Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-06
MOUNTAINS OF COAL ON FIRE.
Scene on q San Francisco Wharf That
Suggested the Inferno.

From the San Francisco Examiner.
For nearly two weeks the bunkers Of the Pa
cifc rolling mills at the Potrero have been like
the hell which Milton describes in Paradise
Lost" Thousands 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 workmen there.
Three months ago the men began to talk on,in-
ously 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 a
dubious wag. Twelve days ago the flames burst
out in the northern bunker. These bunkers are
only huge sheds, with rails built along Just un.
der 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 rails and the top
stringers.
hundred carts were put on when the fight
began to remove the coal to safer places. The
tire boat Gov. Irwin was set close to the wharf
to play streams OF water night and day. 1t was
| hard and long fight, but yesterday the fire
was finally driven into the northwestern corner
of the bunker
Wednesday night was exciting time for
the WORKOUT men who had carried away g. COO
| tons of coal in their carts and were threatened
with death on the eve of victory. The gaunt
pillars that support the structure were weak
| ened by burning ana the dIlapidated roof
| sagged In dozen different spots. ready to fall
without a moments warning. The electric
| lights hung like faint stars shining through a
| 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 writking
hose above were all picture for the painter Of
| the Eideous.
| Every one was in a hurry for there was a
| dull, Ominous roar in the middle of all the
smoke and mingling of stitied lights. There
was little use IN trying to the fire from the
ground; the heavy vapor was too thick But
| on top OF the adjoining loft there were things
| to see 1t took perIlous climb up a rickety
| ladder 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 have
| dropped during the past ten days The last
| who went fell to break two ribs on Monday
| night He fell on the red-hot Goals, too, and
three men were brave enough to jump for him.
| The shoes were burned of OF them.
Creeping along through the nauseating gas
| and cloud there was only safety in clutching
| the guides hand, for every few feet we're the
holes and only columns of fog winter than the
rest showed danger to the practiced eye.
| At last one OF the tramways was reached.
and, threading narrow stringer over a chasra
Of fire and vile vapor, the men could be seen
| tearing away the fiery Goals far below.
Its been a tough pull" said Barry, "and
Saturday night 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 standing on it at o'clock in the
| morning with two men behind me. l had the
nozzle and two fellows were holding up the
hose to help me guide it. All of a sudden the
| stringer went smash. but just slow enough to
let the two men backing me drag hard and pull
| up to the track.
"Sorne say it was foolish to play water on Q
lot of coal like this, and perhaps it was
When a heavy stream Of water drives into q
| pile of coal it sends all the fine siftings down
| to the bottom SO that the heavy Jumps get o
good draught through them that keeps the fire
going.
"FOr while the gas up here was awful At
first they wouldn't let us make holes in the
roof SO that we could reach the top of the fire,
but when We had to 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 in the morning SO sick
they couldn't eat till night, just from the poi
son they got in the gas"
No fire engine could be taken to the scene
advantageousiy and the fire boat Irwin has had
to furnish nearly all the water used in the
battle, Which il now nearly at an end.