Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1895-11-07
A BOILER EXPLOSION.
FORTY PERSONS KILLED, TWENTY
INJURED. LOSS 100000.
Plant of the Detroit Evening Journal in
Ruins-Fire Breaks Out, CrematinK
Buried victims-Building WAS
Filled with Employees.

exploded at o'clock this morning wreck |
ing the building Nos. i5 and Il West Larn- ,
ed street, killing at least 40 persons |
wCundiug 70 others more or less seriously /
and causing a loss of $4,000.
The Detroit journal was located a Shell |
by and Larued streets, occupying for its
main Offices 10 foot front on Larned
street. Next cast Of it's buildings and in
part Of the same block were two 20 foot
fronts which constituted the scene of the
disaster. one Of these, NO -, was wholly
occupied by John Davis 4 Co, salcratus
manufacturers and dealers in groCcrs sup
plies, while in the basement OF the other
were the two boilers which exploded. Just
above the boiler room ON the first floor
was the journal mailing room. The Sec
cnd floor was occupied by the Kohl Brand
Engraving company and W. w. Dunlap
agency Tor Rogers typograph supplies.
ON the third and fourth floors were j.
George lIllcr'S book bindery and the top
floor was the Journals stcrcotyping room.
There were three stereotypors at work in
the Journals floor about 80 girls in the
book bindcry, besides the proprietor, a
machinest and several others in the typo
graph supplies shop, several engravcrs
ana assistants in the Kohl Brand com
panys rooms, and a force of clerks on the
ground floor and the mailing room There
were six persons in the Davis building Ia
the basement were the engineer, fireman
and several prcssmen.
WORK OF RESCUE.
The first ntimation the neghborhool
got of the disaster was "A tremendous re-
port followed by a binding cloud Of dust
smoke and steam and before this had
cleared away the whole five .lOors and the
people working on them We're in an in
eNtricable mass of wreckage The force Of
the explosion had thrown down the wall
hot y
the icists VIII ch rested on it came tumhliug
down, tearing themselves away from the
adjoining wall. A heavy fire wall separa-
ted this building from the main building
OF the Journal company. The weight of
this was sufficient to withstand the shock
of the explosion and although several
holes We're blown through IL the wall re-
mained firm. firemen we're there in a
minute from the next corner The whole
down town division of the department..
followed by volunteers from the crowd
that collected, started TO dig hole into
the ruins.
Near the top Annie O'Donoghue was
found, her head = mass of bloody flesh.
She was carried to the hospital
Then cam. the narrowing spectacle Of
the calamity. one poor fellow stunned
and helpless lay Just upon the edge of the
pile. He was taken out and passed to
volunteer helpers. Then another, whose
i'e' were piIIuIlV"' "dS I'dcIitu' 'ut II
was IouHu t'dt ne cuu'd iol po rtledS'u
constant "'ES4HE nha!N eHt''tu ms re-
i'HS' anu ne was Pdce" III oIc VI tilr diII-
balances. Thousands of people gathered
and the police We're on hand in large num-
her.
Near the top OF the runs one arm ana
leg Of a man protruded. The remainder
oI the hodN was pufled pehealh Ile run
bish. At intervals the arm was feebly
moved. IN" rescuerS centred thelr ei-
lprtS upon TINS point ana WORKED prdNr'N
to erect a release as quickly as possible.
Many moments elapsed before the man
was llitch lhto an anpuIdic". AS lho
workers dug INTO the Wreckare ana the
ar got into it he furnace fires set the
debris from the hinoriF ahlazo ana Inc
WreckerS We're driven OH ny 'he smoke
through which from time 10 time came
nutticd cries Tor help. The tremen work
ed on hcruical.y and streams turned on
the blaze soon checked the fire so That IA
gang Of POO labcrers could get into the
debf1S ana pun II lh'o lhe street
Charles Hackett was found in the third
story of the ruins in the rear, to which ap-
rroach was had through the alley He
reported there had been four or five girls
on the same floor.
As the diggers continued their work in
'front.' OF me wrecked building the up
raised arm Of man was uncovered on the
/ sidewalk not far from where four other
bodies We're taken out. 1t was necessary
"a move huge pieces of stone windowsill
and fragments of machinery before the
/ body could he released. The victim had
escaped the steam and smoke but his head
/ was crushed into a shapeless mass lie
was Identified as Henry Larivere, a Jour