New-York tribune., 1879-08-28
LOCAL MISCELLANY.
KILLED BY A BURSTING BOILER

TIE FIREMAN, AND SERIOUS INJURIES A>R iAN-'
on THE ENGINEER. no
Tho heller of the steam-tug Essex, lying at Ihe
foot of Montgomery-st., at Pier No. oO' outs' a.
O'clock Yesterday morning with Iouo eNPiO
and the fireman and engineer, who were pioP",i-e
20 Get mn steam in order 10 take the boat u 'u ~
of Pike-st to have her water-tank hed' Weio
bly scaldcd. The fireman, Leander fuier' "''u
few hours after -. f.. .o,-oro1
aors and was to have been ready for work at cay
1T To This end the fires were lighted under the
,;lr shortly after o'clock, and the generation Oh
s,oom had hardly begun before the steam-drum
hurst with a loud crash and shock that wrecked
Tho MINER deck and lifted the roof OF the pot-ouse
In the air When il fell il buried under it the wood
work underneath. Fortunately the decK-hahu'
William Hogan, was asleep IN the cabin at the tle'
Aroused by the explosion he CROPPED in the seeming
steam among the wreck, guided by the ctles oi .no
engineer Joseph L. Safferz, and Leander Fuller tne
fireman. who had both been Immediately In front OF
,be hoiier when IT burst Stumbling nrst aRalnsJ
the engineer, who was plnned down !h us Soa.p9
the door OF the DC lr-Ioon' tIIG iiI IN; ON tbe
deck and then returned for the hTemaA, VINO ha9 hd
Jared worse; The door that' tnIo"n OPEL idi1g I"g
Steam left Fuller exposed 10 all lls loice anu n's
bodv was literally boiled from head to foot Brought
into the air by Hogan, who himself was nearly Over
corna h,, the steam he rapidly failed ana uleu
shortly after reaching the Chambers Street nOsPI-
tal whittier both the injured men were sent IN m an
ambulance by the police. Inc engineer nsNi1s nav
heen relieved as much possible there, was sent 10
The New-York Hospital, where better accom-
m6dauons for his treatment S SSA.s1, anu ornsr rTc
there, last night, IN great suiierlngs' ;Pin aPpiiI
entity with little hope OF recovery. MS iIyuiLt yL9
were mainly caused by Inhalation Oh onJ dI AZ
steam though his face and hands, WeIo pdOIg
burned Both men were said TO be industrious ana
sober The engineer was twenty-five years Oh aye
ana lived al No. 2l Hcnry-st. ms lceLSo 1
I,gf pf "A
less and he said to be caPdpieD DI Il"1'
The dead fireman resided at No. 80 EaSI DIoau-
NV he was married. and the cues OF ms young
VT who had hastoued 10 the wreck, upon learning
fhat me was killed. were heartTendnG Mrs' fuiieT
is IN delicate health ana Is lett destitute py hcI
husbands death. .,
The cause Of the explosion was not ascertaned
Yesterday and will be the subject OF investigator
by the Steamboat INSPECTORS. 1t is supposed that
t6ere was a flaw i'm tine boiler iron. The engnetr
tn statement made after the accldehI salu - |
was plenty OF water in the boiler ana not over Iol
pouuds of steam on when the explosion OccuiIJu'
Mir Page the gent of the boat, was expected 70 !
return To the boat IN time TO 60 out WIN H. anu ic
steam was kept at about thirty pounds awaiting MS
arrival with pilot. Inc Ooiler was icenseu roi
20 carry sixty POUNDS OF steam, - ~ "%fe f |
built III 1864 by ). Dillon, ana was lepdHeu Iu
1877 and was last inspected and PRONOUNCED sale
ON November 16, 1875. Ii was OF the klnd caIIeu;
nrofe>sioually return tubular" Ii teGt long ana
feet IN diameter IL is SAID that the pressure Oh
steam allowed 10y her certificate was considered TOO
great for her and that forty pounds were never eA
nropeTty of the American Dock Company. She was
Iot insured. and the damage VIII reach S4UU OF
$500 The explosion, III the OPINION Oh the ehelheeI
was caused by tie back actlOn IRON Ihe iusulhs vi
cold water from the steam-plpe into the etealh7
drum, the fire having been eXtngushed LOT seVeraI
DAYS. ~ t.,
for te removal of the tTemau's body from the Cnain
hers Street Hospital. The affidavit OF the house
surgeon before the COrOners jury sets foItn tnat
Fuller died IN less than two hours after he was
brought TO the hospital. Ine wrecked tug lay at
her mOOriugs yesterday, an ObCct OF curiosity 70
gaping crowd thaJ hhh4 arouAu Ihc UocA 'il "I'0'
dark
THE ALLEGED HARBOR obstruction,
INVESTIGATION or COMPLAINTS BEGUN-A TALK
WITH COMMISSIONER VANDERPoEL.
In the absence from the city of Commissioner
Dimock. there was no regular meeting in the Dock
Department yesterday. Commissioner NandeTpOel
was at the Office and held a preliminary investiga-
ton of the charges against contractors In the en-
ploy of the Dock Department for dumping dredg
ings within the limits Of the baTbOr. The captain
of the tow boat and the contractor against whom
the charges are made by the Pilot Commissioners
were examined, and denied that there had been any
violation of law on their part; they declared that
the dredgings had been dumped at the place deslg-
mated by Inspector Conway of the Pilot Board.
Further hearing was postponed until to-day at IL
q. H., when the witnesses who appeared before the
Pilot Commissioners and Tiers Will be summoned
for examination.
Dock Commissioner YaudoTpoel stated yesterday
that the Board was determined 10 investigate fully
the charges made against any and all persons IN the
employ OF the Dock Department Tor violation OF the
law and If the charges were proved, the 0HthdeIS
would be punished to the full extent Of the law. and
all moneys due them would be withheld until their
fines had been adjusted. The penalty Tor the VIOLA
ton OF the law, when fully established, Is % per
cubic yard. or 81 900 scow load making the total
fine for the eight scOw loads SAID TO nave Oeen
dumped about Is, 600. Commissioner NanderpOel
boped that the investigation would result IN giving
10 the Dock Department the dredging OF lHe water
front as il had the facilities for doing the work,
and 90 coud do II more satisfactorily and chcapy
as II "a now done. Such was the case when he hrst
entered the department. ana II cost Jhe CIV ABOUT
2G cents a cubic yard. Contracts were theh hduS
to have the work done at 10 cents cuDlC yard, ana
afteryyard at 2l2 cents cubic yard. Under tins
latter system complaints about the unsatisfactory
performance of the work, and OF violations OF the
were requested 20 report all delnqucnts TO the Dock
Board. IL was then learned that the contractors
had secured the privilege of dumping ON the low,
lands along the jersey shore. as SubterluEe, ana
outside of SANDY Hook was unsafe, the scows were
dumped anywhere IN the bay, and u was claimed
that the deposits made on the jersey mats. 10
put a stop TO this practice the DOCK boafu lau9
1vreements with the contractors more binding, aud
ihe result is that the lowest bid Tor dredging is
about 26 cents cubic yard.
MOTORS FOR STREET RAILWAYS.
The Second Avenue Railroad has recently placed
on its upper division between Nmety-sixth and
Observation-Disclosures y-nnth-sts., several of the
cars of the Pneumatic TTamway Engine Com
pany0 They are propelled by compressed air,
which is stored up in reservoirs placed in the unused
space under the floor and seats. The reservoirs are
charged at one terminus of the route by " COM