 tenement house fires 7,614 were confined to the point of ^starting, while 339 extended through the building; that is, 4 per cent, of these fires were serious in their consequences. Of the 329 fires which extended through the build- ing, 76, or 26 per cent., spread by means of the light- shafts; 29, or 10 per cent., through the dumbwaiter and elevator shaft, 59 of them, or 20 per cent., through the halls and stairs; 14, or 5 per cent., through the light-shaft combined with the halls and stairs; 70, or 24 per cent., through the flooring or partitions, 14, or 5 per cent., through the spaces around pipes; 16, or 5 per cent., through windows outside the building, and 18, or 6 per cent., in other various ways. That is, approximately speaking, one-fourth of all the fires went through the light- shafts, and one fifth through the halls and stairs, while another fourth spread by means of the partitions and floorings. It becomes evident, therefore, that the small, narrow light-shaft, serving as a flue, is a source of the greatest danger in buildings of this kind, and from the point of view of fire, as well as from the sanitary point of view, the construction of such shafts in future tenement 10 houses should be absolutely prohibited. It is equally apparent that the public halls and stairs in such buildings should be make absolutely fireproof, and that every pre- caution should be taken to prevent the spread of fire by confining it to such fireproof portions of the building. It might weU be asked by a person studying this sub- ject, why is it that theie are so many of these tenement house fires, and what is their cause? A study of the records shows that the causes are of great variety, and that they are due in large measure to the fact hat so great a number of people are living in such close contact. Among the causes most frequently noted are the careless use of matches; the upsetting of kerosene lamps; gas explosions, and the placing of clothing and furniture too near stoves, while many fires occur from children playing with matches on sofas and on beds. Other causes to be found are in fat boiling over, rubbish in cellars ignit- ing, sparks from locomotives and fire crackers, and a certain proportion are of incendiary origin. The following table shows the various causes of tenement house fires daring the month of June of the present year: TABLE SHOWING THE VAEIOUS CAUSES OP TENEMENT HOUSE EIEES DURING THE MONTH OP JUNE, 1900. Date. 1900. June., II I i. 13>f -kl I- iX 11 I" k 8V 5% 2m w ?gs s ■ 9^ a ° m 5% I J. a . 221 P4 « 10 CM i}i 13 I- si sa SX &>A S ■ ft Less than iX 0^ than than 97 m TENEMENT FIRES— JANUARY 1 TO JULY 1, 1900. (6 Months. Manhattan and Bkonx. Places op Starting and Time of Ocoureenoe. Month. January. . February March . . . , April May June Total... Total Tenement Fires. 804 274 249 273 279 240 1,019 Orioinated in Roohs. Si 144 125 143 183 117 127 789 20 146 130 147 13S 12-2 129 809 51 V 49,V eojjf 47 V 56,%- 62!i Originated in Cellar. Cellar Wood Bins. Other Parts op Cellar. Total is Cellar. g^ \Mm 27 28 18 6 33 15 16 143 cfl a dip 37V 43V 47V lOV 42V 30V 35V ■oS a>co a §° 248 S-33 E 19 5;v 63V %V o8V 70,V 6S,V St 870 35 405 0)0 31V 26V 18V 28V 36V 22V 26V Originated in First Floor Store. Si 144 U 29 24 34 17 27 153 8V 11 V lOV 13V 7V 18V lOV Originated in Halls. St 0, o I 8 10 9 12 7 7 48 we s^» 6 11 11 12 7 64 2V 4V 4V 5V 3V SV 3V Originated in Other Parts of Building. f

ir) 35(65ir) 4 290(63Jf) 185(34?s-) 74(18%) 6 198(36%) 555 Buildings containing 4,805 Families. families in each house, the number containing 4, 5 and 6 families, and so on up to 36 families, as well as the num- ber of tenement houses in which the floors of the fire escape balconies were made of wooden slats, contrary to the law; also the number of tenements in which the bal- conies were connected by vertical ladders instead of stairs with a hand-rail, as required by law; the number where fire escape balconies were very badly encumbered with household goods, the number of cases where these bal- conies were partly encumbered, and the number where they were slightly encumbered, as well as the number of houses in which the openings of the balconies, through which persons must descend in case of fire, were closed or covered over so that egress from the building in case of fire would have been more than difficult, if not im- possible. From examination of this table it appears that in these 665 tenement houses accommodating 4,306 families or 21,626 persons, none of the houses had any fire escapes on the front. In 198 houses, or 36 per cent., the floors of the fire escape balconies were of wood, so that in case a tire broke out at the rear, these balconies would be practically use- less, as the wooden slats would immediately burn away leaving simply a hole. That only 90 of these buildings, or 16 per cent., were provided with stairs connecting the different balconies, 393 of the buildings, or Yl per cent., being fui-nished simply with vertical ladders. When it is borne in mind that in the