Smoke pouring into a crowded New York factory triggered a desperate rush for the exits that turned deadly within moments.
On a January morning in 1903, fire broke out in a feather factory on Crosby Street. While workers there escaped, thick smoke quickly spread into the neighboring cigar factory, where 350 employees, most of them young women, were suddenly gripped by panic.
As frightened workers surged toward the exits, chaos erupted. Men pushed ahead in the crush, and girls were knocked to the floor and trampled beneath the crowd.
Three young women lost their lives, eight others were seriously injured, and several terrified workers prepared to leap from the windows before police and firemen stopped them.
Three Girls Crushed to Death in Fire Panic
NEW YORK CITY. — Three persons were killed and eight were seriously crushed in a panic attending a fire at 159 Crosby Street this morning.
The fire started in the feather establishment of Mosher & Ittelson, on the third floor. The employees were quickly gotten out by means of the elevator.
The smoke, however, had made its way into the cigar factory of L. Miller & Sons at 157 Crosby Street, and wild panic occurred. There are 250 girls and 100 men employed in the Miller Factory. When the smoke filled the big rooms, they all made a wild scramble for the Elm Street side of the building.
In the panic, the men rushed past the girls, crushing them under foot. Three were killed and eight injured in the crush.
Attempts to Jump
When the panic-stricken employees reached the windows on the Elm Street side several prepared to jump, but all were driven back by the firemen and policemen. An exit was made from the other side of the building, which the fire had not yet reached. The fire, however, quickly spread to the cigar factory and did much damage.
A number of thrilling rescues occurred. Owing to the proximity of the fire to police headquarters, most of the reserve squad was there before the flames had made great headway, and this fact alone prevented more casualties.
Source: The Washington Times. Washington, D.C. January 23, 1903.
