The morning call., 1893-10-28
FIRED BY WHISKY.
Destruction Following an
Explosion.
TENEMENTS IN A PANIC.
Poor People Driven From Their
Homes by Flames.
WHOLE ROWS OF HOUSES DOWN.
There Were No Immediate Deaths,
but Several of the Injured
Will Probably Die.

PITTsBURG. Oct. 27.-The explosion OF a
barrel of whisky in the big warehouse Of
the ChautauQua Lake Ice Company to-day
caused the destruction of nearly 100000
worth of property. and the serious injury
of eight persons. several of whom it is
feared will die. A score or more of o theirs
sustained slight cuts and bruises. or were
trampled on by the mob surrounding the
burning buildings.
The fatally hurt are:
T. j. HeilmaD,
Martin Griffith.
Edward Sees.
The less seriously injured are:
William Cox,
William Smith,
Frank McCanu,
William Wisman,
John Reiseche.
When the first explosion occurred the
men in the warehouse quickly gave alarm
and started for the stairs, but the flames
had already cut off their retreat, and the
only means OF exit left were the windows,
fifty feet from the ground. The heat was
so intense that they were forced to creep
out upon the wind0w-sills and hang by
their hands until the fire department ar
rived. They were terribly burned before
| they were rescued.
In a short time the fire spread to the
seyen-story building of the Pittsburg
Storage Company adjoining, and both
structures. 200 feet long and 100 feet deep,
we're burning fercely. At 2 o'clock it
looked as though the whole block from
Twelfth street to Thirteenth. aud from
Pike to Penn avenue, was doomed, and the
residents were notified to move out.
To add to the excitement it was discov-
cred that large tank of ammonia was
| located 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 yacate.
All the houses in the neighborhood are
| cheap glass tenements, and were crowded
| to suffocation with Polish Jews and Slavs.
| When they were told to move panic in
describable was started among them.
Soon after they got out the walls of the
big building were blown out by the explo-
sion of more whisky stored therein, and
| the debris buried long row of tenements
in the alley and three-story brick dwell
| ing on Thirteenth street. None of the in-
mates saved any of their furniture. The
ruins took fire Immediately, and for a
while the entire tenement district on Penn
avenue was threatened with destruction.
| BY hard work the fremen succeeded in
drowning out the flames, but it was late
this evening before the fire was really un-
| der control.
When the walls of the big buildings fell
great mob of people made rush to get
| out of danger, and many men were tripped
and fell and were trampled under foot
Scores of people received slight injuries in
| the rush.
At midnight the loss was placed at
| 100000. of which 100000 was sustained
by the Chautauqua Lake Ice Company and
S50O.000 by the Pittsburg Storage Com
| pany. President Scott of the latter con-
| Germ stated that nearly every firm doing
| business in the downtown district of Pitts
burg had goods stored in their warehouse,
but 1t is thought that all the losses are
covered by insurance,