The morning call., 1891-12-10
BURIED IN RUINS.
Loss Of Life at Two Fierce
Fires in Louisville.
1 Number Of Firamen Caught by Falling
Walls and Crushed.
Several Girls Burned 10 Death and Others
Badly Injur8i-The Search for ROdes
Of the Missing Heavy Losses.
Special TO THE MORNING CALI

LOUISVILLE, Dec 9.-While the fremen
were raking away the ruins Of the Boone
Paper Company building, at 4:30 o'clock
this morning. there came the sound OF a
terrific explosion In Bamberger, Strong &
Co.'S building, four stories high. In one in-
stsnt flames broke out from every floor and
shot out through the roof, The fire must
have been smolderng for several hours in
the cellar, and when each of the four
stories had been filled with heated air and
smoke the explosion followed. The follow
Ing firms were burned out:
Bamberger, Strong & Co.. boots and
shCes-Loss, S125, COO; insurance, 100000.
Bliss, Wilson & Co., furnishing goods and
notions-Loss, $4,000; insurance, $4,000
Weller, Voolfolk 6 Payne, boots and
shoes-Loss. $4,000; Insurance unknown.
Johanboeke & Sons. hats-Loss, $40, 600; !;
insurance. $4,000.
1t was with great difficulty that the fire.
men prevented the flames from spreading
further. A number of people were sleep
ing in the upper rooms of the building. but
all escaped.
A number OF fremen were caught under
the falling wall Of Bamberger, Strong &
Co.'S building. Fire Chief Hughes and
Captain Weatherford are injured. Four
dead fremen are under the walls and four
others are badly hurt.
ANOTHER FATAL FIRE.
Ats o'clock another fatal fire broke out at
F. A. Meme & Co.'S wholesale candy and
fancy grocery house, one square above the
Boone Paper Company's building. Tue or
igin of the fire is a mystery. Forty girls
were at work on the fourth floor, and all were
not able to escape. The bodies of six girls
have already been taken out burned almost
beyond Identification.
{. T. MEME, brother Of the senior men,
Der of the firm, is supposed TO have been
burned to death. and the firemen think at
least five other girls will be found soon A
thorough search is being made.
The fire cut off escape by the stairway
leading from the fourth floor, where the
girls were at work. Many jumped from the
windows to the secOnd-stOry projection and
escaped with broken limbs and bruised bod
les. Others got out unhurt.
With Its forces weakened and demOraliZed
by the accident Of the early morning the
Fire Department was called to the disaster
at the candy factory. To add to the cOnfu-
sion Ma or Chief Hughes of the Fire Depart
ment was so badly hurt in the accident of
the early morning that he may not recover
He and Henry Weatherford. the Chiefs as
sistant, while going to the fire, were run into
by the Salvage Corps wagon and their buggy
smashed. Both were trampled by the
horses, but the injuries of Weatherford
were not so bad as those of his Chief.
number of other firemen were badly in
iured at the candy-shop fire.
In the face Of these disasters the firemen
stood bravey to their work, and within an
other half hour the flames were under con-
troll.
LIVES SACRIFICED.
Within this time half score of lives had
been sacrificed.
The latter fire is supposed to have arisen
from candy furnace which possibly eX-
plOded and the flames communicated with
big stock Of Christmas fireworks. The
first explosion among the fireworks scat
tered frebrands all over the store, the sky
light fell in and the entire stock was blazing
almost Immediately.
The bodies of the girls were removed as
soon as possible to the nearest undertaking
establishments. Two of the girls have
Just been identified as Mary Walsh and
Amelia Dickey.
Great confusion exists. Main street
where the principal wholesale traffic OF the
city goes on, is blOckaded, and business is
almost at a standstill. The loss on MEME
& Co.'S building and stock is placed at S75,-
600, and the total loss Will be nrarly three
quarters Of e million. The flames were
stopped al George w. Wicks IL Co.'S cotton
house.
THE DEAD.
The work of searching for bodies in the
buildings destroyed by fire this morning
was still going on at midnight. The miss
ing tiremen are now believed to be in the
ruins of the Boon Paper Company building,
wedged between the huge piles OF paper
that filled the cellar. The dead recovered
at Menne & Co.'S are:
KEN, LULU.
LUCKHARDT, CARRIE.
BELL, BARBARA.
DICKEY. AMANDA.
HULSEMEIER, WILLIAM.
KlMMEL, CHARLES.
RANCH, CLARA.
PARKER, IDA.
MISSING.
The missing and certainly dead at the
Boone Paper Company building are:
MOORE, TOM.
BAKER, SAM.
DAVIS, WILL.
SCHLICK, TONY.
All Of Hook and Ladder Company.
James Weinler and Thomas Bechulder,
who worked at Menne's, were also missing
THIS afternoon, but their relatives have not
been heard from tonight.
THE INJURED ARE:
MCGARvEY, KATIE.
dOLIHAuS. THERESA.
ERRISGER EDWARD.
GREENwALD, LILLE.
HUGHEs MAJOR.
NUTTALI, JAMES.
SHEEHY, PATRICK.
GRIMES, ALLEN.
WEATHERFoRD, HENRY.
Fire Chief Hughes has concussion Of the
brain.
How the fires originated is still uncer
tain. There were only two office fires at the
Boone Paper Company's building and it is
certain the flames originated at neither of
these AT MEME & Co. 3 numbe of fires
were burning, but none of them account for
the starting If the conhagration.
1t Is nCw doubtful if there was an explo-
sion at BAN berger, Stern & Co.'s, next door
70 the Boone Cumnanu nj the tl,.,a &c e.