The Fatal fire at Buffalo.
--The destruction by fire of the
Clarendon Hotel, at
Buffalo, N. Y., on the night of the 9th instant, has been noticed by telegraph.
It was the result of using camphene, the watchman having, while going his rounds, dropped his lamp and then fled from the blaze.
The loss is estimated at $95,000. The Commercial says:
‘
The most terrible feature of the night's disasters, however, is the loss of human life; two well-known citizens being among the lost.
Mr. H. L. Chamberlain, of the firm of
Rowe &
Chamberlain, oyster dealers, on Washington street, who boarded at the Clarendon, and whose room was in the fifth story, was awakened too late to make his escape by the stairs, and in his terror, as it is supposed, leaped from his window, on the
Main street side, to the payment below, by which he was so horribly crushed and mangled that, having been removed to
Mathews' drug store, he died, after lingering in unspeakable agony for about half an hour.
It is probable that he lost his presence of mind in consequence of excitement and terror, as he was spoken to by those below, and told to wait a few moments and a ladder would be raised, by which he might safely reach the ground.
’
William A. Carland, of the well-known firm of
Carland &
Beirne, of "Gothic Hall, " also lost his life.
Two women employed in the hotel,
Bridget Mulcahey, cook, and
Ann McAulay, chambermaid, are also set down among the lost, as their friends, after diligent search and inquiry, have been unable to discover any traces of them.
A woman named
Alice White, also one of the employees, was rescued by a fireman.
She was at the window of the rear portion of the building, on Washington street, and Mr. G. mounted a ladder which had been raised, and, surrounded by smoke and flame, seized the woman in his arms, and bore her part way down the ladder, where he delivered her into the hands of a spectator, and immediately returned into the building in search of another, said to be still in the hotel.
No other person, however, was discovered.