experience of the Fire Depart- ment vertical ladders are seldom used by women or chil- dren and that in nearly every case where such ladders are provided on buildings of this kind, the firemen have to res- cue the tenants and carry them down from the different balconies, the significance of this state of affairs begins to be realized. The following quotations from the reports of differ- ent fire chiefs in reference to a number of tenement house fires occurring within the present year emphasize this fact: 10 Report of Chief of 10th Battalion, Joseph P. Byrnes, on fire occurring at 305 East 92d street on January 6, 1900: " Fire started at 12.09 A. m., originated in the cellar and extended to the first, second, third, fourth and fifth stories by the light shaft and stair- way. * * * Fire- man Charles McCarthy, of Engine Company No. 22, rescued 2 children from the fifth floor from fire escapes, and assisted in the rescue of a Mrs. Goodwin from the'fifth floor, and members of Hook and Ladder Company No. 13 assisted several persons down the fire escape and ladders. Fireman Patrick H. McCartie, of Hook and Ladder Company No. 13, rescued a Mrs Gordon from the fifth floor from fire escape by a 3b -foot ladder." Eeport of Acting Chief James C. Brogan on fire oc- curring at 23 and 25 Jefferson street on March lY, 1900: " Fire occurred at 8.23 o'clock a. m., started on the first floor and extended through the second, third, fourth and fifth— cause unknown; 20 families in building. Members of Hook and Ladder Company No. 6 assisted several per- sons on fire escapes to escape by ladder. " Report of Chief of Battalion William Guerin on fire oc- curring at li and 76 Forsyth street on April 25, 1900: " Fire occurred at 3.22 o'clock a. m.— cause of fire could not he ascertained. * * * On arrival at fire I found the entire line of stairway burned away from the first floor to the roof, and the fire spreading out in all direc- tions on every floor — all the occupants were assisted down front and rear fire escapes by members of Hook and Lad- der Company No. 69 and police in the vicinity, except 3 children who were all burned to death." Report of Chief of Battalion William Guerin on fire oc- curing at 391 Madison street on May 8, 1900: " Fire oc- curred at 4.17 o'clock a. m. — Cause of fire unknown. * * * Occupants assisted to street from fire escapes by Hook and Ladder Companies No. 11 and No. 18, and policemen on duty in the vicinity of the fire."" Report of Chief of Battalion James J. McCartney on fire occurring at 1091 Park avenue on May 22d: " Fire 11 started at 4.40 o'clock p. m. * * * Mrs. Lawrence, aged 5T years, was taken from the third floor by members of Hook and Ladder Company No. 13 down a B5-foot ladder — they also assisted a number of tenants down the rear fire escapes." In the 556 tenement houses, above mentioned, in 290 houses, or 53 per cent., the fire escape balconies were very badly encumbered, and in 185 houses, or 34 per cent., they were partly encumbered, while in only 74 cases, or 13 per cent., had they any semblance of heing kept clear. In addition, it was found that in 198 buildings, or 36 per cent., the openings through which the ladders or stairs passed, and through which the tenants and firemen must descend, were closed over with boards or other heavy obstructions. BROOKLYN. In Brooklyn, that portion of the Seventeenth Ward in what is known as Greenpoint and vicinity, was inspected. It was not possible within the time at our disposal to ex- amine the entire ward. Eight hundred and six houses, how- ever, were examined. The system employed in Brooklyn was not the same as that employed in New York. In New York only those houses whi'ch had no fire escapes on the front were examined. In Brooklyn, however, each re- sidence building in a certain neighborhood was inspected. Out of these 806 buildings it was found that there were nine which were ' ' furnished-room " houses, or used as hotels in part, and 136 buildings containing less than three families and, therefore, not within the purposes of this investigation. Of the 661 tenement houses examined it was found that 283 were without fire escapes of any kind whatso- ever ; notwithstanding the fact that 242 of these were wooden buildings where the chance for escape in case of fire is almost nothing. Of these 242 wooden tenement houses 199 contained three families each; 25 houses con- 12 f tained four families each, 17 contained six families each, and one house contained as many as eight families, mak- ing a total of 807 families, or 4^035 persons, living in wooden tenement houses without any fire escapes of any kind. The remainder of the 283 buildings without any fire escapes, viz.: 41 houses were of brick. Twenty-one of these houses contained three families each, 6 contained four families each, 12 contained six families each, 1 con- tained eight families and 1 contained nine families, making a total of 176 families or 880 persons living in brick tenement houses without any means of escape whatsover. That is, in these 283 