Birmingham age-herald., 1895-04-10
Ten People Buried in the Twinkling
 k. of an Eye.
7s AR-GENERAL F. H. PARK
mong the Dead-A Distressing Calamity at Wheeling.
 Worse May Yet Come.

WHEELING, W. ya., April 9.-A few minutes past 'cock this morning an &C., cident occurred which threw the city into the greatest excitement.
 Tie fve-story building, Nos. 1920 and 1222 Main street, occupied by T. T. Hutch inson & Co.,, wholesale hardware and sad. dlery dealers, and w. H. Chapman & Sons, wh holesale painters and builders supplies, collapsed with deafening report, barying ten men beneath the ruins.
 To add to the horror of the situation the debris took fire from q natural gas leak. A dense cloud of smoke arising, the efforts of the rescuers Were greatly mpeded. The greatest damage to life was among the em pioyes of Hutchinson & Co.,, all of whom were at work.
 At g o'clock tonight the list of dead and missing was as follows:
 Father F. H. PARK, vicar general of West Virginia diocese and chaplain of Mount de Chantal, the Catholic seminary here.
 BENJAMIN PRITCHARD, carriage builder, of Buckhannon, w. Va.
 ROBERT WINCHER, employe of Hutch- isson 6 Co.
 EUGENE BIRCH, employe of Hutchinson & Co.
 MICHAEL KORAN, employe of Hutch- isson & Co.
 HARRY CoWL, Western Union msssen- ger boy.
 The injured are:
 T. T. HUTCHINSON, senior member of the hardware aud saddlery house of Hutchinson G Co.,, two ribs broken aud head cut; will recover.
 NJ. 5. FORD, employe of Hutchinson & Co.,, slightly bruised and cut.
 o. E. WILLIAMS, carpenter, head cut and severely bruised about body.
 G. W. CLIFTON, carpenter.
 All the above will recover.
 The Hutchinson building stood on the corner of Alley nine and Main street. The Chapman building is adjoining.
 At the hour mentioned the employees in Hutchisson's heard
 AN oMINoUs CRACKING and without moments warning or giving the unfortunate men time to make an effort to escape, the alley wall fell down with terrific crash, carrying with 1t the entire rear wall remained standing. Frank Hal Ter, Adam Blum and T. T. Hutchinson were in the rear office and were saved by the aid of two men who pried off the bars of a back window and rescued the man just before fall of brick buried the room.
 The men in the Chapman building fared some what better, one of the workmen mo- ticed tho plasterlng and the wall sepa- rating them from Hutchissous crumo oling and falling down. He immediately gave
  before the men had reached the doors brick and mortar were peiting them in snoWers. All got out in time, however.
 A GENERAL ALARM brought the fire department promptly to the scene, and the work of resculng was commenced. Blinded and sufocated by the dense smoke, the iiremen worked ike Trojans. and in about two hours the first victim was rescued. It was Nj. J. Ford, who was comparatively uninjured, while he was lying directly across Benj1min Pritchard. Pritchard was cold in oeath, and medical examination showed that he had been killed by being crushed about the chest. No more bodies were found until 6:30 o'clock this evening, when the body of Father Park was taken out of the debris so horribly crushed that 1t was scarcely recogniz ibe.
 In the meantime the fire had gained so that the fremen had To give their entire attention to subduing it, After twelve hours hard work they got the flames un- der control, but 1t will be morning before the blaze will be completely extinguished.. i. Both buildings, together with the stocks, are total loss. A more complete wlplng out of what were ohce handsome struc1 ures could not be imagined. When the fret wall fell it broke of clear down 10 the founda- tion, and not one stone YVES left upon au- other. The Chapman building was new, and in fact not yet finished, so the loss will fall on the contractors.
 A building across the alley occupied by s. NJ. Rice & Co. ,wholesaie millinery deai- CTS, was struck by the falling walls and big hole knocked in the side. The build ing next to that was also badly sprained, and fears are entertained for its safety. Altogether the loss will amount 10 over S2OO ,OO1. The insurance cannot yet be asc-rtained.
 FATHER PARK, who was the oldest Catholic priest in the state. was walking up the alley when the deplora ble affair occurred. Harry CowI the messenger boy, was also killed In the alley while returning from call.
 Excitement was at fever heat, half the police force being required to keep back the immense crowd which quickly congre- gated. Street car travel on Main street, one of the chief business tboroughfaress has been blocked the entire day.
 startling rumor was extant this evening that an explosion was imminent, for stored in the Chapman building is carload of turpentine and oil. II the flames reach this nothing can preventa a most horrible addition 10 what is already the most disastrous accident that has oc- curl, n this city.
 At 7:30 o'clock, however, Chief Healy claimed to have the blaze cut oil the oil.
 The cause of the collapse was the defective construction of the Hutchinson building, which was condemned two years ago and the work of removing 1t neglected.
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