The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-04-18

Have Perished-The Largest Fire in
the City for Years.
BUFFALO. y. Y, April 12-The plant
of the American glucose company
burned tonight The loss will be about
S1,G0O,OO0. The insurance is $685.. 900. The
works of the company consisted Of an
eleven-story brick building used for
the manufacture of glucose and starch,
| an eight-story brick building used as a
power house and as place for making
the cattle-feeding product, an eight-story
| brick building used as d refinery and an
| eight-story storehOuse. The fire was
| discovered in the dynamo room of the
main building shortly after o'clock by
the engineer. He gave the alarm and
he and his f1remen rushed out.
In ten minutes the whole eleven floors
were on fire. flames We're bursting
| through the windows and darting from
the roof. There were perhaps 125 men
at work tonight. 1t viii not be known
| until a census of the employees is taken
| tomorrow whether one man or fifty men
were cremated. It is known that some
Of the men escaped by the fire escapes
and some of those on lower stories jump
ed into the canal. A great many of the
| men at work on the upper floors We're
| ignorant Poles and Germans. They may
have been burned. 1t is impossible to
tell now. The chances are, however, that
! several men were burned to death. AS
it was four Of the men who jumped were
| hurt. These are:
John Young, a workman, jumped; hurt
about the head and face.
Two Poles, cannot speak English,
names unknown, both severely injured;
| one has both legs broken.
John Stein, workman, severely burned.
in fifteen minutes the entire main
| building was a mass of flames. In twen-
| ty minutes the walls began to fall. And
they fell at frequent intervals until, in
| side of forty-five minutes, there was but
one corner standing.
The main building was connected with
! the power and feed house by an elevated
bridge over SCOtt-st. The flames Crept
| across this and ignited the feed house
Meanwhile the city fish market just
| across the street, caught fire. Five fire
men We're sent inside il to fight the
flames and number Of streams We're
turned on the roof. The building was
long, low brick structure and the fire.
men made a good fight to save it, but a
portion of the blazing wall fell on it
and started the roof to burning hercely.
The hremen inside did not know OF this
and no one told them. The consequence
was that in a few minutes the roof fell
in and buried the five firemen.
Three of them escaped with no other
injuries than a few bruises, but John
Weber and Lieut.. Louis Schrader of the
same company We're not SO fortunate.
Weber was taken out unconscious. His
face is badly burned. some of his ribs
broken and he has also internal injuries.
1t is a question whether he lives or
dies.
Lieut.. Schrader had his back and legs
hurt. Both were taken to hospitals.
The feed house was completely des-
troyed, the walls all having fallen by
10 O'Clock. The refinery and the store
house went next, and by IL o'clock there
was nothing left of the establish
ment but few tottering walls The
glucose works We're owned and controlled
BY c. c. Hamilton, the famous trOtting
horse man and his sons. After u o'clock
the progress of the fire was checked. 1t
will be several hours before 1t Is COM
pletely under control.
The situation at midnight was such
that placed all the surrounding property
out of danger from destruction. The fire
men We're doing excellent work and had
Nearly all the walls have fallen and 1t
is now merely a question of time before
the flames shall have consumed the COM
bustible materials in the buildings.
Ffremen Chris Lang Of truck No. ! was
compelled, on account of the danger from
falling walls about midnight. TO jump
from the roof of one of the low buildings
to the ground. He escaped with a broken
leg and slight injuries.
No further serious accidents have been
reported up to this hour-1:30 a. IN.
BUFFALO, April 13-It is still i'm
possible TO ascertain the exact loss by
the burning of the American glucose
works yesterday.
About eighty men were at work in
the building when the fire broke out.
Some TO avoid death in the burning
building leaped from the windows only
to be buried under falling walls in the
canal Two men who jumped from the
burning building into the canal were
but slightly hurt.
With their scaling ladders the firemen
reached the windows on the sixth floor
in time to rescue a dozen workmen.
When the flames hared full in their
faces they were forced to retreat, but
they knew that above the sixth floor
were between thirty and forty workmen.
Escape by Stairways or fire ladders be-
ing cut off their doom was sealed. Per-
haps half of the number must have
perished.
These laborerS were Poles Tor the
most part. Many Pole employed
in the glucose works last night did not
come to breakfast this morning.
and. as consequence weeping
wives were early at the hos
pitals looking for their husbands and
finding that quest vain, still stand tear
full about the ruins of the factory wait
ing for the exhuming of their dead.
Although heavy streams were pouring
on the ruins all night and half dozen
engines have been pumping water on the
steaming bricks today, it may be the
dawn of another day before the work
of excavating can be successfully car
ried on.
Inquiries have been made by relatives
for the following twelve workmen who
are missing and supposed to have been
burned or crushed to death:
John Blume. John Casper, Michael
Gintig John Huber, George Jepha, Tony
Hoffman, James Lobiak Michael
Maleski, John Odesha, Stephen SinlSi.
John Trubes John Finger.