New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-05-22
cRUSHED BY FALLING WALLS
THREE PEOPLE KILLED AND DOZEN
INJURED IN BUFFALO.

RECKLESS REPAIR WORK CAUSES BIG BUILDING
FULL OF PEOPLE 70 CoI.LAPsE-DrGGINo FOR
THE INJURED AMONG THE RUINS
Buffalo. May PA section Of the Seneca-st
front Of Browns Building collapsed at 9:-o
o'clock this morning burying a score OF people
in the ruins George Metz. barber. ana Jen-
ME Griffith cashier in the barber shop. are dead;
william p. Straub. a contractor is known 10
be in the ruins. and dozen others are more
or less injured, one Of whom Will probably die'
Those at the hospitals are: Jacob Langdon'
barber. William Alexander steamfitter; Jacob
Hickman. barber; S. L. Hawke. carpenter Skull
fractured may die; James Adams. mason; Mi
chacl O'Brien carpenter; Joseph Billiard. pias-
terer: Edward Murphy. plasterer, ana rrtZ
Formal, laborer.
Browns Building Is one OF the citys iahu-
marks It stood at Main and Seneca $751; anu
for years the Western Union Telegraph Co"
pany had occupied the ground floor corner as
business Office and all Of the fourth moor az d"
operating-r room. The building was hileo WIZ"
Offices many Of which were occupied anu vi
the ground floor on both Main and Seneca sts
were stores occupied by merchants Inc "eS'
ern Union left the building few weeks ago.
and the owners of toe block began the work Oh
remodelling and strengthening 1t. On 'he SUI
eca st side workmen were engaged IN putting ;"
place new columns and beams and new iou"oa
lions for them
No. II Seneca-st. was occupied as pai'e'
shon h, George Seinert and No IA by James
Clegg's jewery store and Thomas Jones "e"'
stand The offices on the floors above were near
~ all tenanted. and altogether there were prop
pblv aftv people in the collapsed section The
obi
ceiling with them. cloud oe dust arose from
the wreck The Fire Department was caHed'
and with the police and workmen who came
rushing to the fallen building the work OF rescue
was begun. Some OF the people who had been IN
,he buiIdinq were saved almos. miraculousy,
having been penned in by the falling timoers ana
walls
In Seinert's barber shop were nine BARRIERS. the
girl cashier and several customers. when the
CRASH occurred all made rush for the front door,
bur the falling bricks drove them 10 the rear
where an alley leads to Westinghouse. Those
in front rushed into the alley only to be met oy
the falling rear walls under which Metz was
buried and killed. TIE others crouched In a
corner Of the shop until the avalanche ceased
when they made their way out. The cashier had
her desk in the front OF the shop behind wire
cage She was unable to get out Of II In time to
join the others
The occupants Of No. II all escaped without In
fury In Nos s and 10 were probably twenty
workmen including steamfitters. ironworXers'
carpenters and plasterers. Nearly all OF the men
were caught in the falling walls and noors ana
buried in the ruins. The tenants on the upper
floors had many narrow escapes. but so far as
known all OF them succeeded in making their es-
cape.
At 10 o'clock the rescuers removed heavy TIM
Der and Robert Cassler. eighteen years OF age
brother Of the contracting steamftter crawled
out uninjured Half an hour later the wreckers
uncovered the FOOT OF one man and then the arms
Of another The faces OF both were completely
hidden by the great piles OF brick. mortar ana
timber tina, Law heapea upon them They were
Edward Murphy and Joseph Billiard They were
dug on: jus. before noon. The groans OF the In
iurec and imprisoned men, which could be heard
here and there In the ruins. lent strength to the
willing hands engaged In the work of rescue, ana
every little while another OF the victims was
dragged out and taken in an ambulance to one or
other - the hospitals until all who could be seen
or heard were rescued Then the ruins were
worked over in the hope OF finding the bodies OF
Contractor Straub and Jennie Griffith shortly
before o'clock the body OF MISS Grinith was
found. IL, ,
The Commissioners OF Public Works Will make
n thorough Investigation OF the accident per
NIT was Issued for the alterations on April :,
with the warning that the utmost care must ne
used as the building WAS such an OLD structure
II IL owned by Brown Bros. Co. the New
York bankers The disaster Is said TO be due
to criminal negligence. one Of the irorworkers
who was employed la the remodelng OK the
building when 1t fell says the contractors are 10
blame Early this morning they knocked out
the supports In the cellar. thus practically re-
moving the foundation Of the building. The
storefronts had been removed. TO De replaced
fr,,, from no
front wall rested on a single iron pillar. the
bottom Of which rested on the sidewalk. The
sidewalk supported by small. crumbiing pill
lars unable 10 withstand a great weight