The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-04-10
SEVEN LIVES CRUSHED OUT.
Collapse ola PlYe-Slory Building, Pol-
loved BY Fire In Wheeling.
FATHER plRKE AMONG YHE VIcYIns.
Ono Man Rescued Unipjured, While A..
ether Beneath Him Was Kilsi-Nsr.
row Escape From an Explosion.
The Dead and Injured.

WHEELING. w. VA. April "a few
minutes past 3 o'clock this morning an ac-
cideit occurred which threw the city into
great exClten ent The iive-story buildings,
Nos. l220 and lzl2 Main street occupied
by Il. T. Hutchinson & Co., wholesale
hardware and saddlery dealers. and W. H.
Chapman x 80 ms, wholesale painters and
builders supplies, collapsed with a deaf
e.nng roar, burylng ten men beneath the
ruins. To add to the horror OF the sltua-
tion. the debris took fire from a natarai
gas leak, and a dense cloud OF smoke
arising the efforts OF the rescuers we're
greatly impeded. The greatest damage
to life was among the employees OF Hutch
inson 4 Co.
LIST OF rHR DEAD AND INJURED.
At . o'clock the list OF the dead and
missing was Follows: Father r. II.
Parke, Vicar-General OF the West VIr-
ginia Diocese and chaplain OF Mount
Dechantel, the Catholic Seminary here:
Benjamin Pritchard, carriage builder, OF
Buckhann0n. w. Va: Robert Wincher.
empioye of Hutchinson & Co.; Eugene
Birch, employe OF Hutchinson * Co:
Michael Horan. emrioye OF Hutchinson
q Co., and Harry Cowl, a Western Union
messenger boy.
The injured are: T. T. Hutchinson. Sc
nior member OF the hardware and saddle
~ house OF Hutchinson q c., two ribs
broken: head cut. Will recover; NJ. j.
Ford, employe of Hutchinson & Co;
slightly bruised and cut o. r. Williams.
carpenter; head cut end severely bruised
about the body; q. w. Clifton. carpenter.
All the injured will recover.
THE WORK or RESCUE.
A general alarm brought the fire le-
work OF rescuing was commenced. Blind
ed and suffocated by the dense smoke,
the firemen worked Ike Trojans. and IN
about two hours the first victim was
rescued. II was NJ. j. Ford. who WAS
comparatively uninjured. while he was
lying directly across Benjamin Pritchard.
Pritchard was cold In death. and
medical examination showed that he had
been killed by being crushed about the
chest. No more bodies were found until
$50 O'Clock this afternoon, when tho
body of Father Parke was taken out OF
the debris SO horribly crushed that tho
body was scarcely recognizable.
In the meantime the IRE had gained so
that the firemen hal TO give their en-
tire attention to subdulng n. After
twelve hours hard work they got the
flames under control. but Il Will he morn
ing before the tlaze will be completely
cAtln3ulSneu. BOtn DuuulnEc, tOketner
with the stccks. are total loss. a more
complete wiping out OF what were once
handsome structures could not boz tInAsin-
ed. - wrofr.,
Altogether the loss wis7;.anA :, >-lsl
100000 The -egas#lee ca..oof 49,
ascsrtained. Father Parko, wno was the
Oldest Catholic priest I'm the state, was
walking up the alley when the deplorable
affair occurred.
AN ExPL OsroN TEARhD.
A startling rumor was cxtant this over-
ing that an explosion was imminent for
stored in the Chapman building is a car
load OF turpentine and oil. III the flames
reach this. nothing can prevent q most
horrible addition 10 what Is already the
most disastrous accident that has ever
occurred I'm this city. At 7;30 o'clock.
however, Chief Healy claims TO have tho
blaze cut off from the oil.
The cause OF the collapse was the de-
fective construction OF the Hutchison
building, which was condemned two years
ago. and the work OF removing II neg
lected.