The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-08-06
A CIGARETTE WAS
THE CAUSE On It.
Panic in the Grand Baseball
Stand at Chicago.
MANY LACERATED
BY BARBED WIRE.
TEN THOUSAND PEOPLE RUSH FOR
SAFETY.
Fireman's Clothes Catch Fire and He
is Badly Burned-Physfcians Are
Kept Busy Attending to the
Wounded-A Casualty That Might
Have Been Much More Serious.

Chicago, Aug. 5.-The discovery of
fire in the grand stand of the West
Side ball park this afternoon, caused
a wild panic among the spectators, in
which several met serious injury. A
large number of others were slightly
cut and bruised in trying to make their
exit.
Those most seriously injured are:
E. W. Bartlett, 48 years old, leg frac-
tured.
Edward Ahren, of the fire insurance
patrol No. 6. severely burned about
head and face.
Following are those treated a he
county hospital, whose injuries con-
sisted of lacerated hands and fingers,
from scaling down the barbed wire
fence:
G. J. Kemper, Dewitt Smith, j. B.
Martin, M. Lawrence, Simon Arm
strong, Henry Parker, NJ. Rawley,
George Smith.
Not less than 10000 people were
crowded into the grounds to witness
the game. Every seat in the grand
stand and bleachers was occupied,
and a large crowd of men and boys
had maintained positions in the fields.
1HS game udQ advanced III the
seventh inning when a cry of fire was
heard in the bleachers and a thin crease
of smoke was pouring from the cracks.
The cry was taken up on all sides and
in a short time a terrible panic ensued.
All the four exits leading from the
grand stand were damned with men
and boys, and a sprinkling of women.
| The exits were not large enough to
permit the throng to go through and
1oJ,,I dc Of TO
| the barbed wire fence into the baseball
grounds.
The first reaching the fence scaled it
successfully, but those that followed,
in their anxiety to get to safe quarters,
| tried to crawl through and in nearly
every instance were wedged between
the wire and their clothing was torn in
shreds and hands and legs were LAGER
ated by the sharp barbs.
! When the fire department arrived,
| the entire stand on Lincoln street and
a portion of the grand stand were a
mass of flames.
The fire spread rapidly and the
small force of firemen which responded
TO the first alarm was unable to cope
with the flames.
The heat of the blaze was so intense
the firemen We're unable to get within
twenty yards of it.
Edward Ahren. fireman, en-
deavored to reach the ball ground by
going through portion of the burning
stand His clothes caught fire and he
was compelled to retreat, badly
burned.
During the stampede E. w. Bartlett
became wedged in the barbed wire
fence. severely cutting his hands and
| legs. Several others who followed fell
on top of him, smothering him into I'M
consciousness.
Bartlett was taken to the county
| hospital, where it was found his leg
was broken and he was badly bruised.
For an hour after the first alarm many
physicians were kept busy attending
| the injured.
Twenty or more went to the county
hospital to have their wounds dressed
but all save Ahren and Ba&fett were
able to leave soon after the injuries
were attended to-
After an hours work the blaze was
under control.
The damage was about $4,000 The
fire was caused by a cigarette thrown
among the combustible material un-
| der the stands.