The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-12-21
Another Appalling Calamity.

| days HERALD Will cast SuaOoW oVef sAAo
holiday festivities, and, if the worst fears
as to its fatality are realized, will turn the
season of universal rejoicing into one OF
mourning in many a bereaved home. A
boiler in the basement of an extensive
candy factory on Barclay street exploded ut
five o'clock yesterday afternoon, badly
wrecking the building, and the explosion
was followed almost instantly by an out
burst of flames. which, as if fed by some
highly combustible matter, leaped with
fearful rapidity from floor to floor,
seeming to render impossible the es-
cape of any living soul from the
upper stories. A crowd of spectators
speedily gathered on the street, and as the
fact became known that n large number OF
persons, mainly young boys and girls, were
employed in the building, and that the
hour tor leaving of work had not arrived,
the people began to realize the extent OF
| the horror and the excitement became in
| tense. Wild rumors few about OF human
forms having been seen thrown into the air
| on the first explosion, and the most exag-
gerated reports of the number certainly lost
found ready believers. 1t was felt certain
by those who hoped for the best that
\ a fire so fierce and rapid in its spread,
preceded by an explosion, must neces-
sarily have claimed many victims, and
the flames. as they roared like furnace
in the heart of the burning building, had
painful fascination from the thought OF the
human lives they had swallowed up. The
work Of destruction was fearfully rapid
and the sight was one of unusual grandeur.
Notwithstanding the noble efforts OF the
firemen who never worked with greater en-
ergy or better effect, the buildings on each
side Of the burning factory were soon in
flames, together with the rears Of the build
ings on Greenwich street, the upper stories
of the Grocers' Bank on the corner Of Col
lege place and Barclay street, and the build
ing next to the bank on College place,
which was portion Of and connected with
the candy factory. For an hour, the
mingled smoke and steam from this
burning mass rolled in southerly direc-
ton in grand massive clouds, spangled with
millions of sparks Of flying fire, flashed OF
intervals by great tongues of flame, and
occasionally darkened by columns of black
smoke thrown up from the lnboring engines.
Then came truly magnificent sight. The
entire iron front of one OF the Barclay street
buildings. the cornice Of which had been
seen to curl outward, gradually separated
from the building. commencing at the
top, and tipped slowly and gradually
over in one compact mass, falling outward,
until it reached certnin, angle at which its
own weight fastened the speed Of the
descent, when it went crashing into the
street, reaching quite across the road appyA
crushing in the lower portion of the opp9r
site buildings. ~, $3.50. r.ra f., +
1t is impossible, ut the present moment, to
ascertain correctly the extent of the loss of
life by this new calamity. The proprietors
OF the factory do not themselves appear to
have any definite ideas on the subject.
They say that they do not believe
the number to be large; but the account
given by the younger member of the firm
rs to his own experience and the manner, 9f
his escape does not appear to warrant this
assertion. There seems, indeed, to be q de.
plorable lack Of reliable information con-
corning the extent of the fatality. Young
MIR. Greenfield does not even know correctly
the number of persons employed, but
thinks there were about one hundred
and fifty girls and fifty men and
boys. His father, the senior member
of the firm, declined last night to
give any account to the press. 1t is said
that the building was we'll provided with
fire escapes, and there were two entrances,
one on Barclay street and the other on
College place. But if Mr. Greenfield, his
son and customer, who were on the first
floor of the building, were NIL SO much
staggered and dazed by the shock of the ex-
plosion as to find it difficult to reach
the sidewalk, it is scarcely to be
hoped that the poor creatures, mostly
young girls and boys, in the four
upper stories of the building could have
been in a condition to avail themselves of
fire escapes or stairways for the preserva-
ton of their lives. In this painful uncer-
tainty We can only judge of the extent of
the calamity from such facts as are within
our knowledge The force Of the explosion
must have been terrific, and the evidence
OF oil who were on or near the spot is that
the fire followed the shock instantly. 1t is
remarkable that we do not hear of any
person being seen at window, or Of any
of that leaping from windows which almost
always accompanies such a catastrophe.
We sadly fear that this indicates the de-
struction Of many Of the upper floors by
the first explosion and the death of nearly
all OF the unfortunate employees God
grant that this view OF the case may prove
erroneous!
| Whether the victims number less than q
score or more than q hundred the calamity
is sufficiently heartrending. The young
employees Of the establishment had nearly
| com Mated their DAYS work. They