New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-11-27
TWO KILLED AT OLYMPIA.
FATAL EXPLOSION AT THE BIG NEW
HOUSE OF AMUSEMENT.

DAMAGE TO THE BUILDING
ONLY SLIGHT.
The merriment, the jolllty and the pleasant ex-
element Of the opening OF Oscar Hammerstein's
new Olympia on Monday night were followed by
a sad accident. BY an explosion in the basement
OF the building yesterday morning ten men were
injured. two OF them fatally and the rest more or
less severely. while still another. fireman. was
hurt on his way back from the place to the engine
house where he was stationed. The list OF the
killed and injured is as follows:
DEAD.
a And r. .e1Ts snr' Old engineer d"
VEINS. Frederick olcr. Of No. i2s Eighth-ave.
INJURED.
CETTE Eugene twenty-three years old. n, No c51
hundred and lrtcth-st; severely scalded in Belle
Hospital.
coTT Josph snSpssT W 1G oc years DID, Of
HAYES James assistant foreman Of Engine No. 60;
broken ankle; in New-York Hospital.
JOHNSON George forty-one years old Of No 0s Pearl
ST.. Brooklyn; scaldei about face and hands.
JOHNSON. william fortyiseyen years Old of No 2''
RICHARDS Frederick hIrtyfour years old. OF No. i16
North Ninth-st. Brooklyn; scaled.
John forE 5 S S'W9T Say
TAYLOR Robert forty-esht years old. Of No. 1.755
Madison-ave; scalded.
VERTER. John, twenty-six years old OF Newark;
scaded.
It was at $50 that the explosion occurred.
The noise was heard for n long distance around
the theatre and big crowd quickly gathered.
A steam pipe had burst in the part Of the build
ing under the sidewalk. near the corner Of
Broadway and Forty-ffth-st. The room where
the accident happened was Instantly filled with
steam, and the men had to scramble out
as best they could to save themselves from
being scalded to death. The most Of them
gained the sidewalk quickly. and their injuries
were comparatively slight
A LONG WAIT FOR AMBULANCEs.
AS tn, men climbed out of the cellar they
found their way or were helped across Broad
way to drug store. The clerk in charge there
and his assistants did all that they could, while
waiting for an ambulance TO come by applying
lin3eed oil to the scalds and giving the patients
whiskey There was a most troublesome and
Unfortunate delay in getting ambulances. Two
calls for five each were sent out, but 1t was
twenty minutes before any arrived. The first
to come was from Bellevue Hospital beating
that from Roosevelt Hospital. only half the
distance away The persons in charge Of the
New-York Hospital refused to send any am
bulance till an official call was received from
Police Headquarters In the end eleven amou-
lances came.
An alarm Of fire had been sent out and when
the iremen came they went down into the cell
lar to look for any men who had been too
seriously injured to get out. Veins seems to
have been drowned, as he was found lying face
down in four inches of water. in the pit under
ayvheel He had been thrown into this place
by the force of the explosion. 1t was only
a choice of deaths however for nobody could
have lived In the scalding steam that filed the
room
Andrew Higgins was brought out. frightfully
scalded. and was taken to Bellevue Hospital.
where the doctors at once saw that there was
little or no hope Of his recovery. He died at AS
p. m.
Joseph elliott. an engineer. had a fortunate
ESCAPE. He heard sounds which told him some
thing was wrong and he fastened to leave the
cellar shouting a warning to the other work.
men, When near the exit elliott turned to go
back for his hat He changed his mind. how
ever left the hat and saved his life, for had
he gone back into the cellar ne would certainly
have been fatally scaded.
AS TO THE CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION.
Within a short time after the accident several
officials were in the cellar making an investiga-
ton Among them were Fire Chief Gicquel,
Deputy Fire Marshal OSulvan and Police Ser
geant Washington Mullen. who Is the chief OF
the Boiler Inspection Bureau. He reported that
the explosion was Of q six-incn cast-iron elbow
which formed connection with ten-inch main
steam pipe running from the boilers OF dynamo
to dynamo engine in the basement OF the
building The place where the pipe burst was
about 100 feet from the boilers. Mullen SAID
they were all right. and as to the cause OF the
explosion said: 1T was caused by defect In
the casting OF the elbow, or II might not nave
been of sufficient strength to stand the pressure
Of steam. The man who had the contract for the
steam fittings Is responsible for putting In proper
connections"
AT THE CORONERS OFFICE.
Arrests were ordered of Frederick sauven Of
No 543 East One-hundred- fifty -secOnd-st. the
foreman Of the steamitters and John Thompson.
of No PA West One -hundred-and-thirty- flfth-st,
the chief engineer. These. with Robert Taylor,
another engineer, who had been somewhat injured
and had been detained as a witness, were taken TO
the Coroner's office yesterday afternoon. Each OF
the prisoners held under $1,000 bail until the
inquest which Is to take place on Friday. Coroner
Fitzpatrick said that he could not see that the
prisoners were to blame. unless 1t might be shown
later that they incompetent. He therefore
placed the bail at a small sum.
The damage to the building was probably not
much $50. The regular performances were
given in the theatre and the music hall last night.
Oscar Hammerstein said that the accident was
caused by the sudden turning on OF the steam by
some unknown person, without order or warrant.
The pipe. he declared. was in good condition. but
there was water in II and the pipe was cold. 50
that when the hot steam let into It the sudden
expansion burst II. Nobody rad any right 10 turn
the steam without the order of the chief engi-
neer, Mr. Thompson who had not yet come to the
building for the day Mr.. Hammerstein declared
that he had taken great pains to have all the boil
ers ard fittings safe. as well everything else
about the building and he called attention to the
fact that even this accident occurred under the
sidewalk end not under either Of the auditoriums.
Franklin Phillips ~ the firm Of Hewes & Phil
lips. OF Newark. said yesterday afternoon his
brother Robert had gone L New-Yorli to investi-
gate the accident ut the Olympia Theatre. Mr..
Phillips said they had nothing 10 do with the pipe
which burst and that his brother went over 10 ok
anime the and 10 see Il the machinery built
by them had been injured in any way
FILED TIE CHECK AUAY
MISS COsGROVE MAY NOT re ABLE TO REALIZE
or 1T AFTER FOUR YEARS