Show BRAVE LADS TO THEI RESCUE Thrilling Scenes at a Fire i Omaha Yesterday Yester-day l SIXTEEN LIVES SAVED Firemen Who Deserve to Be Blessed as Heroes I Was With the Greatest Difficulty That Many Were Restrained From Jumping From the Windows ft the Burning Building Thus Meeting Meet-ing Death on the Pavements Below Be-low Evidences of Arson Omaha March 16 Sixteen people were rescued from the third and fourth stories of the burning Whitnell block corner of Fifteenth and Hfikney streets today by Omaha firemen with the aid of extension ladders A number of them were young women wo-men and all were carried out In safety Though the damage to the block was less than 10000 it cut f all escape by destroying the elevator and staircase stair-case and for a few minutes rendered the situation of the inmates on the top floors critical Many of them were with difficulty restrained from jumping to the pavement below While a number of streams were turned on the fire the hook and ladder men hurried up their long ladders and applied themselves to the rescue of the thoroughly frightened inmates The evidences of incendiarism was reported to Chief of Detectives Haze and detectives detailed to look after the case They examined the debris and found deposits of combustibles The only trace of the large stock of furs that the firm of Schultz Co claimed to have carried were about a dozen muffs which were partially burned As these were found where the fire was hottest I was believed that similar traces would remain of the other furs if they had been there The officers are working on the theory that most of the stock was taken out before the blaze was started and are trying to find the expressman who did the moving The firm occupied the lower floor and had 5000 insurance on the stock Circumstantial evidence of arson was so strong that William Scnultz and Ills manager James H McCabe were arrested ar-rested tonight charged with firing the building Part of the stock 700 worth was located in an adjoining building |