The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-23
ROTTEN WALLS FALL.
Collapse of a Condemned New
York Brick Block.
DEBRIS FULL OF coRPsEs.
At Least Fifty Rersons KiIIed-yo Nor
tar Between the Bricks-ToppIed
Over OF It's Own Weight.


accident occurred this afternoon in Park
Place, between Greenwich avenue and
College place. At that time the street was
hlled with people and heavily laden
wagons and trucks. A small yaporish
cloud was seen to burst from the ground
door of 20. Y and "a Park place. followed
by a dull. sullen roaf. This was succeeded
Immediately by an eruption, and a mass
Of brick, stone and timber was
hurled thirty feet into the air. Then
the front walls of the buildings
at Nos. 20 and Y fell crashing into the
street, leaving not the slightest sembIance
of what had been there second before
an apparently strong and well-constructed
building. The mass of fallen brick and
timber half filled the street. At first there
was no sign of FIRE. The falling walls had
broken the steam pipes, from which steam
was spouting forth. A number of electric
wires had been torn down, but fortunately
the current was turned off from all but
one. The crowds made the streets almost
impossible.
Fire could now be seen breaking out at
No. So. large number of men who had
clambered upon the ruins to assist the
wounded people in getting out of the
building, were forced from their posts by
the hre, which spread rapidly. Owing to
the blocked condition of all the neighbor-
ing streets, the IRE department could not
get to the buildings for several minutes.
Finally one small stream from a hydrant
played on the side next to No. S.. Soon
after the engines arrived, and
all directed their efforts toward the
one side of the buildings,
Suddenly flames burst from the third.
fourth and fifth stories of that part of the
building on Park place next to Greenwich
street. occupied by Lindsay's type foun-
dry. The floor was saturated with oil,
which fed the flames generously. A muir
muir ran through the throng as they
thought of the fate of the occupants of the
ruined and burning buildings. The full
force of fremen at last got 20 work, and
checked the flames within two hours.
Horrible conjectures now began to be
circulated regarding the probable number
OF the injured in the ruins. Workmen,
clerks and others of the neighborhood
generally get lunch about the hour the
accident happened. On the ground floor
of No. "a there was cheap restaurant, in
which, il was thought, there were about
twenty-five persons when the accident
happened. In the upper part of
the building large number of
persons were employed. 1t is not
known how many were employed in the
building. but it was thought probable that
most of those employed there were in the
building at the time of the accident For
two hours the only subject of inquiry by
those ~ hn fhr0r1oad $ha 30
how many were killed or injured. 1t was
fully two hours before the fire could be
sufficiently subdued to allow the fremen
TO make the least effort TO extaicate the
dead and wounded from the ruins.
As soon as the flames were under con-
troll the work of recovering the bodies of
the unfortunates buried beneath the ruins
was begun. The fremen worked like
heroes. After twenty minutes work the
dead body of one man was found, burned
and charred so that the features were I'M
recognizable. Fifteen minutes later an
other charred body was found. Then was
heard moan, coming apparently from
under the feet of a rarity of res
cuers. After working for nearly
twenty minutes little girl. still
alive. but badly cut up and burned. was
lifted from the ruins. AS her rescuer
raised her up in his arms she lifted her
eyes to a window on the opposite side of
the street, and called in piteous tones:
"There's my mamma" 1t was indeed
the child's mother. who. upon seeing her
child, became so frantic with ioy that
only the efforts of her sons standing near
her prevented her from jumping out of
the window. As the Tiremen place the little
girl in the hospital ambulance she told them
her brother and sister both were under the
bricks dead. II seems she was PLAYING in
front of the building at the time of the ex-
plosion. Another body fearfulIv burned
was taken from the ruins about D. m,
and almost Immediately after the bodies
of little boy and girl were found. They
were recognized as the children of Eugene
Heagney, plumber, and were the brother
and sister mentioned by the little girl
taken out alive.
At O'Clock tonight entrance to the cell
lars and vaults under the sidewalks was
effected The workmen labored with
great difficulty as the ruins were still hot.
and in the cellar there was five feet of
water. Two bodies, more or less burned,
were taken out near the front of the build
ing. A second descent into the cellar at
80 resulted in seeing three bodies, which
it was impossible to move. as
thew were pinned down under the
debris. When a third trip was made.
about 10 O'Clock, the BODY of one
man was brought up. This body had
scarcely been disposed of when a strange
noise was heard coming from the ruins.
Firemen who went to investigate its cause
returned with big black cat found float
ing on plank in the cellar.
Tn 10 a late hour tonight nine bodies
had been taken out of the ruins. Five of
them are unknown. Those recognized
are:
PATRICK SLArTxRY, ANNIE HEAexsY,
JoHS GIBBS. WILLIAM BERRY.
The list of injured. so far as known. is
as follows:
William smith. John waldhor. Louis Ber-
uard, Morris Gottleib, John LINK, Bernard
Iebrod. John sheehan, May Heagney. Frank
Morrow.
All the bodies recovered tonight were
dug out of the debris which covered the
sidewalk in front of the ruins. The build
ing had frontage of about $50 feet on
Park Place svenue and thirty-five feet on
Greenwich street. II was condemned
thirteen years ago by the building depart
ment. There are many theories as to the
cause of the disaster.
Chief Reilly, of the fire department. was
of the opinion that boiler had exploded.
Another believed the boiler in the restaur-
ant had exploded and caused the disaster.
Then il was said some chemicals mad ex-
ploded in drug store. The mos; plaus-
ible theory, however. is that the wreck