Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-06-22
A DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.
Z .,au>e 1vsss Fisss 20 lsto Another, wrs' h
q. sasssss cass-An on Car Ignites srd
~ rnmss Do Estensivs Damaged
rss Firsman work Bsavs,y.

= mw1n&e 3Fo1o Fluog geeAnto AnosncT, "rtss Il
~. nsosss cass-An on Car Ignites ard
- rnmss Do Estsnsivs Damaged
re Firsman work Bsavey.
CoLunBrA. June 22--About O'Clock en-
4hureday evening the shrill whistling Of L
IoDpuosives on the Pennsylvania railroad /
wys warning that fre was In progress in |
- vitality Of the railroad. All persons /
nnod their attention In that direction and /
Uoat clouds Of smoke could be seen In the /
6oaghboehood of st. Charles furnace
People Commeuced running In that dift O.
taoa end found Q most terrible nfe
rnsiue On The pennsylvania railroad.
- aamee could b seen issuing L
Srom coal oil tanks which threatertd
dereruct,ou to oil the property about thst
nIsce. EnRiue No. 405, coming from Har- /
Si.bnrr. Engineer Jacob Good, Conductor
eeoeee Ritchie, had run into the rear end
a. irsin at the weigh scales, short dis
fance west OF the casting house Of the fur
naca The engine piled into the rear end
Win terrific force, throwing cars from the
tracks and piling them In great confusion.
In the forward train there were i've Oil
oarv. Ave lumber cars and the cabin wreck.
a. In the rear train i've cars were wrecked
A car loaded with junk was thrown on lie
e,ne across two tracks and badly wrecked.
Three car loads Of coal we're scattered about
ths tracks and the coal piled In ell direc-
tiona In the midst Of this wreck was
thrown Q car loaded with merchandise, the
whole presenting sight Of great confusion
A coon % the wreck occurred the Oil tanks
took 6re and for over two hours the oil
burned with great fury, sending smoke
and flames to Q great distance In the air
One of the cars contained oil In
barrels which was totally destroyed
An oil tank car was also consumed
with its contents, and the car IL now
b,sckeued mass OF iron. Three other oil
tank cars had the woodwork destroyed,
but fortunately the Oil did not Ignite In
tWsaty minutes after the alarm was given
the Columbia fre department was In work.
ing order, and did heroic service. On oil
hands can be heard expressions Of praise o.
the noble work Of the firemen. All worked
In harmony and with regularity, rendering
efacient aid wherever needed. The Column
bia engine stood on the hill back OF the FUR
nacs, the Vigilant went up the towpatf
sud obtained water from the canal, and .th'
Shawnee stood 81 Second and Cedar. Al
econ ~ the heat would permit the Shawne'
vas taken across the railroad to the canal
IL leos than q half hour from the time thu
flames first issued from the wreck Six en-
esnas ware playing on the flames and sur
rounding properly. George Fisher and
Wash Null swan across the canal with the
branch pipe OF the Vigilant In order to be
= close 10 the fire % possible. At one time
Martin Smith, Of No. company, was seen
mounting the cinder banks with the branch
nina 70 save the property OF the furnace
The Wriehnvilie steamer and hose carriage
camo across the bridge at 6:l5 p. NJ, and
went into service, greatly assisting the hard
worked firemen In their battle with the
flames. About 7:30p. m. the Citizsn'i
steamer and washington hose came from
Hsrrisburg, but were too far behind tn,
wreck 10 be of any service. The Pioneer
company, OF Marietta, were at the tunne
ready for work, but were not needed. Tit
Lancaster department received q call fo
asuistsuce but were afterwards notified tba
thsir services were not needed, a. tn,
nro vss under CONTROL The blazing oi
rsn nom the tanks into the canal, causin
much alarm for the canal boats in tho bssi
and Bruner's coal wharves. Fortunatel
the water was at Q staudstill and the burn
ine oil did not spread. The flames set fir
70 the lumber cars next to the oil tankl
~ Onlv = norton of one of the oars was de
etroyed. The nremen kept water on tn
other cars, saving them from losR Or
the .rieht OF the tracks stand tn,
blncksmith shops, offices and tw,
dwellings, property of the furnsc
company. The buildings were on fir
several times the blacksmith shop was tn
only building destroyed. A switch box O
the r, Il X. was also burned to the ground
The flames set fire to the property OF tn
furnace company on the left side OF tn
track, and for . long time the entire fur
uscs was In imminent danger. Almost th,
entire ore roasting platform, q portion o
the trestling and three cars OF the COMPANY
have suffered from the flames. The stocl
n badly mixed and everything Is In con
fuslon, Manager II. b. EckmRn stated tha
the loss cannot be estimated for severa
dsya The working OF the furnace will b,
DELAYED about thii y.six hours. The track
are badly warped and twisted and the tie
are burned and charred for Eome distanc,
on both sides of the fire.
Engineer Jacob Good, OF engine No. 4O5
States that Fiagmsn Henry Thomss, OF tn,
forward train, was not back far enough /,
prevent the ooliision. The fisgman wa
est of the tunnel and could not be seer
until too late to stop the train. The engi
near and fireman jumped from the engine
within 100 feet OF the resr end.
The engine In not greatly damss ed, the
stack, headlight and pilot being wrecked,
but 70 what extent could not be Be, 4, as the
cabin OF the forward train Was on . OF the
eagina
A soon as the fire was extlnguishod the
wreck crew went to work to clear up the
dsoris and open the tracks for trains.
LATER ABOUT THE FIRE.
A visit to the scene Of the wreck and fire
Of yesterday showed that the wreck crews
from Parkesburg, Middletown and Colum.
bia had been busy during the night Al.
most every portion OF the wreck had been
cleared away and traffic was resumed, The
waiting crews left for home al o'clock and
the town wTeckers completed their labors
about O'Clock. The Shawnee aud Colum.
biz steamers remained on the scene during
the night ready for sction In case the
flames would burst out afresh. The en-
gine 405 Ia not much damaged, the head
light, pilot and stack being the only por-
lions wrecked.
The IRE was caused by the Oil from the
tanks running on the hot cinders OF the
furnace.
Several employees OF the furnace stated
that they saw fisgmsn Thomas leave his
train before 1t had stopped and had not
reached the tunnel when engine 4Ob WAS
coming around the curve.
The carpenters OF the furnace are nj work
IN ms 4 inp tha repzira Tho oo.,o :. ~,