Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1890-03-30
SIX MIN SCALDED.
A Terrible Accident on the South Side, Yes
teriay Afternoon
SPEARS AXLE WORKS THE SCENE.
The Flue Of an Upright Boiler Col
apSeS.
ONE OF THE VICTIMS WILL DIE,
SPEARS AXLE WORKS THE SCENE.
ONE OF THE VICTIMS WILL DIE

Works collapsed, and in an instant the
works was filled with Scalding steam
and deluged with hot water. Six men
were terribly burned cut and bruised,
and one and possibly two deaths may
result. in the opinion of the attending
physicians
The boilers were built By MeSSrS.
Sweeney & Son. and were exceptionally
strong. being dOubc-riyited and double
braced. and were calculated to easily
withstand any steam pressure likely to
Doe brought TO bear. Each boiler was
ifftv-two inches i'm diameter by thirty
feet long. with one large flue through
the centre. They stood on end on the
north side of the factory building. just
of of Twenty-Seventh street, and not
far from the west end of the building.
Near them. We're one or two furnaces,
and not far away were blacksmith
ing FORCES. and various machines and
appliances for the manufacture of steel
aXleS. of which the Company make Il
speciality. East of the apartment just
mentioned. was the machine shop, with
the office at the northeast corner of the
building, fronting on Main street. The
Company employ about fifty men, but aS
there was a shortage of gas yesterday,
not all the wOrkmen were employed.
To this fact is attributable the safety Of
a number of men. Had the explosion
occurred when the full force was at
work the casualties would have been
much greater i'm number.
About a quarter or ten minutes of one
o'clock Mr.. Harry Reitz. the engineer,
started up the engine. There was then
about one hundred pounds of steam
pressure. and the upper guage showed
water. indicating that everything was
fright. About fifteen minutes after the
engine was started there was dull,
lmuaicd roar. accompanied by the crash
/ ing Of timberS and a rain of flying bricks
land fragments of metal, among and
above which sounds were heard the
cries of Scalded men.
As a matter of course, the first inn
pulse of the employees was 10 rush from
the building, but they returned in a
moment 20 look after their Scalded COM
radcS. and before the steam had cleared
away they We're miniStering to the re-
lief of the haIf-dozen blackened and
bruised victims of the accident.
The wounded men were as follows:
WILLIAM WEIsGERBER, blacksmith, sin
gle. of No. 252O Eoff street; cut on face,
and face neck and arms blistered and
burned by steam and water.
HARRY REITZ. engineer. single, OF NO.
COS Market street; arms and face burned.
joseph ARMBRU sTER, shearman, single,
of No. 36O2 Chapline street; burned about
the head, neck, face and arms.
ANuLE BATTLES, Zimmerman, single, OF
No. 22O7 alley ID; skull fractured cuts on
head. right eve burned out. face head,
body and arms terribly burned and scalded.
ANTHONY RILEY. helper, single, OF South
Main street. scalded from head clear down
20 thighs
GEORGE VERNON. pohsher, single of No.
I 226 Twenty-Ninth street; lacerated wound
ON arm.
As soon as the horrible nature of the
accident was realized, the employees car
ried the wounded men out of the build
/ ing n which the explosion occurred.
McSsrS. WciSgcrbcr and Rcitz were TAX
eu 90 the Office of the works, whore DR..
Campbell attended to their immediate
necessities. while the other four men
were carried through an opening which
| had been blown I'm the south side of the
I factory building 20 the b. II o. oil
house. There Engineer Johnson. of
| the b. X o.. who had some experience
| I'm accidents of the kind covered the
wounds with oil and did, with the help
/ of other willing hands, what could bee
done TO alleviate their sutferingS, until
physicians arrived. DrS. John Pipes,
/ Brauncn and Alderman were soon
present and the work Of dress
/ ing the wounds was proceeded with
rapidly. As soon as possible the wound
led men were wrapped i'm blankets and
were taken % their homes, attended by
physicians. and last evening four of the
six sufferers were reported as being in
good shape. and in no danger OF the
remaining two. NcSSrS. BartleS and
| Riley. the physicians were not so san
gunc. but 10 is 10 Doe hoped that they,
/ too. will ultimately recover.
/ When the explosion occurred MeSSrS.
/ Rcitz and Wcisgerbcr were at the north
east corner of the apartment containing
/ the boilers. and about thirty feet from
/ the boilers. They were about TO do
some work M blacksmith forge.
/ The shock of the explosion hurled both
men back against the forge, but neither
sustained anything more than an inSig-
|uifcant bruiSe or two from the SnOck.
/ They were we'll i'm the line of the vol
ume of steam and hot water. however,
land their burns. while extremely
painful. are not at all dangerous The
remaining four men were close to the
/ boiler engaged i'm loading truck with
q ftf1l of ha
/ explosion. and the live steam and hot
water poured ont directly whore they
stood All the men. were hurled away
with considerable force. and were struck
with numhercSS flying fragments of
brick and iron. one of these fracturing
poor Bartles skull. When one looked
at the position occupied by the four
mon. and realized the force of tine ont
rushing steam. the wonder is that any
iof them escaped alive. The steam and
water tore mp the hard ground almost
beneath the feet of the men, and clear
cd tine floor space most ctfectually oil all
movable stuff.
a number of the men had very mar
row escapes. Once of those thus fOrtu-
matte was William LavedOck. the fore
man. To REGI>rEE reporter Mr..
Layedock said:
I'll was just I'm the act of passing
through the door leading from the ma
chine shop 90 the boiler room, intend
ing to look at the steam and try the
gaurc-cochs. AS I stepped out of the
door the explosion came, and l was
hurled back into the machine shop. %
Gviug brick striking me i'm the leg. 4
moment later. and would have walked
right mp TO the boiler and would have
been killed"
Harry Reitz was having his wounds
attended Oh m the Office of the
works when the reporter entered. De-
spite his wounds. he talked freely about
she accident. and expressed sympathy
for those hur, worse than himself. lie
said:-
There was just about one hundred