The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-01-21
Frightful Natural Gas EX-
plOsiOn at Findlay.
A Crowded Hotel the Scene OF
the Catastrophe.
Four Deaths Will Result From
the Accident.
Many Are Injured-Narrow Escape Of
the Guests.

FIxDLAY. O., Jan. 1s.-The first great
disaster Findlay has ever experienced from
the use of natural gas occurred shortly be-
fore O'Clock this afternoon, while the
guests O. the hotel Marvin were waiting to
be summoned to dinner. This morning it
was discovered that gas was escaping
from a leaking pipe somewhere into the
dining-room, and Mr. Marvin, the owner
of the building, with the plumbers, spent
the entire forenoon trying to locate the
leak. At about > o'clock they entered a
chamber underneath the dining-room and
found such an accumulation of gas that
they could not breathe, and 1t was sug-
cested that hole be sawed through the
floor into the dining-room in order to OBJ
tain fresh air. This was done, and just as
the hole was made one OF the dining-roOm
girls, who WAS sweeping the floor, stepped
upon a match, and in an instant an explo-
sion occurred which not only wrecked the
building, but killed two girls and MANNED
and injured dozen other employees.
The force Of the explosion was so great
that it blew out the flame OF the ignited
gas, and no fire followed the awful ruin
which the shock had caused. The whole
city rocked as if by an earthquake by the
conclusion, and all the windows on the
square were demolished. while the wreck
of the hotel building was all but complete,
the only rooms in the house escaping de-
struction being the parlors and office. Had
the explosion occurred ten minutes later,
the loss of life would have been frightful,
as nearly hundred people were waiting
in the rooms to be called to dinner, and as
a matter of fact, one OF the clerks, Frank
PoundstOne, was on his way to make this
announcement when the explosion oc-
CURED. and he was caught in the falling
debris, he being one OF the painfully in
jured.
When the work OF removing the dead
rescuing the dying was begun twas found
that Katie Walters, a waitress, had been
xii ed outright Ella Johnson, a dining
room girl, was found alive under mass of
brick and mortar, but she died shortly
after being carried to a place of safety.
Kate Rooney. another diuing-room girl,
was also fatally injured but is alive. This
makes the list of casualties as follows:
Killed:
KATE WALTERS, waitress
ELLA JOHNSON. diDing-rOom girl.
Injured
KATE ROoSEY, dining-room girl, fatally.
FRANK POUNDsToNE, day clerk at the hotel,
painfully bruised and cut about the neck and
iace, but will recover.
ANsoN MARvIN, owner Of the building, who.
with the plumbers. under the dlnlng-room
floor when the explosion occurred, probably
fatally injured, as a great deal OF the lame
from the gas was inhaled.
ALBERT FRENCH, porter at the hotel, cut on
the neck and head but will recover.
FRANK ASDREws. one of the propretors,
right eye knocked out and seriously bruised
about the face and throat.
CHARLES GRAVES. plumber.
PHILIP WEI, plumber.
JACK CUHILL plumber.
These last three were painfully shocked
and stunned, but will soon be themselves
again.
This completes the list of the casualties.
The financial loss will be about S25,0 900
on the building and $4,000 on the furni-
ture, all fully covered by insurance 1t is
question, however, whether any insur-
ance will be realized as none of the
destruction was brought on by fire The
excitement throughout the CITY over this
catastrophe has never been equalled since
Findlav became q municipality.
At o'clock tonight another explosion
occurred in the same place as the one of
this afternoon, setting fire to the already
wrecked and badly demolished dining
room OF the Marvin house. The fire de-
partment was quickly summoned, how
ever, and more serious damage averted.
The gas from the main pipe has finally
been turned off.