Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-07-14
WORLDS FAIR HORROR.
SCORES OF FIREMEN KILLED IN
A BURNING BUILDING.
Tower 100 Feet High tn "a Merciless
Death-A Fire Trap building.

pdrallel ana Wnlcn was SO AWFUL as TO
defy adequate description visited the
Worlds Fair. 1t was an event which
has been long feared by thousands of
people and was all the more terrible
because of its sudden transformation
from what at first seemed small blaze
in one of the buildings TO a veritable
hell of death dealing flames. This hor-
ror cost the lives of from 30 TO 40 brave
firemen and Columbian guards whose
fates were sealed while they were per-
forming their duties in trying TO save
property and life. Like an animal
monster this horror lead its victims to
the topmost stage of high pinnacle
and then encircling the whole shaft III
a sheet of flame, held them in a trap
until one 10y one they fell sacrificed on
the fiery altar that ragged beneath them
while 10000 people stood helplessly by.
The structure that burned was, by
comparison, one of the smallest build
ings of the fair. 1t was the cold stor-
age warehouse and skating rink and
was not the property of the exposition.
1t was concession and exhibit of the
Herculus Iron works and ice and re-
frigerating machine manufacturers.
In the building there were 30 or 40
barrels of linseed oil. The oil no doubt
greatly FASTENED the contlagration and
that the fire was not communicated TO
the other Worlds Fair buildings was
due TO the favorable winds.
AS fire trap the cold storage ware
house could not have been more per-
fectly constructed. The structure was
$50 feet long by $50 feet wide and was
built entirely of wood covered over
with staff. The main body of the
building was five stories high In the
center of this rose the smoKestack in
the shape of cupola, to the top of
which was almost two hundred feet.
The base of this was 30 feet square.
About so feet from the base of this
cupola there was balcony from which
another square tower rose, eliminating
in the mouth of the smokestack where
the fire was discovered. 1t is supposed
that the framework caught from
defect in the tiue. At first il appeared
20 be an insignificant affair, but know
ing the intammable nature of the
structure, Fire Marshal Murphy, who
had charge of the fire department on
the grounds, sent in a call for ali the
companies TO turn out. With about
40 of his men Captain Fitzpatrick
climbed the stationary ladders inside
the tower to the balcony, and from
there ropes were lowered TO haul up
the hose. Only one hose, that of IA
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 netw ork of
timbers inside the structure and uu-
conscious of their danger the firemen
were standing as il were on the shell
of a burning volcano.
The scene of horror was witnessed
by many thousands of people and
strong men wept and women tainted
as one life after another was snuffed
out within full view of the multitude,
but beyond the reach of human aid.
The fire was not generally observed
| until about 1:15 p. m, and within 30
minutes the great loss of life occurred.
At the first signal the tiremen rushed
up the huge shaft surrounding the
smokestack and when at the summit
began preparations to fight the flames
that had first appeared at this point.
Before the hose could be coupled a cry
of horror from the crowd below caused
the firemen to look down and the whole
shaft below was found to be encircled
in flame. Instantly every man real
| lied his danger, but there were few to
find an avenue to escape. One man
suddenly grasped a rope of hose and
half SLIDING, half falling, reached the
roof, 90 feet below, in bruised and
burned condition but still alive. by
! this time the crowd below became wild
with excitement and weeping women
and frenzied men rushed hither and
thither wringing their hands in an
guish over their inability TO render aid.
The firemen appeared to realize the
awfulness of their position and some
of them moved back and forth along
! the edge of the balcony as if in search
of some means of escape. Suddenly
one of the unfortumates either crazed
| by heat and fear, or preferring to be
| crushed by the fall to terrible death
| by fire, sprang from the balcony.
| Every eye was turned upon him and
| the thousands who saw IL held their
breath at the fall Several of his COM
rades followed and each was crushed
to death on the floor below. The very
! horror of death riveted every eye to
the scene. 1t was an awful fascination
and the spectators seemed powerless
TO take their own eyes from it or
| leave. The guards were powerless to
keep throng back from the fire lines.
The spectacle of death became more
awful as the minutes passed and min
utes seemed almost ages in length as
the fire crept swiftly up to where the
remaining tiremen were huddled to-.
| gether. Before it reached them, the
awful crash came. The tower toppled
| for moment as though uncertain
which way to fall. Then, SLOWLY at
first, it began to fall until it came
down with laundering roar The
fire had eaten away the supports at
the base and the whole mass was
swallowed up in the awful roaring
furnace. AS the greedy flames gath
cred in the fresh victims, they rolled up
toward the sky with redoubled fero-
city.