The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-02-01
EXPLOSIONS.
Horrors of Natural Gas in Startling
Succession.
Buildings Filled with Humans Blown tn
Atoms-Terrible Catastrophe Mt
Columbus, Ohio.


COLUMBUS, o., Jan. e5.-Last evening
q terrific explosion rent the air. a
sheet of flame burst from the building
at the northwest corner of Noble and
Wall alleys, great mass of bricks,
beams and stone, that thirty minutes
before had constituted two-story brick
building, were flying with terrific force
through the air; and then the quiet of
death. The scene that followed that
was terrible. The people fled shrieking
in all directions, while the alley was in
stantly covered with mass of debris
from which the means of buried men
came. But for only moment was IL
quiet In a moment trembling women
tottered and ran across the alley
and streets moaning and shrieking.
The men, with foreheads and shoulders
draped in blood, staggered from among
the debris. A woman enveloped in a
sheet of flame, bareheaded and frenzied,
ran shrieking from the house across the
alley. A man dashed off his overcoat
and ran to throw it around her. fire.
man who held the nozzle of hose saw
herdanger and turned the stream on her.
1t knocked her down but saved her life,
extinguishing the flames. She was lifted
from the ground and hurried to neigh.
boring house. Every inch of her cloth.
ing had been burned from her Down to
her waist. Her name was Pct Merrett.
An old man, venerable, and with white
hair and board, was dug from the ruins
and hurried to a place whore medical
assistance could be given him. His
frosty beard was covered with blood and
he seemed to be in a dying condition.
But saddest of all, a fearless mother,
with her heart frozen by fear and grief,
staggered from the ruins holding tight
to her heart the seemingly lifeloss form
of her three-months-old babe. And so
on throughout the long sad list of killed
and wounded. The explosion, as near
as can be ascertained, resulted from IN
accumulation of natural gas in the cellar
of the house occupied by Michael
Bowers and Mr.. Marriott. No nat
ural gas pipes were ever put into
that house, but the cause was natural
gas main in Noble alley, which leaked.
The ground was frozen and the gas seek
ing its way out went by the easiest way,
and of course entered the cellar. 1t
has no scent and it's presence couldn't be
detected. 1t saturated the buildings
The force of the explosion in the Mar
rott and Bowers house took q westerly and
northerly direction, and scattered bricks
and lumber and lathing for q distance
of twenty feet. The side of the Marriott
house was blown out, and the roof, freed
of it's support, fell over and lay in an al
most entire condition hanging from the
top of the house to the yard below. The
exploded vapor, after doing it's torrible
work on tho south side of Noble alley,
leap ed over to the north side of the
alley and completely destroyed the
house at "a West Noble, occupied by Ed
ward Otsot and Mr.. James. This house
is similarly constructed with the one
opposite, being a one-and-a-half-story
brick, with three rooms down and two
upstairs. Here the terrible force of the
exploded gas was shown. Every thing
was blown to chips. A force of werkmen
at work for a week could not reduce the
house to kindling-vood SO thoroughly
as did this explosion in one
short moment. The explosion
was upward, as bricks, doors, windows,
sashes, lathing, siding, etc, wore piled
in a heap all about the building and
only dozen feet from it. The house
shot up and parted like piece of fire.
works, falling back as do the sparks
from a rocket-parted into myriads of
pieces. The great mystery was how tho
flames passed from one cellar to the
other without having as much as dis
turbed the brick or stone on tho road
way. The work of getting out tho dead
and caring for the wounded has been at
tended with great excitement. The dead
nrmber six and the wounded thirty,
some of whom will die from ther
wOundS