The true northerner., 1896-01-24
FIREMEN IN DANGER.
THEIR COMRADES START HARD At
WORK AT ONCE

Hoping to Reach Them Before the Spark
of Life Goes Out-Faint Cries for Help
Nerve the Rescuers Ia Their Tssk-Crash
Of Floors In Sc. Louis Building.
ST LOUIS, Jan gas the result Of Q
dre in the building ut AIS Broadway last
night five firemen were buried in the ruins.
and one is dead at Mercy hospital. AT
midnight four Of the men In the RUNE
were thought to dead. as nothing could be
seen or heard of them. while the fifth.
Rhinehart Miller. of salvage corps No 1.
him alive. Owney Hines. foreman OF
truck No. 3. who was taken from the
burning building soon after the fire
started badly suffocated and cut. died
while being taken to mercy hospital in an
ambulance The captives: Owney Hines.
foreman truck No. 8; Captain Glanville
and James Rhoddy. Of salvage corps No 2,
Milton Curly. Of salvage corps No I, and
Captain Staunton, OF Chemical No l.
Comrades Work without Hope.
The firemen worked incessantly to res
cue their entombed comrades, but were
unable to reach them up to o'clock. when
1t was thought four Of the men were sure
ly dead, as nothing could be seen or
heard of them The fifth, Rhinehart Mil.
Ter, member Of salvage corps No. 1, who
was pinned down on top Of a shelf, could
be heard by his comrades, but they could
not reach him The firemen were making
every effort to keep the flames from reach.
ing their buried comrades, and pouring
great quantities of water on the ruins.
When the crash took place George Ruck-
or, a member of the chemical company
No. 1,was caught, but was afterwards res
cued by Charles Bradley. of salvage corps
No. /, and other members Of the company
One of the Prisoners Rescued.
At 1880 "A. III. the firemen succeeded in
rescuing Rhinehart Miller who was taken
to st. Johns hospital. His left arm was
broken and his body badly bruised, but
he is not fatally injured. The fremen
then went to work at the pile OF debris
with the prospect of soon getting out the
bodies of the missing men. who were
believed dead. The men who were
caught were in the rear of the store. near
the alley on the first and second floors,
when the crash came. The cause of the
crash was the construction of the build
ing On every floor above the first, for
the purpose of lighting the interior. large
skylights led to the roof. The glass and
castings of the sky III gbts broke under the
heat and fell, carrying the flooring in the
rear of the store with il The men at
work underneath were caught
The Four May Yet BE Rescued.
At2l5 D. m the fremen had cleared
away considerable of the debris which was
piled on top of their comradea, and faint
cries could be heard from the center Of
the heap, which is ceiling high. One CT
the men said he could recognize the voice
of Captain Staunton, and they redoubled
their efforts to get the imprisoned ones
out. 1t will take several hours to get TO
the bottom OF the wreckage where it is
hoped TO find the four men alive.
The fire that resulted In this terrible
disaster broke out in the store occupied
by Aloe g. Co, 4l5 Broadway, dealers in
optical. surgical. and electrical instrd-
ments, at l0:30 last night. The firm,
which has been in business here for the
past forty years also carried an extensive
stock of fine painting materials. Before
the arrival of the freme n the fire had
worked itself up to the roof, breaking
through and threatening adjoining build
ings. All the fire companies in the busi-
ness part Of town were soon fighting the
flames, and by strenuous efforts succeeded
in confning them to Aloes building
An immense amount of water was
thrown on the fire. which was finally got
ten under control and practically subdued
when the top floor caved in and fell
through to the first floor. pinn;ng down
the iremen All the firemen available
were put TO work at rescue and several
streams were turned on the burning heap,
from which could be heard their agoniz-
ing cries for help. Finally all the voices
but one were sti,led
The total loss caused by fire and water
is estimated at 500, 600; fairly insured.
Aloe g. Co.. place their loss at about $3.50, :
900, and it is thought the loss on the build
ing will amount to s50,O00. Several thou.
sand dollars damage was done to the stock
of Jordan & Co., a cutlery firm at All