The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-01
THE AMMONIA
BIG fExPLOSIoy FOLLOWS AT
scHMfDT BREWERY PLANT.
sixteen Nan burned by the Flash of
Flame Which Came Out of the
Engine Room.
FORTUNATELY NO FATALITY
CHIEF ENGINEBR HUEGELE AND AS
sIsTANT MOST SERIOUSLY HURT.
Peter Pfsterer's Close CaII-Seven
Thousand Pounds of Ammonia
GOne-other Loss Slight.

Company, at McCarty and High streets,
last night, injured nearly a score of
people and resulted in serious damage to
the brewing plant, which will probably
cause it to shut down for several days.
The injured are:
EDWARD HUEGELE. chief engineer. No.
PAS East McCarty street; hands and arms
badly burned; hip wounded.
OTTO KAISER, assistant engineer of ice
plant 800 South East street. Face, neck
and hands burned
RUDOLPH STEGELMEIR, night watch
man in bottling department. 125 Greer
street Burned about face head, neck and
chest; hair of his head singed.
CHARLES KLEIN, assistant manager
brewery company. 30 Union street. Burned
about arms. face and chest.
FRANK FUNK saloon keeper So Wyom-
ing street Hair sinsed; body badly burned.
FLORIBERT MICHEALIS, carpenter go
East Merrill street, face, neck and hands
burned.
South Pennsylvania street, face and hands
badly burned.
LEWIS MUELLER. telephone wagon
driver IS Morton street, face, arms and
breast burned.
G.. A. GRAssAw clerk at Charles Mayer
& Co., So Beatty street, back OF neck and
face burned, ear cut and hair singed
GEORGE DIRK, South New Jersey.
Burned about face.
ALEXANDER M'NUTT, letter carrier
50 Greer Bruised and hair singed
PETER PFISTERER, real-estate man, "a
Beatty Hair singed; injured by inhaling
HENRY BUCHERT, driver, PIP West Nc
Carthy. Slightly burned.
HENRY MEYER, rear Wyoming street.
Slightly burned.
JOHN RIEDER, telephone watchman, $50
JOHN REIDER, $50 East Morris. Badly
burned about face, breast and arms.
GEORGE GLIDING. Slightly burned.
The explosion was the result o. leaking
ammonia. 9:15 o'clock Otto Kaiser the
night engineer, discovered that there was
a leak in one of the ammonia, pipes. The
odor was so strong that he could not even
attempt to locate it. He had been in the
engine room frequently during the even
ing, but everything was apparently all
right and it seemed the leak had been
sprung only short time before it was dis
covered. He at once ran across the street
to the offices of the company, where the
board of directors of the New Progress
Building and Loan Association was in ses-
sion, and notified Joseph Schneider, the
brewmaster, and the men present at the
meeting Joined the employees of the place
in attempting to stop the leak.
1t was known that a leak of ammonia
WAS serious and dangerous matter and it
was necessary that it be stopped immedi-
ately. The ammonia is used in the cold
ly in the pipes which circulate through the
engine room and the storage apartments,
well as in the ice-manufacturing de-
partment. All pipes are connected, and a
leak in one means the drain of all.
Edward Huegele, the chief engineer, vol
unteered TO find the leak and stop it if
possible He donned d hood connected
with a rubber pipe, by means of which air
is pumped to the wearer, and started into
the room. By this time twenty or thirty
people had collected at the door to witness
the work The report that the ammonia
was leaking had spread throughout the
neighborhood, and those living in the vicin-
ity, although knowing what a serious re-
suit might happen, FASTENED to the scene
HHegele had not gone far into the room
when he returned, saying that he could
not get air. The pipe connecting with the
hood had twisted, and the delay in straight
ening it out probably allowed time for the
gas which caused the explosion to gener-
ate. Huegele had taken but two steps to
return inside the place when the terrific ex-
plosion occurred.
BLOWN INTO A HEAP
Otto Kaiser. Rudolph Stegelmeier, John
Rieder. employees of the brewery, were
standing in the doorway working the pump
which furnished air to Huegele. With them
We're G.. A. Grassow, Peter Pfisterer and
George Dirk, who had come over from the
building association meeting. When the
explosion occurred they were thrown in a
heap while Huegele was knocked through
the door and out into the court Standing
about the door were a number of other
people, among them those in the above
list. Charles Cline, assistant manager, was
at work in the Office when he heard of the
leak and had just passed though the gate
when the explosion occurred. He was
burned somewhat.
Huegele and those who were standing in
the door got the full force of the explosion
and the flash of flame which accompanied
it. The flame shot out TO a distance of sew
eral yards into the court and singed and
slightly burned persons who were standing
back thirty feet from the door.
scene of the greatest confusion fol-
lowed the explosion, which was heard for
some distance. In a short time hundreds of
people began flocKing to the scene Fire
also started in the upper portion of the
building above the engine room and added
TO the general alarm and confusion. Many
willing hands were there to attend to the
injured but in the confusion that prevailed
none seemed to know what to do Two or
three men were lying unconscious in the
court opposite the door
One of the most seriously hurt was Otto
Kaiser, the night engineer. He found him
self lying against a fence, his face and
body badly burned. He looked about him
in a dazed manner and realized what had
occurred. Beside him lay several others of
his comrades, one of whom was calling for
help. Kaiser reached his side in time to
smother out the fire which was burning
the mans clothing from his body How
ever, in doing so he burned his own hands
terribly and lessened his own chances for
recovery, which were none too good.
THEORY AS TO THE EXPLOSION
1t is difficult TO get an accurate descrip-
ton of the scene which followed the ex-
plosion or the real cause of the explosion
The theory as to the latter is that a pipe
connecting the main engine sprung a leak
in the coupling near valve. This coupling
was broken into when examination was
made afterward. 1t is supposed that
this ammonia penetrated into the room
and through the building. generating a
gas which exploded from contact with a
gas jet. The entire brewery is lighted with
electricity from a private plant. but one
gas jet is kept burning in the engine room