1922 — Oct 22, Fire, tenement/apartment house, Lexington Avenue, New York, NY — 15
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-7-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–15 NFPA. “Lexington Avenue Apartment House Fire.” NFPA Quarterly, V.16, No. 3, 1923.
–12 In the building
— 2 Jumped from building
— 1 In hospital from injuries
–15 NFPA. “Loss of Life Fires in Apartments and Tenements.” Quarterly, 34/3, Jan 1942, p. 237.
–12 3rd, 4th and 5th floors
— 2 Men who jumped from windows
— 1 Died from injuries after removal to hospital
–15 New York Herald. “Rescuers At Fire Are Under Scrutiny.” 10-24-1922, p. 26.
Narrative Information
National Fire Protection Association: “Fire occurring in a five-story apartment house at 1769 Lexington Avenue and 150 East 110th Street, New York, on October 22, 1922, at 1:03 a.m., caused the death of fifteen tenants. The building was occupied by a cigar store, restaurant and barber shop on the first floor and by apartments on the upper floors, three families to a floor. The principal fire hazards were usual gas heated appliances in the restaurant and barber shop and small gas ranges for each tenant. There was no inside protection. There were three outside fire escapes of the vertical ladder type, one for each tenant….
“It was stated that an alarm was anonymously phoned to the Police Headquarters, who in turn informed the Fire Department….This alarm was received at 1:03 a.m. ….There evidently was considerable loss of time before an alarm was turned in. This apparently is due to the fact that it was late at night, also that the stairway was situated at the rear of the building and reached by a comparatively long hallway. It was at the rear end of this hallway that the fire is thought to have started and it could easily have gained considerable headway before it would be noticed by persons on the street.
“The fire apparently originated in the hallway on the first floor of the building from a cause not definitely known. The remnants of a baby carriage were found in approximately the spot where the fire originated and it is the general opinion that a lighted cigarette or cigar may have been thrown by someone into this carriage as they went up the stairs.
“The fire spread rapidly through the hallway containing the stair shaft to all floors above the first and through the roof. When the first of the Department’s apparatus arrived, all of the floors above the first were in flames.
“A total of fifteen persons lost their lives in this fire. The firemen made heroic attempts to save the occupants and did succeed in rescuing many. Twelve persons were unable to leave the building and perished in the flames., two people were killed when they jumped from the building and one person died of injuries after removal to the hospital. There were also eleven persons, varying in age from two to eighty-five years, injured and removed to hospitals….
“Owing to the start of the fire at the bottom of the stairway, this means of escape was apparently cut off almost immediately and the fire escape was apparently cut off soon after. The three fire escapes were of the vertical ladder type and accessible only from one window opening to the kitchens of each apartment. In order to reach two of the fire escapes, it was necessary for the occupants to first pass into the hallway, where the fire was burning, and then into the kitchens, as the kitchens did not communicate directly with the other rooms of the apartments. The fire escapes also passed directly in front of unprotected windows on lower floors, and owing to the fact that the fire was burning on these floors first, they could not be used. The building was situated on a corner and adjoined another building on part of each side only, but escape to that building was practically impossible as the roof was much lower and the windows were on a different level….
“The lessons of this fire have long since been learned and the defective conditions which contributed to the loss of life in this case have for a long time been prohibited by law in the erection of new buildings.” (NFPA. “Lexington Avenue Apartment House Fire.” NFPA Quarterly, V.16, No. 3, 1923.)
Newspaper
Oct 23, New York Herald: “Fourteen persons are known to have died in the fire early yesterday in the five-story tenement house at Lexington avenue and 110th street and four others are missing. Thirty-five were injured.
“There were about 300 persons in the building. Most of them were asleep when the fire started. The rapidity of the flames cut off many on the upper floors from escape.
“It is believed the blaze was started by a pyromaniac. Fire Marshal Thomas Brophy said last night he was satisfied that the fire started in two baby carriages left by the stairs on the ground floor. ‘Whether these were ignited by a pyromaniac or whether a careless smoker dropped a lighted cigarette into them as he came down the steps is yet to be determined,’ he added.
….
The Dead
Samuel Silver, 10 years old. [Silver family ages from findagrave.com]
Fannie Silver, 14.
Sarah Silver, 21.
Beatrice Silver, 16.
Nathan Silver, 44.
Sidney Sugarman, 27.
Catherine Sugarman, 23.
Abraham Matilsky, 22.
Mrs. Anna Matilsky, 20, his wife.
Tony Amorrosa, 7.
Eugene Amorrosa, 9.
Matbildo [unclear] Insleso, 30.
Unidentified Man.
Unidentified Woman.”
(New York Herald. “Fourteen Are Dead In Tenement Blaze Lit By Pyromaniac.” 10-23-1922, p.1.)
Oct 24, New York Herald: “….The death list in the Lexington avenue fire was increased to fifteen when Mrs. Rose Ingiese [unclear], 85 years old, one of the injured, died in the Harlem Hospital from shock. The remainder of the injured are doing well and are expected to recover.
“The two bodies remaining in the city morgue were identified during the day by Harry S. Sugarman of 1654 Lexington avenue as his brother and sister, Gerald H, 20 years old, a violinist, and Marie, 24, a stenographer. He said they came to New York two and a half years ago from England and that prior to that they had lived in Rumania….” (New York Herald. “Rescuers At Fire Are Under Scrutiny.” 10-24-1922, p. 26.)
Sources
Find a Grave. “Nathan Silver.” 3-27-2014 addition. Accessed 3-7-2025 at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126991722/nathan-silver#source
National Fire Protection Association. “Lexington Avenue Apartment House Fire.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 16, No. 3, January 1923.
National Fire Protection Association. “Loss of Life Fires in Apartments and Tenements.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 34, No. 3, Jan 1942, pp. 237-238, 244, 246-247.
New York Herald. “Fourteen Are Dead In Tenement Blaze Lit By Pyromaniac.” 10-23-1922, p. 1. Accessed 3-7-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-herald-oct-23-1922-p-1/
New York Herald. “Rescuers At Fire Are Under Scrutiny.” 10-24-1922, p. 26. Accessed 3-7-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-herald-oct-24-1922-p-19/