Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1893-10-28
BIG BLAZE IN PITTSBURG
Eight Persons Seriously Burned
In a Warehouse.
PENNED UP ON THE THIRD FLOOR.
The Explosion of a Barrel of Whisky
Causes n 500. 900 Fire, In Which Many
People Were Slightly Hurt-A Block of
Cheap Tenements Burned.

The Explosion OF q Barrel Of Whisky
Causes n 500. 900 Fire, In Which Many
People Were Slightly Hurt-A Block of
Cheap Tenements Burned.
PITrsBURG, Oct. 2S.-The explosion of a
barrel of whisky in the big warehouse of
the Chautauqua Lake Ice company caused
the destruction of 100000 worth of prop
erty and serious injury to eight persons.
Several of the injured, it is feared, will die
\ score or more of others sustained slight
cuts and bruises or were trampled on by
the mob surrounding the burning build
ings. Those seriously hurt were:
7. j. Heilman; dropped from the third
floor to the ground; hands and face ri
bly, burned; injuries considered fatal
Martin Griffith; dangerously burned.
Edward Specs; body and head badly
burned; may not recover.
William Cox; dangerously burned about
face and body
William smith; painfully burned; will
recover.
These men were all rescued from the
burning building by the firemen:
Lieutenant Frank Mccain of Engine
left leg injured. William Wisman; struck
by falling timbers and skull fractured;
dangerously hurt. John Reiseche, boy;
badly hurt by falling timbers.
Trapped the Third Floor.
The employees on the third floor of the
Chautauqua Lake Ice company's building
We're startled by q loud report, and almost
in an instant the large room was ablaze.
The men quickly gave the alarm and then
started for the stairs, but the flames had
already cut off their retreat, and the only
means of exit left them were the windows,
so feet from the ground BY this time the
heat was so intense that they were forced
to creep out upon the window stills and
hang by their hands until the fire depart
ment arrived. The flames, bursting from
the windows, burned their hands and faces,
but tlTy hung on there until the men of
Truck + got ladders and brought them
down.
When the fire was discovered, an alarm
was sent in, and when the First district
reached the scene the flames were rapidly
making their way through the great seven
story building of the ChautauQua COM
pany. \ second alarm brought out two
more districts but the fire by this time had
spread to the seven story building of the
Pittsburg Storage company adjoining, and
both structures, POO feet long and 100 feet
deep, We're burning fiercely.
Two more districts were then summoned,
and in 20 minutes water was pouring on
the flames from nearly a score of engines
At one time it looked as though the whole
block from Twelfth street to Thirteenth
and from Pike to Penn avenue WAS doomed,
and the residents were notified to move
out
To add 10 the excitement, it was discOv-
cred that large tank of ammonia was To-
Gated in the cellar of the ice company's
building, and the police, fearing an eXplO-
sion, quickly ordered the occupants of the
houses on Twelfth street to also vacate
All the houses in the neighborhood are a
cheap class of tenements and are crowded
nearly to suffocation with Polish Jews and
Slavs.
When they were told to move out, a panic
Understandable started among them. House
hold goods, store goods, children and every
thing that could be carried away was rush
cd to place of safety.
Falling Walls Buried a Row of Houses.
The walls on the Mulberry alley side fell
in with a crash. and few minutes later
the eastern wall came down. The debris
buried long row of tenements in the alley
and a three story brick dwelling on Thir-
teenth street. The tenements were occu-
pied by 20 families. but fortunately they
had been deserted some time before the
walls fell i'll. Not one of the families had
chance to save any goods, and all their
furniture was destroyed. The ruins took
fire Immediately, and for awhile the entire
tenement district of Penn avenue was
threatened with destruction.
BY hard work the tiremen succeeded in
drowning out these flames, and the fire was
confined to the buildings of the storage
and ice companies. 1t WAS dark, however,
before the fire was completely under con-
troll and all danger over.
When the walls fell. the great mob of
people made a rush to get out of danger.
Many men tripped and fell and were tram
pied under foot. Several received painful
but not dangerous bruises. Sheets of iron
We're cast from the burning buildings by
the fury of the flames and hurled into the
crowds. Scores of people received slight
injuries which were dressed in neighbor
ing drug stores