The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-09-08
BURIED BENEATH DEBRIS.
The Roof of the Old Y. Nj. C. A. Build
ing Falls with Seven Men Upon 1t.
Three of the WOrkmen Receive Injuries from
Which They May Die, While the Others
Are Badly Cut aud Bruised.

John A. Schumacher, foreman Of the force of
twenty-one workmen engaged in tearing down
the old Y. NJ. c. A building said to the six other
men with him on the roof, Boys, / believe this
thing is shaky. / think / can feel it tremble."
moment later the foreman and his six COM
panions were half buried on the floor below the NJ,
with the timbers that had supported the roof.
The work of tearing down the building began
Monday morning On that day the doors, win
dows, and everything that was loose were
moved The old building had a very shaky ap
pearance and on Monday evening one or two of
the men refused to go to work yesterday mora
ing, because they believed the structure unsafe.
Twenty-one men, however, returned to work
yesterday, and the forenoon and the greater part
of the afternoon were occupied in removing the
roof and making preparations for taking
down the walls. About o'clock
everything was in readiness to begin removing
brick from the walls, and all the men the
roof but seven went below to remove debris.
Under the direction of forem an Schumacher the
six men on top Of the building began to tear
down the north wall, which extended two or
three feet above the rafters Of the second story.
While at work they stood on the rafters, which
byeight-inch sill at the other.
Foreman Schumacher had just finished his re-
mark that the building was shaky, and was step
ping from one joist to another when the sill in
the center cracked in the middle, and the seven
men went down with the falling timbers to the
second story floor a distance of eighteen feet
They al had trowels and bricks in their hands,
and there was no way by which they could save
themselves. Two or three of them turned sew
eral som ersaults; one went into the falling tim
bers headforemost, while others lit on their feet
only to have the timbers crash down upon their
heads.
The crash made very loud noise and
those in the immediate neghborhood supposed
tho whole structure had fal en-, as they could
see nothing for the cloud of dust that enveloped
the building and all those adjacent to it.
general fre-alarm was turned in, and the fire.
men were on tne ground in few moments.
When they arrived the dust had not settled,
and they could hear on the second
floor the groans and cries of those
amid the ruins. Some of the men were found
entirely covered with the debris, and others were
wedged in so tightly between the tmbers that it
was with difficulty they were taken ont. The
following were the men injured in the fall of the
building
JOHN A. SCHUMACHER, of the firm of Jungcaus
& Schumacher, contractors, No. IS Park avenue
skull fractured broken and fatally injured in
ternally.
HENRY MILLER, No. 12O Dorman street. Ger.
man, aged twenty-three years, single, right leg
broken, head badly bruised and much swollen; hunt
internally.
OLIVER WARREN, No. 2s4 Spring street left leg
broken, back sprained and hurt internally
JOHN WARREN, No. 284 Spring street jaw broken
several teeth knocked out, face, arms and back
badly cut and bruised.
GUS ALEXANDER. No. 36O East New York street.
aged thirty-six badly hurt about the back and cut
and bruised Was splitting blood when taken out
of the wreck.
LON FISHER, lives on Madison avenue aged TWEEN.
ty-6ve left leg broken and face and head bruised.
HENRY SCHUMACHER, No. $40 North Noble
street, carpenter cut in the head, arm broken
and body badly bruised
As quickly as the injured men were taken out
they were put in ambulances and taken to their
respective homes. Henry Miller at the time,
appeared to be the most seriously injured, and it
was feared that both he and foreman Schumacher
would die before they could be conveyed to their
homes The former was splitting blood and suf
fered great pain internally His condition last
night was regarded as quite critical
1t was reported last night, at 9 o'clock. that
Mr.. Schumacher had died from the effects of his
injuries, but when a Journal reporter called at
his residence at late hour he was resting easily
and the attending physician regarded his chances
for recovery as quite favorable. AS none of the
others were as seriously injured as Mr.. Schu
macher they will probably recover.
In a short time after the crash occurred very
large crowd gathered about the scene, and it was
with difficulty the police could keep the people
safe distance from the building, which looks as
if it might fall at any time Many of the rela-
tves and friends of the men working on the
building soon arrived and were greatly excited
until the names of the injured were learned.
But one workman of the number on the first
floor saw the building begin to give. He was
teamster, who was in the of the building
| He says he was looking up at Schumacher as he
meant to step from one joist to another He
saw the center sill begin to 90 down. He
screamed that the building falling, but the
words had hardly passed his mouth before the
| crash came.
The building has long been considered dan
| gerous When it was erected. in 1862. by
| Mr.. Hull, it was generally remarked that it was
| nothing more than a temporary structure. and
| was unsafe The building is succeed brick,
and the timbers in it were entirely too weak for
| so large a structure. The north wall, after the
falling in of the upper story. has swayed consid-
eraby out OF plumb, and IS liable to fall at any
time. Unless great care is exercised in tear
| ing down the remainder of the building,
it is feared that there will be another accident.
| Mr.. Schumacher said to a journal reporter last
evening" shortly after the accident occurred, that
| when he took the contract to tear down the
| building he considered it very dangerous IN
| dertakinc, and had several times warned his
| men to be very cautious with their work. He,
however, had not anticipated any danger while
! they were working the roof. He felt the
| hill o;y;n nd
| until he had been removed to ambulance.
No Quorum mt the Annual Meeting.
| The annual meeting of the Y. NJ. C. A called
| for Meridian street NJ E. Church, last evening,
| failed to draw a Quorum the disaster at the old