tenement houses, there were living 983 families, or 4,916 persons — nearly 5,000— without any means of escape, and this notwithstanding the fact that each one of these buildings contained as many as three families, and therefore was required by law to be provided with good and sufficient fire escapes. BEOOKLYN [Pabt ov Setejntebnth WaedJ. BrrrLDiKGS without any Fiee Escapes at aui. Total Buildings Inspected 422 Furnished Boom Houses, Hotels, etc 6 Houses with Less Than Three Families 133 Wood. Briek. Total. Tenements 242 41 283 No. of Families on a Floor: One Family 207 27 234 Two Families 27 13 40 Three Families 1 1 Miscellaneous 8 8 No. of Families in Building: Three in Building 199 21 220 Four " " 25 6 31 Sis " " 17 12 29 Eight " " 1 1 2 Nine " " 1 1 13 So much for the tenement houses without any fire escapes. Of the remaining 3T8 tenement houses in- spected, which were provided with fire escapes, it was found that 2Y3 of these buildings were of wood and 105 of brick, and that out of the 273 wooden buildings 26 houses contained three families each, 2 houses contained four families each, 203 contained six families each, 38 houses contained eight families each, 1 house contained nine families, 1 house contained ten families, and two con- tained sixteen famihes each. Of the 105 brick tenement houses, 6 buildings contained three famihes each, 10 con- tained four families each, 37 contained six families each, 50 contained eight families each, 1 contained twelve fami- lies, and another contained sixteen families. BEOOKLTN [Pabt of Seventeenth Waed], Btjildings with Fiee Escapes. Total Buildings Inspected 384 "Furnished Boom " Houses, etc 3 Houses ■with Less than Three Families 3 Wood. Brick. Total Tenements 273 105 378 No. of Families on a Floor: One FamUy 25 15 40 Two Famines 243 87 330 Three " 1 1 2 Four " 2 1 3 Miscellaneous 2 1 3 No. of Families in Building: Three in BuUdiag 26 6 32 Four " " 2 10 12 Six " " 203 37 240 Eight" " 38 50 88 Nine " " 1 1 Ten " " 1 1 Twelve in Building Oil Sixteen " " 2 1 3 It was found that out of 378 houses provided with fire escapes only 16, or 4 per cent., had balconies on the u fronts of the houses; that 266 buildings, or 70 per cent., had balconies on the rear, and that 91 houses had no fire- escape balconies at all, but were provided with a very peculiar system of ostensible fire escapes, consisting of a vertical ladder suspended in mid air in front of the build- ing at each story by two iron brackets. This ladder was generally found to be held off from the front of the build- ing at a distance of about 2 feet 6 inches. These brackets were not provided with any platform or balcony, but were simply two thin pieces of iron, about 3 feet apart, holding out the ladder. In some cases the tenants had placed boards across the brackets and put flower pots and boxes upon the boards. It is hardly necessary to point out that this arrangement could not, by the furthest stretch of the imagination, be considered a fire escape. Of the tenements with fire escapes, 91 houses, or 24 percent., were found to be provided with these ladders so that prac- tically this number should be added to the buildings pre- viously mentioned as being without any fire escape what- soever. TENEMENT FIEE ESCAPES. PaET of SeTUNTEBNTH WaED, BbOOKIiTN. No. of Families in Building. 4 a 8 9 10 la 16 Totals 12 S40 88 1 1 1 3 378 10B(28;!ir) ziscnsx) OW) 19 10 170 68 1 1 a 266(70^) 15(4%) H p-o m 91(24;!^) 6(3^) Baloonibs— How CONNBOTKD. ^ 33(ia>f) 11 6 163 60 1 1 2 844(87?^) 4(W) iNCruBKAsrox OF Balconies. >»9 no 106(37;!^) t>>S 81(29^) If baa 10 95(S4Jf) Floor Slats. I 149(B3>ir) 19 132{47>f 15 Of the 281 houses provided with some kind of balco- nies, it was found that in only 33 houses, or 12 per cent., were these balconies connected by stairs, and that in 244 houses, or 87 per cent., they were connected simply by vertical ladders. In 105 houses, or 37 per cent., the fire- escape balconies were found to be badly encumbered with household goods, that is, over one-half the balconies were 80 encumbered. In 81 cases, or 29 per cent., the balconies were but partly encumbered, while in 95 cases, or 34 per cent., the balconies were found to be almost clear. In 149 cases, or 63 per cent., the floors of the balconies were found to be made entirely of wood, which in case of fire would be practically useless, as they would immediately burn away, leaving simply a hole. This condition of afifairs in a very small part of the Borough of Brooklyn is a most serious one, especially when it is remembered how large a number of these houses are made of wood, and that in a wooden tenement house, occupied by three families or more the chance for escape, if a fire occurs, is the very slightest. We would call attention to a recent fire in a wooden tenement house in Hester street, occurring on October 17th, in which eight persons were burned to death. It appears, according to the New York Times of October 18th, that "one woman was roasted to death on the landing of a fire escape, because the fire