St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-02-20
A FATAL FIRE ESCAPE.
Two Firemen Sustain Probably Fatal Injuries
While Testing il.

Two Firemen Sustain Probably Fatal Injurie;
While Testing it.
A terrible accident and one which will,
without doubt, cause the death Of two mem
bers of the city fire department, took place
at central fire hall at 3 O'Clock yesterday af-
ternoou. w. r. Fusselmon of River Falls,
Wis, is the agent tor Johnson's portable
automatic fire escape, manufactured at
Warren, O., and patented in 1888. He
has given one or two public exhibitions in
the city within few weeks, and showed il
to Chief Black week ago at his Office, where
it worked well, and seemed to be, as the
chief saws, very valuable invention. Al
the hour above named he made q second
call al the central ire hall, and finding the
chief cluseted on business in his private Of
fee was persuaded by the boys to make a
trial Of his apparatus from third story win
dow in front Of the hall.
The apparatus consists of q wire cable
eighty feet long, which is fastened to a brake
on the inside Of the window. The cable ter
inmates in a seat, on which the operator de-
scends to the ground. the brake at the win
idly. Some i've or six Of the iremen had
descended safely to the plank walk beneath,
distance Of thirty-fve or forty
feet. As the cable had 4 warranted
breaking strain at 672 pounds,
and the weight Of the load making no differ
cnce in the speed of descent, that matter
being perfectly regulated by the brake, the
boys decided to give it double test The
agent saw no danger in it, aud Chief Black
was not aware of what was going on.
Accordingly, Lieut.. L. II. Maloney of Hook
q Ladder No. 2, and j. II. Britze, truck
man. undertook the descent together, aEd
when just at the top of the second story win
dOTs, the wire snapped asunder above their
heads aud they fell head foremost,
a distance of twenty-five feet, TO the
walk below. Both men were picked up and
carried into the hall and DR.. Quinn sum
mOned. Maloney has remained unconscious
from the first and from all appearances his
head Is crushed in at the base of the brain,
but no other injuries have Us yet been dis
covered. Brittle received a fearful coucus-
sion over his left eye, cracking open his skull
SO that finger could be inserted in the frac-
ture and his nose was broken.
At late hour last night both men seemed
TO be more comfortable, but it was cunsid-
cred that the death Uf both was only ques-
ton of few hours or possibly
days. Malouey was made as comfortable
as possible at the hall. it not being
considered safe to remove him, while Britze
was taken to st. Luke's hospital. Maoney
has been in the department for three years,
is about 81 years old aud is unmarried.
Brittle is 30 years Of age, is married man
and has been in the department but a short
time. Both were valuable men in the de-
pertinent, and are well liked by their fel-
lows.
An examination Of the cable revealed the
fact that In passing out of the window the
steel wire rested upon the stone sill, and
that the friction caused by the previous
desceuts had weakened 1t at this point to
such an eXtcut that when the two mems
weight was placed upon 1t it parted.
In an interview with Chief Black last night
be said that he had always been opposed 10
putting human life In danger in test of
nnybndy's patent fire escape, for he had
heard ut too many accidents occurring when
even the inventors themselves were trying
their own inventions. lie was in confer
ence with one Of his officers in his inner Of
lice at the time of the accident and
knew nothing Of 1t until after
~ nappcutu' ne rhoulu not
have allowed any such proceedings had he
known of them. The iremeu bad been per-
fecty convinced Of the safety of the appar-
ntus from what they had previously seen Of
it, while the agent, who was nearly wild with
grief at the accident, and had telrgraphed
the manufacturers at once, was no more cul-
paGle than the poor men who were SO hope
lessly Injured. There had been u fearful
oversight on the part of both, aud that was
Gil he could say.