Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-03-28

Costa COunty-A Scene Of Devastation
and Ruin-Five While Men aud siA
Chinamen Killed, and Several Wound
ed-Incidents Of the Catastrophe.
tRsclAL BY TELEGRAPH 10 rHs RsooRs-UNIoS.l
STEGE STATION contra Costa county,
March 27th.-A fearful explosion in the Vul
can Powder Works at this place rushed ten
persons to their last account this morning
Death and ruin mar the face of the beautiful
landscape, and cloud Of smoke rises from o
heap of burning embers, guiding the way to
the scene of devastation. Your correspond.
ent went to the spot Immediately after the
accident occurred. Shortly after 10 O'Clock
this morning dull sound was distinctly
heard in Oakland, as though q door had been
slammed near by. A cloud of dust and
smoke from beyond Berkeley indicated tina,
another accident had occurred at the powder
works.
DETAILS OF THE CATASTROPHE.
The tale of the narrowing accident is as fo.
lows At 10 o'clock this morning the VULGAR
Powder Works was running in full operation
engaged in making bank blasting powder
technically known as "B. B" powder. There
were two large buildings, which are entirely
destroyed. In story building, known
as the main building, the operation of granu
lating was conducted. The mixing was car
ried on there, and there the engines wert
located. This other building was the dry
room. This was large frame structure
about 60 by so feet, and 40 feet high. An
important addition was building to the dry
room at the time of the tragic acci
dent The two buildings were sepa'
rate. and some distance apart; but 8
wooden elevator ran from the main build
ing to the building used for drying
purposes. At five minutes past 10 a fire
broke out in the gig, in the granulating room
The small amount of powder there blsz.d in
an instant, and the fire was communicated to
the wood work adjoining. A stream of fire
rushed along the elevator to the dry.room, in
which three tons of powder was stored
When the fire reached this there was no LOUD
report noticed at the works, and there seemed
to be no conclusion. No windows were
broken, even in houses within 200 yards.
The dry.house was blown apart in an instant
wounding and killing the men engaged there
The main building did not fall until after tht
dry-room had gone. A small building used q,
an Office was also consumed. The officers a
the powder works call particular attention t.
the fact that the devastation was caused by {
fre, md not by an explosion.
THE KILLED AND WOUNDED.
There were five white men and six China
men killed, and four white men were injured
Following is list OF the killed:
George Stansfeld, the engineer.
Il Lamb, whose initials are supposed to b'
II. c., a carpenter of Temescal, working OF
the improvements to the dry house.
L. w. Starr, a carpenter, at work in tn,
dry-house.
Thomas Mill, carpenter, at work at tn.
dry house.
- Stewart FIRST name unknown, reported
as general assistant at the works.
Following are the men injured:
Gottlieb Koch, a carpenter, at work OF
dry-house ; wounds in the neighhorhood oi
the liver /; thought to bs seriously hurt.
w. 3. Dales, foreman of the "B. B.
works fearfullY burned about the face anG
head. He may not be fatally injured, but it
is impossible to tell at this time.
Peter Shafer, carpenter, has severe ant
probably fatal injuries to the spine. He live,
on Twenty-sixth street, between Mission and
Howard, San Francisco, and has wife and
two children.
- Ferris, first name unknown, carpenter
and partner of Lamb severely burned and
has internal injuries.
SECOND DIsPATCH.l
The body of engineer Stansfeld was lying,
face downward, near the door of the main
building. The clothing was entirely burned
from the upper part of his body. The lower
limbs were distorted terribly, the face badly
burned, and string of clotted blood hung
from the lifeless lips.
The men who were at work in the dry
room when the fire occurred were probably
killed BY the fall.
The bodies of Lamb and Starr were lying
in the pound, burned and blackened SO that
Identification by any marks of feature OF
countenance was impossible. The bodies are
recognized By tho remnants of clothing and
by the position in which they were found.
Starr was a brother-in.law of the Superin-
tendent of the works, 0 B. Hardy.
The six Cinnamon fell in the midst of tie
lanes, and when the fire had burned over
nothing but skeletons remained. Every
trace of clothing, skin, flesh and bone was
gone.
Lamb, whose name is Horace g., is resi-.
dent Of Tenescal and very well known
builder. His partner. w. H. Ferris, who
is lying very seriously wounded. resides on
Linden street, near Cherry, Temescal. Fer
ris says he fell distance OF forty feet.
The fire jumped from the main building to
the dry-room instantaneously, and no chance
LOT escape was gwen.
A physician of East Berkeley went to the
scene of disaster, and attended to the wounded
men. Other physicians came from Oakland
as soon as carriages could take them.
The boarding house of the Vulcan Powder
Company has been transformed into a tenn
porary hospital.
Koch, Dales and Schafer are lying on pallets
made on the floor. Ferris is lying on a cot
in the Office of the Tonite Powder Company,
which is separated from the works Of the
Vulcan Powder Company by about 100
yards.
%. B. Hardy, the Superintendent of the
works, was not present at the time the fire
began. but returned in twenty minutes.
The men in adjoining works rushed to the
rescue as soon IS the Ere began, and removed
the wounded men as best they could.
The fire was terribly hot. and it was almos!
impossible to approach the burning buildings.
Whether the engineer and Cinnamon were
burned to death, or killed by the conclusion.
or by falling timbers, no one can tell.
The cause Of the FIRE is mystery. The
most probable explanation offered thus far
g. q LII L. h. -, kbo ryro p,,Io