Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-11
Ii APED TO DEATH
A Score of Firemen Killed ON the Chi
cago Fair Grounds.
Many Bravo Fellows Lose Their Lives in the
Sight Of Thousands-Their Comrades
Looked ON Powerless to Save.

An extra edition Of The STAR yesterday after
noon described the burning Of cold storage
warehouse near the 64th street entrance to the
exposition grounds at Chicago, with the loss Of
| many 6remen's lives. The full extent Of the
death wrought may never be known, as the
building collapsed totally in SO short q time
after the fire started that many people who
entered the building, hoping to render aid be-
fore the peril under which they were placing
themselves was realized, were caught like rats
in trap and went unannounced to their doom.
The following is list Of those who met death,
the missing and the injured:
DEAD.
Capt James Fitzpatrick, acting chief, Co
lumbar fire department.
| John Mcbride. driver, company No. 8.
William Denning, truckman, company No. 8.
MISSING.
Capt Carney, fire company No. I.
Capt Page, fire company No. 8.
Lieut. Purvis, FIRE company No. 4.
Phil Breen, pipeman, company No. 8.
Lieut. Freeman, company No. /.
John Smith, pipeman, company No. 2.
Paul Schroeder, truckman, company No. 8.
John Cshill, truckman, company No. g.
Sergt. Donaldson, Columbian Guards.
Four Columbian Guards.
H. s. Strand, company No. 4. Columbian
Guards.
Henry Geduldig, foreman of painters in cold
storage room.
FATALLY INJURED.
W. O'Mahoney, ladderman, company No. 1,
internally injured and legs and feet fractured.
THE INJURED.
Capt. William Barry. fire company No. 8, right
hand amputated.
Frank Bielenberg. fireman, hands badly
burned.
Sig Nordrum, fireman, leg burned and body
bruised.
and body.
NJ Murray, guard, asphyxiated, but recover
ing.
John Davis. guard, hands burned.
w: z. Fisher, face and head burned.
William Lynch, scalp wounds.
T. j. Donation, hands burned.
G.. :. Hannah, badly scalded and hand
crushed
G. B. French, right leg injured.
Fred Goetz. right hip injured.
Frank Faulkner, fireman, sprained ankles.
Capt Kennedy, company No. 5, hands and
face burned.
-Four other fremen, hands badly burned,
treated at Emergency Hospital, and taken away
by their friends before their names were ascer-
tanned.
The loss is over ss5o,ooo The supplies of
most Of the neighboring restaurants were all
destroyed. The sun was shining its brightest
| from blue sky ct 80 o'clock yesterday after
noon and the pleasure-seeking people passed
under the shadow Of the cold storage ware
house. Suddenly q boy, William Sheppard,
saw tongue OF flame escaping from the
cupola or observatory tower which formed the
| topmost section Of the warehouse. From the
ground to that first flame there were 500 feet
OF space. The boy gave the alarm and in few
minutes the unhinching heroes from the fire sta
tons. at the Casino and the terminal depot came
dashlnR along with hose cart. engine and hook
and ladder
They went out on the roof and hauled up the
hose with ropes to the first story of the tower
on the east and south sides Of the warehouse
Others rushed up the spiral stairway to, the
landing next the blazing top and lowered ropes
on three sides for the men below to attach the
hose to. Until this time the fire resembled the
flaming mouth Of a small blast furnace and at
distance there seemed to be no danger menac-
ing those brave men at work hundreds of feet
in the air.
The experienced eve of Chief Murphy. in
command Of the worlds fair fire department,
failed to suspect the risk to his men when he
ordered them to go up to the tower below the
blaze.
THE RIGHT LADDER NOT THERE.
A sixteen-foot ladder was placed from the
first section Of the tower to the landing on
which the men were, but no one thought of
running big ladder from the main roof of
the tower so as to connect with the small
ladder. Without a thought Of the fate which
was soon to overtake them. the thirty odd men
outside the tower were at work on the east and
south sides. All this time the flames were
burning through the large section of the tower
beneath them. The hrst intimation Of the
danger came to the victims when smoke ap-
peared under them. and as the wind blew it
into their faces they retreated in an orderly
body beyond the landing to the north side Of
the tower, with the exception of one mana
palnter-who slid down the hose which had
been brought up to the south side of the tower.
The flames had been devouring five feet Of
framework which surrounded the cast-iron
shaft that pierced the tower below the men.
In few seconds the imprisoned ones felt
the scorching fire coming, and with one i'm
pulse OF self-preservstion the men moved
quickly to where the ropes were attached at the
northwest corner. They could not look down
and see the flames because Of the projecting
cornices, but they knew where the ropes were.
There they stood huddied together, some with
out their coats, others hatless and all preparing
to save themselves if they could.
THE ROPE BURNED.
The man nearest the rope grasped it and de-
scended- But for only a dozen feet. The
flames had no mercy; the rope was burned in
two, and, with feet downward, the first victim
shot through the air to the main roof. He
turned partly over before he struck and
bounded up before lying as il dead.
A great cry of anguish and fear came up from
thousands on the ground and at other points
where the first Of those awful leaps and falls
could be seen. Strong men wept and became
historical Some cried aloud for God to save
these poor souls penned between flames.
Women could be seen everywhere fainting
and wringing their hands, burying or turning
away their faces and crying Historically at the
sickening scene.
The sight was too much for even the military
men and old fremen the ground to bear
without a shudder and turning away Of faces
Human forms leaping through flames 100
feet or more down to sure death presents o
sight the stoniest heart could not witness un-
moved
The last man on that tower died the hero's
death among all those heroes who faced the
furnace below them. He had waited, without
apparent fear. until there was only himself
left, like Cassabianca, who stood on the burn
ing deck. He was fireman, and he grasped
the remnant of the burning rope just as the
whole tower structure parted diagonally and
fell toward the north-right over the PROSTATE
bodies of the poor fellows who had leaped to