Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-11

A horrible explosion occurred yesterday st
the Lucy Furnace, resulting in the death of
Michael Welsh and badly injuring several
other furnace men. The man dead and the
injured are as follows:
MICHAEL WELSH, lived on Harrison
street. married, three children. The fiery
stream poured down on him, completely
burning his body. He died while being
taken to the hospital.
JOHN MCGINNIs, lives at McCandless,
married, scorched about the body, face and
legs. His injuries are very serious. He
may probably die.
MIKE LARRIsEY, single, living on Ma
trona alley, burned about the face and
arms. He will recover.
Tom SUMMERS aud MARTIN SUMMERS,
the latter married, both burned on the arms
and bodies. Both will probably recover.
JOHN QUIGLEY, married, three children,
living on Railroad street, hit with flying
brick 100 yards away from the furnace. His
shoulder fractured. almost severing the arm
from the body, He viii recover.
HARRY SKILFORD, married, burns on the
legs, face and body. His injuries are not
serious. Lives on Forty-eighth street.
The explosion occurred at dinner time.
Little knots of men had gathered in the
vicinity of the furnace getting ready for
the midday meal, when Unexpectedly, and
with awful suddenness, tremendous report
was heard, followed rapidly by burning
coke. limestone and metal leaping from the
upper bell of the furnace and flying over
the metal beds and the yard. The liquid
metal came pouring down the outside OF the
furnace where number OF men were stand
ing. Mike Welsh stood Immediately be-
meath the LIQUID stream. The metal COM
pletely covered him. Just as the fiery iron
touched his head he made an attempt to run,
but the fire had completely overwhelmed
him.
TRIED TO HELP HIM.
He staggered and fell from exhaustion.
The poor man was soon lying in lake of
metal; he uttered faint gasp for help. A
number OF strong, sturdy men, Indifferent to
their danger, got a few graphing irons and
fished him out from the metal. The patrol
wagon was on the spot, and the man while
being taken to the hospital died.
The other poor men who were caught in
the liquid shower rushed out into the open
air. Their sufferings must have been in
tense. They writhed and groaned with ex-
cruciating agony.
The burning metal was roasting their flesh.
Some of the furnace men attempted to take
the iron from the flesh of the unfortunate
men, but every time they pulled piece of
metal great lump of flesh would come with
it. This only intensified their sufferings
The men yelled under the operation. Some
OF them rolled on the ground in a dead
swoon, and were taken to their homes in a
comatose condition.
When the furnace exploded tons of lime
stone, ore and cinder were sweps into the
air and scattered in all directions. Those
who witnessed the explosion say that they
will never forget it The flying metal toss
ing and rolling in burning condition at
tracted the attention of the people for miles
around. To those at a distance it was like
an apparition.
Very shortly after the explosion the Lucy
Furnace was besieged with women. Before
they realized the extent of the explosion
and its fatal results they were in a frantic |
state. Every woman whose husband worked |
at the furnace thought he was killed and |
their sobs filed the air. Crowding around |
the I'M ured men, one poor woman saw her |
husband living. She rushed up to him, |
lifted his mead on her lap and pressed her |
lips against his burning face, and her tears |
trickled down his cheeks.
ALAS, POOR MRS. WELSH.
The wife of Welsh was unconsolabIe. She
wrung her hands and walked about the |
place in a semi-unconsclous condition. |
Every time she glanced at the frightful |
sight that her husbands body was in she |
shuddered. turned away and wept The /
sight was the most distressing that could
possibly be imagined.
The cause of the explosion, 1t appears, was
the bad working condition of the furnace.
No. furnace had been out for a hours,
undergoing repairs. It was lit up on
Thursday and was ready for charging
yesterday morning. At 5 o'clock the fur
mace was charged. About 10 o'clock the
furnace boss noticed that the mixture in the
bosh was working slow and the furnace was
hanging. He gave orders TO slack the fur
mace, so that the metal would drop from the
bosh into the furnace below. During the
time the furnace was Stacked a great guam
tity of gas accumulated in the bosh, which
was partially full of limestone, coke and
ore. When more gas and blast was turned
on to the furnace at II O'Clock the accumu-
lated gas in the bosh, which had failed to
escape through an aperture in the lid of the
bosh, became ignited, and the explosion fol-
lowed. The lid of the bosh was absolutely
torn from its ixings, twisted and hurled
some hundred feet.