The Washington bee., 1893-07-22
WORLDS FAIR IN PERIL.
A DISASTROUS FIRE AT THE
WHITE CITY.

An Awful Death Trap-FOrty FiIemen
Lose Their Lives-The Great White
City Threatened With Destruction-A
Dozen Buildings on Fire.
Chicago, July 11.-FOr a brief half
hour yesterday afternoon the great
Worlds Fair was threatened with de-
struction by fire. The fire started III
the cold storage warehouse on the
Fair grounds, and before it ceased
burning forty fremen had lost their
lives and a dozen buildings had been
ignited. The cold storage warehouse
was a structure $50 feet long by $50
feet wide, and was constructed entire
ly of wood covered over with staff,
like all the Fair buildings. The main
body of the building was five stories
high In the centre of this rose the
smokestack in the shape of a cupoli
to the top of which was almost 200
feet. The base of this cupOla WAS
about thirty feet square. About eighty
feet from the base of this cupola there
was balcony, from which another
square tower rose, eliminating i'll the
mouth of the smokestack, where the
fire was discovered The interior Of
were wooden beams and frame work
on which the staff covering was laid
It is supposed that the frame work
around the mouth of the huge CHM
ney caught from q defect in the fue,
At first it appeared to be an insigniti.
cant affair." But knowing the infiam-
mable nature of the structure, Fire
Marshal Murphy, who had charge OF
the fire department on the grounds,
sent in a call for all the companies to
turn out.
With about forty of his men, Capt.
Fitzpatrick climbed the stationary lad
ders inside the tower to the balcony,
and from there ropes were lowered to
haul UP the hose Only one hose, that
Of a chemical engine, had been hauled
up when a gust Of wind caused the
flames to break out in an alarming
manner about ten feet from the top of
the cupola. Meantime the fire had
eaten its way down through the net
work of timbers inside the structure.
and, unconscious Of their danger, the
fremen were standing, as it were, on
the shell of burning volcano. Nc
one of the tens of thousands of inter
ested spectators who had gathered
from all parts of the grounds had any
intimation Of the perilous position in
which the firemen were then standing.
The fire had been burning scarcely
twenty minutes, and the firemen were
pulling and hauling at the ropes, when
suddenly the flames burst out around
the base of the cupOla in perfect
he'll, imprisoning the firemen in the
balcony In what proved to an awful
Death trap. A large crowd had gath
cred, and for few awful moments
watched the efforts of the doomed fire
men to save themselves. Several tried
to save themselves by sliding down
ropes, but they were eng,a1fed in the
raging flames. John Davis escaped,
terribly burned, by sliding down the
chemical hose line. Several men
Jumped from the balcony to the roof,
but were killed by the fall Capt
Fitzpatrick slid down a rope and
reached ladder, whence he was res
cued by Marshal Murphy, but both
men were terribly burned, and Capt.
Fitzpatrick died in the hospital.
A lrage quantity of hnseed oil was
stored in the building, and when it be
came ignited made SO fierce flame
that the bodies of most Of the devoted
firemen were utterly consumed.
A number of visitors who were IL
the building when the fire broke out
were injured in the rush made to es-
cape.
The building was situated west of
the Administration Building and south
of the Annex to the Transportation
Building. Had the wind been blowing
strongly from the south the main build
ings, which were all grouped near
at hand, would have ignited and moth
ing could have saved the great Worlds
Fair. The fire has made a great SEN
sation, and extreme measures will be
taken to guard against further peril
of the kind.
Chicago, July 13.-The list of victims
of the Worlds Fair fire so far shows a
death total of fifteen. A number of
bodies are yet known to be in the
ruins. Up to date over $4,000 has
been subscribed to the relief fund. The
Hercules Cold Storage Company,
which owned the burned building. has
made an assignment 1t Is probable
the Grand Jury will hold the company
rnSDOnSib1p for the disaSfar