The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-12-18
THE NINE A FURNACE.
Fire Breaks Out in the Slope at
Newcastle.
NOT A SINGLE ,I5E WAS LOST.
tn. q. 4, Co. Sacrifices the Mine &c
save gts Miners Ltvss-ssbis
Wsyk-Mtns Flooded.

fnss mine MAS q hesefHfsf2 taFisAtE u
flame until Il w8s flooded. but not a iife
psas lost Tire nsin@rs were enabled 70
sscape By The aeglpn ~ the officials IN
kas4gnz the FAIRS at xork. though ~ do
lax ~ the fianses were famed and the
nnancsai Joss greatly increased
wfher the news reached the city. Wild
reports were afsp4t about great loss q
life. bart before o'clock General Man
ager e. J. snsth received a dispatch
stating that the last man had been
brought n the surface.
a Representative az the Post-Intclii
genoer was sent 10 the seene as s~son as
the news rezsebed here. and be sent the
following dispatch. telling how the fire
broke out. how II was fought and how
she miners were saved.
Newcastle. Wash. Dec. T.--Special-
A terrible ftz1s broke out in the mines AZ
Cxef creek. a Trafle and half from this
place. ~ $50 O'Clock this morning and
tonight tire bowels Of the earth there
10 a depth Of 1000 feet are fllie-i with
roaring fiaSr~es. a great part Of the up
per works we're consumed BY the fierce
flames With shot out of the mouth Of
the slope, but not one life was lost and
all ~ the mine machinery was saved.
The loss 10 the Oregon Improvement
Company II severe ard the mines are be-
8ng Hooded. which VII! exs4nguish the
FIRE bus also cause a shutdown for
months GseTfap s. ard throw 300 rren out
Of employment The cause Of the FIRE is
nos knoxn. bat II is thought 10 be in
cegidiary. though investigation alone viii
tell
IRIS snsrnin1 AZ O'Clock John Nor
gan, who flas charge Of the old works on
she second level Of the mine. found
small fire burning in a cedar stick in
that level. He part out the blaze and
watched carefully for further signs OF
Ere Trough he b. certain he put IT en-
tirely out. lie tis.n took his gang Of
men ard went 60 work in the air shaft
near by. An hour and a half nter an
other man su1eiled wood smoke and saw
fire comipg fr,an a. breast OF the third
level. he gave the alarm to Morgan
who went % the surfare and reported
the fire to Assistant Superintendent
Charles G.. Anderson. The latter tese-
graphed superintendent r. b. Corey at
Seattle and began getting out the day
shift Of about 100 men who were In the
mine. He and another man took $50 feet
OF hose and started down the slope on a
car. Just as the car was lowered over
the knuclxle on the brink of the slope,
he remembered he had forgotten a
wrench. and sigralssi the engineer TO
stop. While "a man was bringing the
wrench smoke and flame began shooting
out OF the slope. and he abandoned the
attempt to 60 snto tie furnace of fire
lie would have certainly persisted had
not thu wrench been forgotten
warning the Men aF Their Peril.
Anderson then bekan warning the men
in the Halnn OF their danger. for the
flames were rolling out OF the mouth Of
the slope like "a volcano. Men. women
and children ran In az directions like
uaaniacs. bcmoaning relatives supposed
a. be pestshing in the depths, get he
stood telephOnlng down below. telling
the men how 10 avoid danger by coming
W. the air shafts on either side OF the
slope; the top works then caught fire
and Anderson was driven from the tele-
phone
The fire had been burning now over
an hour. and about rs men had come
up through the air shafts In safesy.
Sums Thought al were out. but five
brave Fuea-sr1ge heTces-volunteere TO
so down into The workings ard warn the
laEgarxss. They were Mine Foreman
VIII HAM. Fire Tester Andy Reynolds.
TlmbezEzA1n Jasln Erickson. Andy Stew
art, nstnes. John Morgan. timber fore
MAN and TtsoEuas Doaaon. Down tha air
STAFF they sEefE,. though the SLOPE 100
feet away was like furnace chimney
ana the top works were burning. The
slightest accAieat - Tia fans would
have shut OF air from them and
they would have died like poisoned rats.
They were below four hours. and as a
result ntnefeen saen were brought out
sxfeiy. The last one - the rescuers came
cut CT the air shaft al $50 q. m.
In the g1cantlne Anderson and a gang
or men worked like beavers Keeping che
fire frexn stopping the two fans at the
n1cuth ~ the slope. covered with trestl =
ing which the fire Was cevoursng. The
failing tsnsessrs might have broken tho
air pipes. when the fans woald have
teen useless a.nd the disaster been as
terrible as that 81 Franklin on August
~ I12> trestle work was cut down by
willing hands ard even blown down by
dynamite "a prevent The IRE from reach
fng che engine house ard fans Tho ex-
clt ssnesls MAS 1ntNuse for an knew the
terrible sesult Should the fans stop for
a Frlaracnt.
At ft.5e Mine SUperin1cndent Cory
sfg2yVsd ca a special fra1a frywn Seats3a.
ard began diryscstlr tha work on .on.
AndeE7soa and his Ssas> assistants wcnt
into the az Shafts aSd worked ~ per-
vent the IRE frCsn breaking through
from the sAopes.
An aaswar tha KaIt Gala
when &he srss.n wyre az out ana
TIE xescuiur party on top tsu ron
was esllesi ard the fans shut down. T-he
ortif.n ~ Mine Superintendent Corey IN
runsanE she fans uatti all were SAFE WAS
az that prevented greas loss OF life but
{t n,ay rola the aiae. The fans forccd
the iiawBes llko an immense bellows on
a fo0Se She fire coo}d nave heon easily
srtcshgref otlrerwlsss. TIE flames step
ped cs.,ussg from tae naote1I - tts-slope
as soon "a the fans stepped aud the ar
WAYS were al blocked
Khe sgIn~ Il fIassea.
Theu Superintendent Corey craerN4
Gel creek. a small nleuusa5n stream.
sa-ssrsed ard TIE water surnoa sato shs
Tasae \ dsna ZEN feet high WIS hullf of
s'a'ef hay. dst and brush. and rser. are
s5i1 - work ~ &C. 4 small hnl was
ei2atea down - ollew tire d!tch % b.
pam tSsas 9ae cr~eaS - the fgs5ee =
hFga Streafa - v~ttc- Sc nov rsirnlas
II. u he sszggfasnSe vnfanea ~ steam
-~izs. sr.vsar 49,.