The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1892-05-07
A BIG COAL FIRE.

A BIG COAL FIRE.
The Scene on a San Francisco Wharf
That Suggested the Inferno.
For nearly two weeks the bunkers OF
the Pacific Rolling mills at the Petrero
have been like the hell which Milton
describes in paradise Lost" Thou
sands and thousands Of tons Of foreign
coal had been heaped in these twenty
year-old, seventy feet high buildings for
time that is forgotten by even the
workman there. Three months ago the
men began to talk ominously Of "steam"
that was creeping out of the huge piles,
and old men who had been on tramp
golfers at sea shook their heads with
dubious wag. Twelve days ago the
flames burst out in the northern bunker.
These bunkers are only huge sheds,
with rails built along just under the
roof, over which cars are wheeled to
convey the coal to the dumps In the
northern bunker the coal was piled forty
and fifty feet high, till it reached to the
car rails and the top stringers.
A hundred carts were put on when
the fight began to remove the coal to
safer places. The fireboat Governor Ir
win was set close to the Wharf to play
streams of water night and day. It was
hard and long fight, but the fire was
finally driven into the northwestern
corner of the bunker.
| Wednesday pight was an exciting time
for the worn out men who had carried
away 5000 tons of coal in their carts
and were threatened with death ON the
eve Of victory. The gaunt pillars that
support the structure were weakened by
burning, and the dilapidated roof sagged
in dozen different spots, ready to fall
without moments warning. The cleo
trio lights hung like faint stars shining
through fog. The roaring of the mills,
the shouts Of the bosses who were driving
the gangs of shovelers at the glowing
masses of coal, the cries of the men
struggling with the writhing Of hose
above, were all q picture for the painter
of the hideous.
Every one was in hurry, for there
was dull, ominous roar in the middle
of all the smoke and mingling Of stifed
lights. There was little use in trying to
see the fire from the ground; the heavy
vapor was too thick. But on top of the
adjoining loft there were things to see.
It took perilous climb up rickety lad
der, with its first four steps burned away,
to get there, but reporter made the
trip under the guidance Of Fireman
Michael Barry.
There were holes burned through the
floor of the loft, and through these holes
six men dropped during ten days. The
last who went fell to break two ribs on
Monday night. He fell on the red hot
coal, too, and three men were brave
enough to jump for him. The shoes
were burned off of them.
Creeping along through the nauseat-
ing gas and cloud, there was only safety
in clutching the guides hand, for every
few feet were the holes, and only col
umns Of fog whiter than the rest showed
danger to the practioed eye.
. At last one of the tramways was
reached, and threading a narrow
stringer over a. chasm Of fire and vile
vapor, the men could be seen tearing
away the fiery Goals far below.
"It's been a tough pull, said Barry,
"and Saturday night l didn't see how
they'd save anything. You can see how
this building has gone in. Look at that
stringer over there! Why, was stand
ing ON it at 3 O'Clock in tho mornin.,
with two men behind me. l had the
nozzle and two fellows were holding
| up the hose to help me guide it. All of
I 10o,% %h0 c>%v IL H,-%
just slow enough to Let the two men
backing me drag hard and pull up to
the track.
"Some say it was foolish to play water
on lot Of coal like this, and perhaps it
was. When a heavy stream Of water
drives into pile Of coal it sends all the
fine siftings down to the bottom. so that
the heavy Jumps get a good draft
through them that keeps the fire going.
"For awhile the gas up here was aw-
full. At first they wouldn't Let us make
holes in the roof 80 that we could reach
the top Of the fire, but when we had tc
climb up and look for two men that were
lying almost smOthered from the gas
they thought it was time to smash in the
roof, so now you can see and breathe
better than we did some of those nights
last week. Then men left this roof ir
the morning 80 sick they couldn't eat till
night, just from the poison they got il
the gas"
No fire engine could be taken to the
scene advantageously, and the fireboat
Irwin had to furnish nearly all the water
used In the battle.-San Francisco Elk.
aminer.