The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-05-22
Without a Moments Warning a
Score Are Buried by the
Crumbling Ruins.
SOME MIRACULoUsLY SURVIVE
Disaster Follows an Attempt to Patch
Up an Old Brick Structure
at Buffalo.

BUFFALO. y. Y, May IA section
Of the SeneCa-street front of Browns build
ing collapsed al 20 o'clock this morning,
burying a score OF people in the ruins
George Metz, a barber, and Jennie Griffith,
cashier in the barber shop, are dead; Will
liam P. Straub, contractor, is known to
be in the ruins, and a dozen others are
more or less injured, one of whom will
probably die.
Those at the hospital are: Jacob Lang
don, barber, scalp torn and body confused :;
William Alexander, steam-titter, scalp
ounds and body bruised; Jacob Rick
man, barber, bruised about the body and
head; l. S. Hawke, carpenter, skull frac-
tured, may die; James Adams, mason. u
Chandler street, scalp wounds and injured
hip; Michael o Brien, carpenter. wrenched
back and scalp wounds; Joseph Bullard,
plasterer, injured internally; Edward Muir
ply, plasuerer, injured internally. right
arm injured; Fritz Formal, German la
borer, body bruised.
Browns building stood on the corner OF
Main and Seneca streets, and for years the
Western Union Telegraph Company had
occupied the ground floor corner as bust
ness Office and all of the fourth floor as an
Operating-room. The building was filled
with Offices, many of which were occupied,
and Oh the ground floor on both Main and
Seneca str cts were stores occupied by
merchants.
Tie Western Union left the building a
few weeks ago and the owners OF he block
began the work of remodeling and
Strengthening it. On the Seneca street
side workmen were engaged in putting in
place new columns and beams and new
foundations for them.
Nos. 5 and 10 Seneca street were IN
occupied, the principal alterations being
made at that point. No. u was occupied as
a barber-shop by George Sienert, and IA by
James Cleggs' jewelry-store and Thomas
Jones news stand. The offices on the
floors above were nearly all tenanted, and
altogether there were probably fifty people
in the collapsed section. The walls fell
with a crash, taking down roof and ceiling
with them.
Iron columns were twisted as though
they were soft wires. Pillars of brick
crum bled 10 pieces, not strong enough to
resist the strength of the weight that had
fallen upon them. Here and there could
be seen people who had not been caught
in the falling debris, rushing 10 a place of
safety. The outer wall fell into the street,
burying those who had not had time to es-
cape. a cloud of dust arose from the de-
bris, hiding the ruins from sight and COW
ering the people in the street.
The Fire Department was called, 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 the building were saved
almost miraculously, having been penned
in by the falling timbers and walls. They
were taken out as speedily as possible and
given surgical attention.
In Sienert's bsrber-shop were nine bar
bers, the girl cashier and several custom
ers. When the crash came all made a
rush for the front door, but the falling
bricks drove them to the rear, where an
alley leads TO Washington street. Those
in front rushed into the alley, only TO be
met by the falling rear walls. under which
Metz was buried and killed. The others
crouched in q 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 a wire cage She
was unable to get out of it in time TO join
the others, and persisted beneath the fall
ing walls.
The experience of the occupants of No.
Il was somewhat similar 10 those in the
barber-shop, but all escaped without in
jury. In Nos. and 10 were probab lv
twenty workmen, including steam filters,
iron workers, carpenters and plasterers.
and 1t was here that the crash was greatest.
Nearly all OF the men were caught in the
falling walls and floors and 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 escape.
search for the missing began, and the
ruins were worked over in the hope of find
ing the bodies of Contractor Straub and
Jennie Griffith, who were known to be
somewhere among the mass of wreckage.
Shortly before 8 O'Clock the body of Miss
Griffith was found and removed to the
mOrgue. Straubs body has not yet been
found.
The Commissioners of Public Works will
make thorough investigation of the acct
dent.