The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-03-18
FRIGH7FUL DISASTER,
Brave indianapolis Fiiremen Are
the Victims.
TEN KILLED, SEVERAL HURT,
Some Fatally-A burning building
Collapscs when 1t was Thought
to he saft-FIshtIns tho
Flames from Wrong Side.

INDIANAPOLIS, md, March 17.-What
ut first seemed an Insignificant fire in the
Bowen-Merrill book store thisaiternoon
resulted in n catastrophe In which al
least ten men were killed and a dozen
wounded, some OF whom will die. The
building, occupied by tho book com.
plny, was iour.story marble front
building facing Washington street lust
west OF Meridian. Tho iire started
shortly before 8 o'clock near the furnace
in the sub.basement. F.
The Gre department, when it arrived,
seemed at a loss to locate the llte and
began pouring water into tho building at
the front, when tho seat OF the trouble
was in tho rear. For two hours the fight
continued in this way until majority
OF the spectators had left, under the i'm.
preston that tho fire was out. About
$3.50. however, there was a terrible crash
aud the entire building, except the front
wall, fell inward. At the time q mum.
Der OF tiremen, variously estimated at
from eight to twenty, wero on the roof
OF the building, and were buried in the
debris, which was piled forty leet high.
with all the walls OF the burned building.
Immediately tho work OF rescuing The
living and cxtrica.ing the dead was be.
gun by at least 500 volunteers, who in
addition to the uninjured iiremen and
members Of the polics force formed
strong corps OF workers. At this hour.
the following have been taken out dead
GEORGE FAULKNER, engineer No, | |
Company. w F'l
GEORGE GLENN, fireman No. 10.
ULYSSES GLAzIER, substitute fireman,
Al, HOFFMAN, pipeman. a
SAN NEAL. u |
EsrY SroRMER.
RICHARD LowRIE. .
CHARLES JENKINS. r
THOMAS rALLENrYRE. @
ANDREW CHERRY, Superintendent of
the fire alarm system. ~.
WOUNDED. ... ~.
ANTONY VoLHs, pipeman.
Lew RAFERr, fireman.
THOMAS BARRETT, fireman.
a. y. MERCER, Captain Fire Depart
ment. -
SAMUEL W. NEAL, pipeman. |
WILLIAM ROBINSON, pipeman.
WILLIAM IAErEE, pipeman, internally |
hurt; may die. m I'T1
hurt.
EnETEzEE LEEcn, pipemau, cut and
hurt.
CHARLES JENKINS, pipeman, badly
bruised. - -"
WILLIAM HESsLEY, pipeman, badly
hurt.
hurt. E''H ~ .l''0-'
The Merrill Company carried
a stock valued at sl25,O00, on which
there was an insurance OF $4,000. The
building was owned by Silas L. Bowen,
and the loss on it will be $4,000. II. P.
Washen, dry goods, suffered loss OF
$4,000 by smoke and water, and Ryram
4 Sullivan, dry goods, half that amount.
Several smaller stocks are badly dam
aged. NJ
Bowen & Merrill have secured a new
location and will reopen for business in
few days. Col. Sam Merrill, OF the
firm, is tho newly appointed Consul
General at Calcutta, and was to have
left for his post tomorrow. Fa |
MORE DEAD.
The workmen digging in the mass Of
brick, iron and mortar are trying to ex-
trleate man whose face, bloody and |
bruised, appears just above the debris.
lle is supposed to be Daniel Jones, n
plpeman. His feet are caught by a huge
iron grder, and he is being literally |
piled with stimuants to keep him alive.
Underneath him is another man sup
posed to be dead.
The scenes ut the fro headquarters
thls.eyening.have been only exceed in in
,ereSt by those at the homes of the dead
iremcn. The cause lof the loss Of life
IS as yet not quite apparent. .5sas
During the two hours and half, dur.
ilng. which the fire was burning, there
had been scarcely flame visible to the
spectators in the streets and tho volume
Of smoke had been so dense as to
utterly obstruct the vision. To effect
an entrance to tho building
bJ tiIemen who had been previously
held back BY tho dense smoke, ladders
were raised from the front and rear OF
the building and the building literally
swarmcd with iiremen. The crowds in
the street began to disperse and every
body considered tho fire practically ex-
tlnguished, when there was sudden
crash and the building fell in with
crash. 7ES 5i'a,T