escape stopped at the second floor, and there was no ladder to be let down from that point, as the law required." If a serious fire should occur in any one of the buildings included in the above inspection, it is not only possible, but very probable, that similar catastrophies would occur. We would also call the attention of the Commission to the fact that outside of the Seventeenth Ward, all through this city, and especially on First avenue. Second avenue. Third avenue, Sixth avenue, Eighth avenue and on hun- dreds of the cross streets in Harlem, there are thousands of the better class of flat buildings without any fire escapes on the front. While these buildings bring in higher rentals 16 and are occupied generally by fewer families than in the more congested portions of the city, the buildings themselves are in the main constructed in as poor a man- ner as the cheap tenements, notwithstanding their showy and expensive fronts ; and the dangers from fire in these buildings are quite as great as in any of the vforst tene- ment houses. As a type of flat or apartment house not equipped with proper fire escapes we would call attention to the building on the northwest corner of 44th street and Lexington avenue. This is a seven-story building, arranged for fourteen families and occupied at the present time by thirteen families. It is not fireproof and has no fire escapes of any kind, and the stairs are of wood ; more- over, it is connected at different stories with a storage warehouse, a building in which the danger from fire is very great. This is but one type of a number of buildings found throughout the city. We believe that every tenement house in this city w^hich is not fireproof throughout should have fire escapes both on the front and on the rear of the building, and if fire escapes are to be omitted anywhere they had much better be omitted on the rear than on the front, for there they are absolutely essential. The purpose of a fire escape is quite as much to enable the firemen to reach the ten- ants and the fire, as it is to allow the tenants to leave the building. Where there are no fire escapes on the front of the buildings the work of the firemen is greatly retarded ; again, where there are fire escapes only in the rear it is quite possible and generally probable, that the fire may occur in that part of the building and that therefore escape from the rear will be cut off, and the tenants will perish. As a rule the kitchens of such apartments are in the rear of the building, and it is in the kitchens that most of the fires start. The report of Fire Chief John Welsh on a tenement house fire occurring at Y64 First avenue on January 2d illustrates just what occurs in cases where there are fire 17 escapes only on the rear of the building. We quote from his report: "Fire occurred at 1.11 a.m. (in the night). Found that all the occupants from the second floor up were cut off from means of escape on account of flames on stairway and rear fire escape, the flames being driven by a strong northwest wind at that time which enveloped the whole fire escape on the rear of the building ; ordered third alarm and jumping-out nets. Firemen were at this fire 5 hours and 30 minutes. During its progress, so far as ascertained, there were thirty-five persons rescued from the different floors by the officers and men of the depart- ment with 35- and 85- foot extension and scaling ladders, jumping nets and other appliances for life saving. Lor- retto Leonard, aged 6 years, was suffocated by heat and smoke on the fifth floor." There is no reason why fire escapes should be omitted on the front of such buildings except the pride of the architect and the owner who dislike seeing cheap iron balconies upon the front of their buildings. If these balconies offend their artistic sensibilities they have two remedies : one, to make the balconies artistic; the other, to build their buildings fireproof. We believe that the protection of human life is of much greater importance than anything else. We believe also that on all tenement house fire escapes stairs with fiat steps and hand-rails are absolutely essen- tial, and that in no case should vertical ladders be per- mitted. We find that the printed regulations of the Building Department require such stairs with hand rails to be provided upon tenement houses, but that it has been customary in the Department for some years to grant modifications of this requirement by permitting vertical ladders to be erected in place of stairs upon application so to do by the person erecting such fire escapes. In this connection we would call attention to a curious anomaly in reference to the requirements of the Building Department regarding the construction of fire escapes, and that is this: The Department requires that on Bowery 18 lodging houses, accommodating anywhere from 30 to 80 homeless men, the fire escapes must consist of stairs with hand-rails, yet, in tenement houses containing from 100 to 150 men, women and children, vertical ladders are permit- ted. It