Evening star., 1895-08-20
Terrible Explosion at a Carnegie
Furnace.
CLEARING OUT THE CLOGGED BELL
Suddenly Formed Gases Had No
Way to Escape.
MEN BLOWN INTO THE AIR

III fd., August GU-An eXplO-
sion at furnace H of the Carnegie Steel
Company at Braddock at 5 o'clock this
morning killed six men. fatally injured
three more and destroyed $4,000 worth Of
property. The names of the killed were:
Steve Havrela, cut in twain, thirty-two
years old, leaves wife and two children.
Joseph Luckay, thirty-eight years old,
burned. leaves wife and four children.
Joseph Copp, burned, thirty-two years
old, single.
John Meka, thirty-two years old, SINGLE .
John Pookopovec, burned, twenty-five
years old, single.
John Grucha, burned, thirty years DID,
single.
All were Poles and Huns except Grucha
who was German.
Nine of the injured were brought to the
Mercy Hospital in this city. They are re-
ported to be resting easily.
OF the injured it is now thought five
will die. Their names are: John Warha
inhaled the fames married, two children !;
John Skonda married; Mike Jura, married;
Nike Kapenos, single; Andrew Drobne
single.
These men were frightfuly burned.
The following were seriously injured, Dut
will probably recover: John WaSaSky,
John Zbroriay, James Harrison, two un-
known men.
"A number or others sustained SllSnt DuFuS
and cuts by being hit by flying brick, but
they were able to go to their homes, and
their names could not be learned.
Cause of the Explosion.
The explosion was due to hang in
the furnace, which suddenly was loosened
and dropped into the nclten metal below
gener tting an immense quantity of gas so
suddenly that it could not escape by the
ordinary means, and the explosion fol-
lowed.
The terrible loss of life was due to a pc
culiar cause. A few minutes before the
explosion occurred one of the top filters
dumped a barrow of material into the bell
of the furnace. which he had forgotten TO
raise. This clogged the top of the furnace
and prevented the gases escaping.
gang of sixteen men, in charge of
James Harrison, were sent at once to the
top of the furnace to remove the obstruc-
ton. All were closely crowded around the
bell of the furnace removing the material
which had been dumped on it, when there
was a terrific explosion, and men, barrows,
tools and material were hurled In all di-
rections. Flames, deadly gases and smoke
belched from the furnace top, and the gang
of men fell as If shot
Only one man was killed instantly. He
was blown from the furnace top along the
metal roadway to the elevator shaft, down
which he fell, striking on a car, and was
cut in two, one-half of his body falling on
one-half of the car and the other half on
the side.
The Wcrk of Rescue.
The explosion was heard all over Brad
deck, and crowds at once .rushed to the
scene but none expected to witness such
horrors. A relief crew was quickly or
ganized and went to the TOP of the fur
| mace, where lay fifteen men, bleeding, torn,
buried and dying.
OF
from the furnace and the work of rescue
was dangerous in the extreme. but, cover
iI.g their hands. faces and heads with
clothes, the rescuers went bravely to work.
The injured men were all leaning over the
mouth of the furnace when the explosion
occurred. Three men died before they
| reached the bottom of the elevator shaft,
and the other six died between 5 ard 8
o'clock this morning.
AS fast as the injured men were taken
from the furnace top they were removed
to an improvised hospital in the company 8
office, and the companys staff of physi-
clans and medical aid from MckeespOrt
and PittsDurg summoned. Five tf the men
| were badly burned and terribly injured
| that the physicians did not deem it neces-
| sary to remove them to any hospital. as
| death seemed inevitable in a few hours,
| and 10 hospital could relieve their suffer-
| ing.
Two of the men who were on top of the
| furnace, when they reached the ground,
were revived, ana Inere CelnS some hopes
| for their recovery, they were taken to their
| homes.
Scattered Far and Wide.
The contents of the furnace were blown
| out and scattered for hundreds of yards
| around the furnace, falling in all parts of
the yard, cutting and burning about ten
| men who were working below, but none
| were seriously injured.
| The fiery shower fell on the carpenter
| shop of the company, about one hundred
yards from the furnace, and 1t was soon
| in flames, and was destroyed, with its con-
| tents. The bell of the furnace was shat
| tered and scattered, the roof of the cast
| house was crushed in and ruined. the con-
| tents of the furnace were scattered abroad,
| and the belief is that the furnace is badly
| damaged and may have to be rebuilt. If
| this should be the case the total damage
| will be $4,000
Many Pathetic Scenes.
| The Braddock fire department was called
cut, and prevented the spread of the flames,
and the members also aided in the work
| of rescue ano did police DUTY.
The scenes as the men were carried to
the office of the company were intensely
| exciting and pathetic. Women and chill
dren rushed frantically from their houses,
| and the large force of policemen and guards
was powerless to prevent them from rush
| ing into the improvised hospital and dead
| house in the search for some member of
| their families. Tears and lamentations,
anxious faces and agonized expressions,
| wringirg of hands and tearing of hair,
were all witnessed around the scene of
| death and destruction, and the stoutest
| hearts were moved to pity.
| The homes of the injured and killed men
| were near the furnace, and the streets in
that vicinity were filled with a mass of
| weeping, frantic, half-crazy women and
children. That part Of Braddock is indeed
| a house of mourning.