The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-09-07
IN A LAVA-LIKE TOMB
FATE OF ELEVEN FIRE
 MEN IN BENTON HARB0R, MICH.

Were Caught Beneath Falling Wall of
 Red Hot Bricks--Many Crushed and
 Mnngled-Others Burned to Death
 Yore's Opera House and Adjacent Prop
 erty Destroy yed-Origin of the Fire Un-
 known-Suspect Arrested-The Money
 Loss Will Not Exceed s65 ,Oo0-C City Hall
 Converted Into Morgue.
 Benton Harbor, Mich, Sept. 6.-Yore's opera house and adjoining buildings were burned this morning, causing the death of eleven firemen and injury to a number of others, and entailing a property loss of about 65,000.
 The killed are: Frank Watson, Ed ward H. Gange, Arthur c. Hill, Frank Seaver, Robert Rolfe, all of St. Joseph; John Hoffman, Thomas Kidd, Frank Woodley, Will Matten, Scott Rice, Louis Hoffman, all of Benton Harbor.
 The seriously injured are: Ex-Fire Chief John A. Crawford, Benton Har- bor, burned and overcome by heat and smoke; Frank Paget, St. Joseph, legs mashed by falling bricks; Will Freund, St Joseph, cut about the head and burned; Jack Mccormick, Benton Har- Dor, legs broken and internally injured. Several others were injured by falling walls. but they will recover
 Shortly after midnight Yore's opera house, a large four-Story brick struc- ture, was discovered to be on fire. It had gained so much headway before the alarm was given that when the city fire department arrived the build- ing was a mass of flames. The St. Joseph fire department was sent for and arrived soon after. The fire con- tinued to gain and was spreading to other buildings when the hook and lad der companies went to the rear of the building, hoping to be able to direct a stream into the flames from second story window. Hardly had they ar rived there when the wall with mighty crash came down upon them, burying fifteen men under red-hot bricks.
 Other portions of the wall were wav- ering and the rescue of the imprisoned firemen was deferred for some time, as 1t was expected every moment the re- mainder of the wall would fall. Finally some of the crowd rushed into thesmass to rescue the shriel<ing and struggling men. Frank Watson of St. Joseph was the first man rescued, but he was dead and his body was a mass of broken bones and mangled flesh.
 The search continued until o'clock, when the last victim, Arthur Hill, was removed Those who were alive were carried to offices and private houses where doctors from both cities were in waiting to render aid Some of them died en route and others while being cared for The dead were taken to the city hall, which was turned into a temporary morgue Some of the men were, so badly mangled that they were identified only by papers in their pock- cts
 After the falling of the wall the roof and other walls soon collapsed, one of the side walls falling upon a two story brick building owned by Wm. Prick completely demolishtng it and it's contents The fire had not been con- | fined to the opera house, but had crept across the alley and soon the rear of | the two story buildings were af1ame. The fire, however, was gotten under 1 control before in reached the main part of the buildings.
 | The loss on the opera house black l in S4C,000. The other losses include Wm Prick, brick block and stock of shoes, $10,o00 Evening News plant, $3,- 00o
 The origin of the fire is unknown, but | Guy Prescott, who stated to-day that he knew how the fire started, but was not going to give anyone away, was arrested. The wardrobe of the Katie Putnam company, which gave a per- 1 formance for the firemen in the even l ing was burned. The two cities, St.
 Joseph and Benton Harbor, are draped | in mourning.