Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1895-08-22
ACCIDENT THIS MORNING
FIvE MEN INJURED AND SENT
TO THE HOSPITAL.
Temporary Floor at the Cold stor-
age works suddenly CoIInpses
scenes nj the Ruins.

~~A'NA ASNsa w VIZ bANNNAiO Alkllh
works, as result of which five
men are now lying in the hospital
more or less seriously injured.
The front portion of the large
room was being remodeed for the
purposes of the new cold storage
premises of which it will form
part, the work being done under
the personal superintendent of
Contractor Peter High. 1t was
designed to put an additional
story on the front end OF the large
boiler room, and for this purpose
the floor joists had already been
laid across the two end rafters,
which are 8x12 inches thick and
had been secured with iron rods to
trusses of a similar thickness.
These trusses and iron rods, from
which the rafters derived their
main strength, had been removed,
however, and to that many
ascribe the accident. The floor
joists were okla inches in thick
ness set upright, and across these
temporary flooring of loose
planEs was laid. Underneath ex-
cavations were being made for the
foundations for machinery on
which a number of men were at
work. To support the two main
rafters above on which the second
floor was to be constructed two
upright posts, resting on a base
of three inch planking, were tenn
porarily placed directly under
meath them until the new floor
should be ready for the perma-
nent columns.
This morning a force of men
were put to work taking down the
heavy brick cornice in order that
the wall might be extended up
ward, and the brick as fast as
taken off were piled loosely on the
temporary floor so as to be ready
for use in the wall.
A few minutes after eight be-
tween a thousand and fifteen
hundred brick had been taken off
tho cornice and piled on the
platform, when suddenly and
without the slightest warning the
whole structure gave way and in
moment a mass of struggling
human beings, timbers, bricks
and mortar was lying on the loose
dirt, rock and stone foundations
of the floor below.
Willing hands quickly extr:cat-
ed the men who had been work
ing above, and it was found that
five of them were sufficiently hurt
to be sent to the hospital imme-
diately, where they were.promptly
attended to. Those injured were:
Joseph Smith, laborer, badly
cut about the face and otherwise
bruised.
Joe PATHS, a Portuguese mason,
wrist twisted and bruised.
Another Portuguese, name un-
known, received bad cut over
the back of the head.
Suide, Japanese, was found
to have a broken leg and was in
sensible when taken out.
Tarbos, another Portuguese,
was taken out in a hor-
rible condition, his eyes pro-
truding and his face being
covered with blood. After being
washed off, however, he was
found to have received bad cut
over the eye only.
All of the men were doing we'll
at last accounts.
There are many theories as to
the cause of the accident, which
is mostly attributed to the care
lessness of those in charge of the
work. The condition of the
splintered beams shows plainly
that they gave way from the
excess of weight piled on them.
Contractor High, who was
temporarily absent at the time Of
the accident, promptly superiu-
tended the removal of the debris
and will see that the injured are
wei cared for. He expresses the
opinion that the accident was