The Globe-republican., 1891-10-29
EXPLOSION.
Half q Million Dollars Damage
Done at Louisville.
A NEST OF SEVEN BIG BOILERS.
One Of Them Bursts Under the Pressure
and the Wrecked Premises Take Fire
Courier-Journal Printers Decamp,
But the Building 10 Saved.

LOUISVILLE, KY. Oct oZ-By boiler
explosion here yesterday afternoon one
man was killed, several persons injured
and nearly $500. 600 worth of property
destroyed
At o'clock William r Adams .
fireman at the electric light plant Of
the Louisville Gas Co, was throwing
coal in the furnace when one of the
nest Of seven boilers let 60 The shock
in the vicinity was like an earthquake.
Adams was thrown to the ground with
terrific force and received such inter
nal injuries that he will die. The shed
in which the boilers were located was
completely demolished and pieces of
iron and of timbers and showers Of red
hot Goals were thrown in every direc-
ton.
A great mass of iron and q deluge Of
burning Goals was thrown across the
alley into the rear of Kaufman &
Strauss big retail dry goods store and
the wall of the store was carried away.
Half a dozen clerks were gathered
about the bookkeeper at the back
of the store. With the book
keeper, Solomon Dryfus, they were
caught ia the wreckage, but it is be.
lieved all escaped alive. Dryfus was
severely injured but not dangerously.
Carrie Dinkelspiel, Hattie Ennis and
Lena Sickles were slightly injured
In moment apparently. the whole
building was in flames The weather
has been very dry for two weeks and
the wreckage and goods burned like
finder. An alarm was turned in from
automatic fire alarm box in the Cour-
ier-Journal building, and the depart
ment was quickly at work. The
wrecked building was at once beyond
control. Attention was turned to saw
ing the Courier-Journal building. two
doors north, and the polytechnic library
building. two numbers south. The
water tower was manned, and the
hose in the Courier-Journal building
were attached and turned through the
side and rear of the building. and four
teen fire engines put in position and set
to playing upon the flames
With all this force it was half an
hour before the flames gave way and
an hour before they were under con-
Journal would certainly be burned.
The few printers who were in the com.
posing room left and reporters and
editors who were on duty gathered
their valuables and prepared to escape,
most of them actually leaving. But
the wind was from the north and car
ried the heat in the opposite direction.
By strenuous efforts the polytechnic
building on the south was saved with
heavy damage from water to the books,
pictures and other art collections
The fire caught in and burned out
the two upper floors of j. v. Escott &
Sons, dealers in pictures, fine mirrors,
wall paper and photographers sup
plies, ind the two lower floors were
flooded with water till hardly anything
was saved On the south Leverone's
confectionery and Porter's millinery
store were slightly damaged
The Losses, as nearly as can now be
learned, are as follows: Kaufman,
Strauss & Co. retail dry goods stock,
$500, 600, nearly covered by insurance.;
Bamberger, Bloom & Co., owners
of building, $50, 900. insured; J. v.
Escott & Sons, fine woodwork and
supplies, $50, 900, insured; Poly
technic library building, books,
etc, slo,O partly insured; Louisville
Gas Co. SIS. 900. covered by insurance;
Leverone. confectionery. $500. insured;
Porter, millinery. $3.50, insured
William Wilsher, engineer Of the
electric light boilers, was with Curt
Dawson. dynamo tender. in a room ad-
joining the boilers and they barely es-
capped. He says he had on only 100
pounds of steam, while he was allowed
100 He thinks some part of the boiler
was displaced by the heavy work it was
doing and the explosion resulted from
it
At POINT OF REvOLvERS.