The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-22
KILLED BY FALLING WALLS
THREE DEAD AND 4 DOZEN OTHERS
MORE on LESS ISJURE ED.

Ooiisp-, or brown Rros. a Co.'S Huiiaiug
~ Ruaa,o-worh men and Tenants nuriea
In the Ruins-AI Except Three Rescued
Anve-A Girl Cashier Among the Dead.
BUFFALO, May Ala part OF the Seneca street
front Of Browns building collapsed Mt e;@o this
morning, burylnR a score Of people In the ruins.
George Metz, q barber, and Jennie Griffith,
cashier In the barber shop, are dead; william
r.. Straub, n contractor, Is known to be In the
ruins, and n dozen others are more or less in
jurod. ono OF whom will probably dis. Those at
the hospitals arc;
JAcob LASapoN. barber, scalp torn and body con.
fused.
WILLIAM ALEXANDER, steam inter, scalp wounds and
body bruised.
JACOB RtcKnAS, barber. injured about head and
body.
y. L. HAWKE, carpenter, skull fractured: may die.
JANIS ADAMS, mason, 7e Chandler street, scalp
wounds and injured hin.
MICHAEL oBRiES. carpenter, wrenched back and
scalp wounds
JosErH BUIIARD, %piasterer. injured internally.
EDwARD MURPHY. plasterer. right arm injured.
FRTz FORMAL German laborer, badly bruised.
Browns building Is one OF the city's land
marks. 1t stood on the corner OF Main and
Seneca streets. and for years the Western
Union Telegraph Company had occupied the
ground floor &C ner as a business Office and all
of the fourth floor as an operating room. Tho
building was filled with offices. many OF which
were occupied. and on the ground floor, on both
Main and Seneca streets. were stores occupied
by merchants. The Western Union left the
building a few weeks ago. and the owners OF the
block began the work OF remodelling and
strengthening 1t. On the Seneca street side
workmen were putting in place new columns
and beams and new foundations for them.
Nos. & and 10 Seneca street were unoccupiod,
-. ..In.l,uI altarIN~a log-, -.o-n ~ tlnt
point. No. IL was occupied as n barber shop by
George Seinert, and l 4 by James Cleag's jewelry
store and Thomas .Jones's newsstand. Tho Of
fees on the floors above were nearly all tenanted,
an ab @,t Collapsed ' Section %efS TRe PoS Was nc wa peDRls
of falling plaster or creaking timbers.. The
walls fell with n crash, taking down roof and
ceiling with them. The outer wall fell into the
street, burying those who had not had time to
escape.
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 build
Ing were saved almost niraculously, having
been penned In by the falling timbers and walls.
They were taken out as speedily as possible.
In seinert's barber shop were nine BARRIERS.
the girl cashier. and several customers. When
the crash occurred 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
was buried and killed. The others crouched in
a corner OF the shop until the crash ceased.
when tney mhue tn6lT way OuI. Ii hSHle
had her desk in the front OF the shop. behind a
wire cage. She was unable to get out OF 1t in
time to Join the others, and persisted beneath
the fallen wall.
The experience of tho occupants OF No. IA
was somewhat similar to that OF those in the
barber shop. but all escaped without may.
In Nos. 8 and 10 were probably twen., work
men, including steamftters. ironworkers, car
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
Hp0ra Ind many narrow e9CannS- hnt- so far as
known, all OF them escaped.
1t 10 o'clock the rescusrs removed a heavy
timber and Robert Cassler. Is years OF age,
brother of the contracting steamtitter. crawled
out uniniured. Half an hour later the wrcckers
arms Of another. The faces OF both were com.
pletely hidden by the great piles Of brick. NOR
sar and mar timber nS sSor thS sfnr lay h ap5 eGdss nRo Ru the%.
They were dug out Just before noon. The Rroans
OF the injured and imprisoned men. who could
be heard here and there in the ruins, lent
strength TO the willing hands engaged in the
work Of rescue. and every little while another
ambulance to one or other of the hospitals. until
all who could be seen or heard were rescued.
the ah runs .n Se srst work 1 ed over sHs IN the So peS Of fn "
ing the bodies Of Contractor Straub and Jennie
Griffith. Straub was seen In the doorway Of No.
10 Just before the collapse, and the search for
for the girl cashier was confined to the ruins OF
f@e Se of Miss sa0 ariH ahot was f fennd and ' removed sei
to the Morgue. where Metz's had been taken
earlier In the day. straub's body has not yet
1.-THE Commissioners of Public Works will
make a thorough Investigation of the accident.
A permit was issued for the alterations on April
9, with the warning that the utmost care must
be used. as the building was such an old
structure. 1t is owned by Brown Bros. d Co..
the New York bankers. A determined effort
will be made to fix the responsibility for the
disaster. which Is said to be due to criminal
negligence.
One Of the iron workers who was employed in
the remodelling of the building when 1t fell says
that fha Cnnfrart0ra Are m hlanla Enrly this
morning they knocked out the supports in the
cellar, thus PRACTICALLY removing the foundation
of the building. The store fronts had been re-
moved to be replaced with cast-iron fronts.
The entire weight of the front wall rested
which rested on the sidewalk. The side
walk was supported by small crnmbling pilla
unable to withstand great weight. When
the wall supports in the basement were knocked
away the weight of the front was thrown onto
the single pillar In the centre. The sidewalk fell
beneath its weight. and the crash followed
without an instant's warning: The walls of
the structure still standing are bulged TO an OK
tent which makes another collapse not improb-