Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-10-08
A Mass Of Ruins.
An Ill Constructed Four Story
Building in Chicago Sud
denly COllapses.
The Disaster is Caused by the
ROtting Of the Wooden
Girders Supporting 1t.
COLLAPSE OF AN OCCUPIED BUILDING
IN CHICAGO.

BUILDING
IN CHICAGO.
CHICAGO, Oct. 5 AT one o'clock
this morning q large four story builds
ing, IN the rear of 1913 Clark street.
suddenly began cracking and creaking
like q snip ia heavy sea and in half
an -four after the posts began sinking
through the floors. The men working
III the bread bakery IN the basement
lied for their lives. A moment after
the floors gradually sank down until
tae basement was filled An alarm
OF tire was turned on az 80 o'clock.
While the alleys were crowded with
policemen and firsmen looking for
fire the walls suddenly fell in with q
terrible crash and the police. fremen
and reporters rushed pell nell into
the streets.
When few fremen with ladders
went back they found that the west
and north walls had fallen, and had
they fallen cut great loss of life
would undoubtedly have occurred.
Two sides of the building yet stand
propped up by the adjoining build
ings. The floors have all caved in.
Inc loss Is estimated at about $50. 900.
as the contents of the building was
very valuable, there being $4,000
worth of dessicated eggs alone, in one
part. The second floor was stored
with flour.
On the Sd floor was large machine
shop with valuable plant, and the
floor was devoted to the manufacture
of printing rollers. Just before the
walls fell IN, ali the gas went out IN
the building and the men were COM
PEELED to grope their way out in the
dark, and being panic stricken they
took refuge under the basement In
front. The gradual caving in of the
building was first noticed by a boy III
the engine room. He called the at
tention Of the engineer to the fact,
cut the fireman told HIM he was crazy
and recommended that nc see a doctor
IL the morning,
The men outside IL the alley heard
the cracking sometime before the
crash, but did not suspect they were
standing near veritab!e Budenseik
structure. The building was supports
ed entirely by wooden girders and
ioists, and the collapse was caused by
the timber dry rotting where the
girders rested on the joists. The pres
ent owners took the building after it
had been pronounced safe by archi-
tects. It VIII be torn down. It was
ascertained by survey this morning
that no one was injured by the col
lapse.
TERRI BILE EXPLOSION IN PITTSBURG
IRON MANDATORY.
PITTsBURG, Pa, Oct. 5.-Shortly
after three this morning battery Of
boilers at the Solar iron works explod-.
ed with disastrous effect The room
in which the explosion occurred was
immediately filed with steam, scald-
ing fatally four men and badly burn
ing IA others. Those fatally
injured are: Frank Martin, badly
scalded; Jas. Cattoe, top of his head
almost severed by a piece of flying
iron; Frank Murray, boy, terribly
burned, and Barth Henderson, ter
ribly burned
Some others were seriously though
not fatally injured, several having
their arms broken and others being
badly bruised and cut by the flying
debris
Scarcely had the reverberation from
the explosion died away when the
frenzied, frightened wives, mothers
and children began to rush upon the
scene and peer anxiously into the
faces of the gasping, dying men, seek
ing TO identify their own. Children
nearly ..ude and screaming at the top
Of their voices crowded and jostled
each other in their mad rush for the
mill. Arriving there silence reigued
for moment and then woman's
wall was heard and then another, and
another, until the shrieks, means and
cries Of anguish mingled in discord.
ant chorus
The injured were found lying in all
positions a1d SOME so far from the
boiler that it seemed impossible that
they could have been injured by the
explosion. Those most seriously in
iured we're taken to the West Penn
sylvania hospital, while the others
we're removed to their homes.