is hard to understand why the lives of homeless men are of more value than the lives of women and chil- dren, nor can we understand how women and children are able to use an unsteady vertical ladder where strong men are unable to do so. We desire to call attention to the fact that the fire-escape balconies erected on most tene- ment houses are entirely too narrow, being about 2 feet 6 inches in width. We find that the printed regulations of the Building Department require such balconies to be 3 feet wide, but that it has been customary for some time to grant modifications of this requirement, permitting the balconies to be only 2 feet 6 inches wide. We would also call attention to an evil even more serious than any of the preceding ones, and that is the present practice, instead of putting fire escapes on the front of the building, of placing small iron gratings in the air shafts between tene- ment houses, leading from the window of one building to the window of an adjoining building, these windows being only about 6 inches apart. The object of such a form of construction is to save money; such escapes are worse than useless. One fourth of all the tenement-house fires spread through the air shafts, and a fire occurring in the kitchen of one of these apartments would immediately leap to the windows of the adjoining house 6 inches away; moreover such an escape in the small air shaft ob- structs light and air, destroys privacy by allowing com- munication between house and house, lays the occupants of tenement houses open to the constant depredation of thieves, and in every way is detrimental to the buildings. As an example of this kind of escape that has recently been erected we would call attention to a building oppo- site the new Hamilton Fish Park at 120 Sheriff street. The encumbrance of fire escape balconies with boxes, barrels, plants, refrigerators, and general household uten- 19 sils is one of the serious questions that the Commission has to deal with. It is the testimony of the Fire Depart- ment that the work of the firemen in rescuing tenants is greatly impeded by such encumbrances, and that often life is lost as a result of them. The law for a number of years has provided that fire escapes should not in any way be encumbered, and has provided a fine of $10 upon the tenant or occupant of the apartment for each offense. The responsibility for the enforcement of this law, however, has been divided between three different departments — the Building Department, the Fire Department and the Police Department, the law until 1898 requiring that when- ever any fireman or policeman, or any building inspector should find a fire escape balcony encumbered it was his duty to apply to the nearest police magistrate for a war- rant for the arrest of the occupant of the apartment, and upon conviction the occupant was to be fined $10 or im- prisoned for ten days, in the discretion of the court. The duties of the police do not take them ordinarily into tene- ment houses or into tenement house yards, and they have no occasion, therefore, to note the encumbrance of balco- nies on the rear of such buildings. As in very few cases the balconies on the fronts of tenements are encumbered, being open to public observation, there is little likelihood, therefore, of policemen finding, in the course of their ordinary duties, any violations of this law. The duty of the Fire Department is to extinguish fires, and the depart- ment consists of men trained and disciplined for this pur- pose — it is obvious that they have no force available for the purpose of inspecting fire escapes to see whether they are encumbered or not, nor is it advisable that men who are trained to fight fires should spend their time in the work of ordinary inspection. The duties of the building inspectors do not take them as a rule into old tenement houses, but only into new buildings; it is apparent, there- fore, that this department has no force to make such inspections. The result is that the responsibility for the enforcement of this law being divided among departments 30 charged with quite different duties, the law is not enforced. Again, where arrests have been made for the encumbrance of fire escape balconies it has been found that the police magistrates are very loath to fine or imprison a poor per- son for such an offense, especially if the poor person is a foreigner not used to our ways of living and often totally unfamiliar with the law; so that for these two reasons it appears that the law in reference to encumbrance of fire escapes is practically of no value. These are the results of an examination made simply in one ward of the city, and that in a somewhat crowded district where greater attention is paid to the need of fire escapes by the authorities than in other parts of the city. From a study of these facts, shown by this inspection, we cannot escape the conclusion that the enforcement of the fire escape law in this city is of the most lax and inefficient kind. HUGH BONNEE, LAWEENCE VEILLEE. Nov. 1, 1900.