New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-09
SIX DAYS ON ABURNlNG SHIT
A LONG FIGHT FOR LIFE IN M1D-oCEAN.
FIRE BREAKS OUT IN THE coALBUNKERs OF
BRITISH TRAMP STEAMER DURING
A HEAVY STORM.

A HEAVY STORM.
For six days in mid-ocean the crew of the
British tramp steamer Unionist battled with a
lire in the ships bunkers, which contained 15O
tons Of coal There was a heavy gale on all the
time, and often the crew could hardly keep their
feet while passing the coal out of the bunlIers
up on deck Two explosions occurred, and al
together the crew of the Unonist had a thrilling
yarn to spin when the steamer, little worse for
her experiences arrived yesterday at DOws's piers
BROOKLYN.
The Uniunist sailed from Liverpool on September
Il In ballast, with crew of thirty men. Four
days later heavy gale set in, which ragged for
four days. On September 30 First Officer f. j.
Attenbrow was standing on the bridge, having
hard time TO keep his feet, when he saw smoke
curling out from the bunker hatch on the port side
of the bridge deck lie shouted to Captain r. W.
Neate, who hurriedly hauled of the hatch A
thick volume of black smoke poured out and
nearly blinded uhe captain.
Neate summoned all hands, and the matches were
battened down and every crevice closed. Then
holes were chopped in the bunker hatch. and
hose-piLes were run in, and water soon flooded the
he'd of coal. After while the hatch was lifted
and two seamen felt their way into the bunker
and passed out some coal. But at noon the smoke
began to pour out again. and the fumes of gas
were so strong that the men were driven away
from the hatchway. and two men below were
overcome, and were rescued in an unconscious con-
dition
Again the matches were closed, and the next
day they were once more opened. and the men
entered the hold in relays to take out the coal
staying half an hour at time. So the crew
worked all that day until p. m, when the smoke
and fumes drove them Off Again the hose poured
water through the hatch, until II a. m. the next
day, Wednesday, October 2. There strong
the coal from the side bunkerS into the cross
bunker, the ship pitched so that they could hardly
keep their feet. Yet the crew stuck to their
difficult task until 10 p. m The matches were
once more battened down and the hose played
until the next day at noon. There was so much
water in the bunkers that the crew next had to
pump Ii out.
by noon of Thursday the coal was glowing
and had to be passed up on deck in iron buckets
and played on with the hose. Nearly two tons
Of burning coal were disposed of in this way.
The next day Second Officer lleiming WAS on the
bridge. He heard IA mulcd explosion, and looked
around in time TO see three matches burst up
and fall back into the bunlers and sheets Of
hamcs flare through the hatchwayS nearly to
the masthead. The matches were fastened down
again with difficulty, and few hours later
another hatch blown Off and piece of it
struck the chief engineer. He was not seriously
injured 4 hole was cut into the stokehOle
bunkers and a hose run in there BY evening
the smoke began to decrease, and at 1880 a. m.
October the fire out.
Nearly fifty tons Of coal were taken out Of
the bunkerS during the fire 1t Is thought that
spontaneous combustion was the cause A few
hundred dollars will repair the damages