The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-19
A RAILROAD STATION ABLAzE.
TWO FIRENIEN KILLED AND MORE
THAN A DOZEN INJURED.

Eight Pullman Cars aud Thirty Pas
senEer Coaches Destroyed in the
Burning Sheds-The scene OF the
Fire at Thirty-SecOnd and Market
streets at PhiIadeIphia-The Prop
erty Owned by the Pennsylvania
Rond-The Loss S35O,OOO.
Philadelphia. April 1s-The old Penn
sylvania railroad depot at Thirty-second
and Market streets. and the train shed.
together with eight Pullman cars and
about thirty passenger coaches, were to-
tally destroyed by fire tonight Two
firemen were killed by falling walls and
over a dozen others were injured. The
loss is estimated at SS50.000. The Pennsyl-
vania railroad carries ats own insurance.
The dead are:
William Staiger, 81 years Old. assistant
engineer of the Philadelphia fire depart
ment. skull fractured. internal injuries
and frlghfully burned. Died within ten
minutes after being removed to che Pres
byteran hospital.
Hugh AIcCrandgan. 4S years Of age,
assistant foreman of truck 1. badly crush
ed. Died. at hospital a half hour after
being admitted.
The injured are: oGeorge r. Preston,
A, fractured skull. legs and feet crushed
and back injured. Will die.
Samuel Sneyd, AZ years old. ladderman
of truck a, fractured ribs and confused
back and abdomen. Condition critical.
Philip Salsberg, IS years OF age. lad
derman, truck l. scalp wounds, internal
injuries and arms burned. Condition Sc
rious.
william Bennett. Ss years. assistant
foreman Of engine company No. 40, legs
dislocated and otherwise injured.
Patrick Curtin. 50 years of age, engineer
of COMPANY No l3. caught in falling wall
and injured about the legs.
George Jennings, 40 years. ladderman
truck /, injured about the. head and legs.
Charles w. Rau. q years. ladderman Of
truck A. scalp. shoulders and back hurt
by falling debris.
Five iiremen and two railroad employees
overcome By heat
The fire started at 4:3O O'Clock, presum-
ably from an explosion of gasoline IN q
coal bin under the train shed, and it
spread rapidly. Three alarms were turned
in and the firemen, aided by at least 5OQ
employees OF the Pennsylvania railroad
shops, near by, fought the flames, but
without effect. The workmen saved a num-
ber Of cars that were under the train
shed by pushing them by main strength
to places of safety, among them being the
private cars Of President Roberts and
Vice President Thomson of the Pennsyl-
vania railroad, and President kimball or
the Norfolk and Western railroad. The
fire RACED for six hours, and II was not
e flgtffshed Until fIidfiigla lats s-s-s---sf
Shortly after o'clock an iron portlco
in froat of the building fell, and four fre-
men were caught by the debris and badly
injured. The most serious disaster oc-
CURED two hours later, when a two
story wing of the building fell without
warning, burying a half dozen of the fire.
men under the mass Of hot brick. The
men were rescued in short time, but
Staiger and McGranigan had sustained ia
tai injuries. and they died in the hospi4
tai. McGranigan regained consciousness
shortly before he breathed his last, and
he asked that a priest be summoned. The
clergyman arrived few minutes too late.
He leaves a wife and three children. Stai-
ger had been a fireman for at least thirty
years, and he was one of the best known
members OF the fire department. Two chill
dren survive him.
The building was occupied by several
offices of the Pennsylvania railroad and
valuable records and plans were destroy
ed. The commissary department of the
Pullman company was also located at
this place.
The structure was abandoned for pas
senger traffic in 1881, when the Broad
street station was completed, after hav-
ing been in use for ten or twelve years
shed and these were filed with cars when
the fire started.
Travel on the Philadelphia, Wilmington
and Baltimore, the tracks Of which run
close to the old station, was delayed for
several hours by reason of the fire. The
building and train shed covered ten acres
of ground.