The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-03-18
A DISASTROUS FIRE
In Indianapolis by Which a Num-
Der of Firemen
ARE BURIED BY FALLING WALLS.
Heart-rendering Scenes at the Headquarters
of the Fire observation-disclosures
Efforts Of LooAers-on.

INDIANAPOLIS, March 17.-What at first
seemed an insignificant fire in Bowen &
Merrilps book store building, Washington
street, this afternoon, resulted in catas-
trophe in which at least ten men were
killed and several wounded, some of whom
will die. The fire started shortly before
O'Clock near the furnace in the sub base
ment and was stubborn one. About 30
there was terrible crash and the entire
building, except the front wall, fell in
ward. AT the time a number of firemen,
variously estimated from eight to twenty,
were on the roof of the building and
were buried in the debries, which piled
forty feet high. Immediately the work Of
rescuing the living and extracting the
dead was begun by at least five hundred
volunteers in addition the unin1ured fire.
men and police force. UP to 10
o'clock the following had been taken
out dead: George Faulkner, Ulysses
Glazer, AL Hoffman, Z. Stormer,
Richard Lowrie, Charles Jenkins,
Thomas 4. Black, George Glenn, Andrew
Cherry, John Burkhart. The wounded
taken out are: Anthony Volts, Lewis
Rafert, Thomas Barrett, A. r. Meyer,
Webb Robinson, William Partee, Henry
Woodruff, Ebenezer Leech, William LeOng,
thought cannot live.
Workmen are digging in the mass of
brick, iron, and mortar and are trying to
extricate a man whose face, bloody and
bruised, appears just above the debris. He
is supposed to be Daniel Jones, pipeman.
His feet are caught by huge iron girder
and he is being literally piled with
stimulants to keep him alive. Underneath
him is another man supposed to be
dead. The scenes at fire Headquarters
| have been only exceeded in pathetic inter
est by those at the homes of the dead fire.
men. Old men, fathers, young men who
have lost their lives, wives, mothers and
children, the dead and the living, are
crowded together in the room, seeking in
formation of their loved ones, and, getting
none, have rushed to the scene of the fire,
and by their frantic appeals have made
doubly arduous the work of those endeav-
oring to get at the men imprisoned beneath
| the ruins.
The first ambulance to leave the scene Of
the fire carried the remains of the first four
men taken from beneath the fallen floors.
They were fallowed by an impromptu pro-
cession of carriages, wagons and pedes-
Uriaus, and proceeded first to the undertake
ing establishment and then TO the homes OF
the deceased, where in two instances its
coming gave the first intimation Of sorrow
| that had fallen on the home
Il
quite apparent. During two hours and
half the fire was burning there had been
scarcely flame visible to the spectators
in the streets and alleys, though there was
a volume of smoke so dense as to utterly
obstruct the vision. About o'clock the
first entrance to to the building was
made by a fireman who was previously
held back by smoke. Suddenly came
a crash and the whole building.
except the Washington street front, fell in.
F'iremen were on each of the three floors
and the root and they were, of course, car
ried down in the collapse. 1t would seen
that the building was Insuficiently tied to
those on either side of it and the flames ate
hole in the centre, letting the whole cave
in. 1t is feared there may be other bodies
in the debris.
Lateral midnight rescuers have par.
italy released the man supposed TO be
Jones. 1t will take an hour OF two more of
hard work to get him out. He is alive,
but delirious. 1t is reported that three
little newsboys were seen standing near
the rear walls just before the collapse,
so, there is little hope for their
lives. One of the fremen, VINO
managed to make his escape practiC ally
unhurt from the cellar, says he thinAa
J there are two or three more men down
there yet completely covered by the mass
! of burned t1mberS. Several Oh the injured
tiremen who are able to talk were seen by
a reporter tonight, but could add no in
formation to what is given above. All they
knew was that as they were working,
without even a preliminary crack the
collapse came and they were pre-
r cipitated into the pit below. AL
3 but two or three of the dead and injured
fremen had homes and families and the
scenes at these places tonight were heart.
breaking.
Bomen & Merrill carried a stock valued
' at S125, 600, on which the insurance i;
$4,000, the building is valued at $4,000
H. P. WATSON dry goods suffered loss Of
$4,000. Several smaller stocks were
badly damaged.