Los Angeles herald., 1891-12-10
DISASTER AT LOUISVILLE
TWO FATAL FIRES IN QUICK sue
CESSION.
Nearly a Score of Lives Lost-Firemen
Crushed by Falling Walls-A Number
of Working Girls Horribly Cremated.
Heavy Financial Losses.

were raking away the ruins OF the Boor
Paper company, at 4:30 o'clock this
morning, there came the sound OF ter
rife explosion in Bamberger, Strong q
Co.'s building, four stories high. In
stantly flames broke out from every floor
and shot out through the roof. Fire
must have been smouldering for several
hours in the cellar, and when each oi
the four stories had been filed with
heated air and smoke the explosion fol
lowed. The following firms were burned
out:
Bamberger, Strong & Co., boots and
shoes, loss, $125,OO0; insurance, $780,
| 600.
Bliss, Wilson & Co., furnishing goods
and notions, loss, $4,000; insurance
$1,000.
Weller, Voolfolk & Hayne, boots and
shoes, loss, $4,000; insurance, un'
| known.
John Bokan & Sons, hats, loss, $45,
600; insurance, $35 900.
1t was with great difficulty that the
firemen prevented the flames from
spreading further.
A number of people were sleeping in
the upper rooms of the buildings, 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 were
injured. Four fremen were killed and
four others badly hurt.
At s O'Clock another fatal fire was
raging at F. A. Menne & Co. wholesale
candy and fancy grocery house, a square
| above the Boone Paper company's build
ing. 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 recognition. g. L. Menne.
brother of the senior member 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 will be 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 projec-
tion and escaped with broken limbs and
bruised bodies. Other got out unhurt.
Will lbS lOTCcS WcdhCAOO anu OChOI-
allied by the accident OF the early morn
ing, the fire department was called to
the disaster at the candy factory. Chief
Hughes, of the fire department, was SO
badly hurt in the accident early this
morning, that he may not recover. He
and Henry Weatherford, the chief as
sistant, while going to the fire, were
run into by salvage corps wagon; their
I,-o c,,ooohal ond both
trampled by horses, but the injuries of
Weatherford are not SO bad as those of
his chief.
| A number OF other fremen were
badly injured at the candy shop fire.
In the face of these disasters, the fire.
men stood bravely to their work, and
within another half hour the flames
were under control, but within this time
half score of lives were sacrificed.
The fire is supposed to have arisen
from one of the candy furnaces, which
possibly exploded. The flames were
communicated to the big stock of Christ
mas fireworks. The first explosion
among the fireworks scattered fire
brands all over the store. The skylight
fell in, and the entire stock was fiercely
blazing almost Immediately.
The bodies OF the girls were removed
as soon as possible to the nearest under
taking establishments. Two of the girls
were identified as Mary Walsh and
| Amelia Dickey. Great confusion exists.
Main street, where the principal whole
sale traffic of the city goes on, is block
| AIDED, and business is almost at stand-
still. The loss on Meme & Co.'s building
and stock is $75, 900, and the total loss
will be nearly three-quarters OF mil
lion. The flames were stopped atGeorge
| Wicks q Co. e cotton house.
| The work of searching for bodies in
| the buildings destroyed by fire this
morning is still going on at midnight.
The missing firemen are now believed to
be in the ruins of the Boon Paper
company building, wedged between the
huge piles of paper that filled the eel
I lar.
| The dead recovered at MEME q Co..
are Lulu Klein, Carrie Luckhardt, Bar
bara Bell, Amanda Dickey. William NJ
Hulzmeyer, Charley Kimmel, Clara
Rauch and Ida Parker are missing and
are certainly deads
At the Boone Paper company the dead
are Tom Moore, Sam Baker, Will Davis,
Tony Schlick, all of No. l hook and
ladder company.
James Werner and Thomas Brehulder
who worked at Menne's, were also mis-
sing this afternoon, but their relatives
have not been heard from tonight. The
injured are Katie McGarvey, There's
Holthaus, Edward Ininger. Lille Gren
wald, Major Hughes, James Nuttall
Patrick Sheehy, Allen Grimes ane
Henry Weatherford.
Fire Chief Hughes has concussion o.
the brain.
How the fires originated is still un
certain. There were only two office
fires at the Boone Paper company'I
building, and it is certain the flames
originated at neither OF these. Al
Menne s. Co.'s number of fires wer'
burning, but none account for the start
| ing of the conhagration. 1t is nov
doubtful if there was an explosion q
Bamberger, stern & Co.'s, next door t
the Boone company, at the time the fir
caught.
Mule :, Bluett & Co.'s reliable clothing.