The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-08-06
AT LEAST FOUR LIVES LOST
TERRIFIC EXPLOSION DURING TR E
 PROGRESS OF 4 CHICAGO FIRE.

Three Bremen KiIIed-Chief Swenie Seri- ously Injured-Dust as Dry and IDfiam-
 mable as Giant Powder Probably Caused the Explosion-Scores of Persons Injured Several Fires Kindled by Flying Debris. Chicago, Aug. 5.--So far as known | four lives were lost in an explosion
 which took place this evening during
 fire in the Northernwestern grain
 elevator at Cook and West Water | streets.
 | Three of the dead are firemen-the | body of another fireman is thought to | be buried in the ruins of the elevator | and one man was blown into the | Chicago river. From the force with | which the explosion swept the spot on which he was standing 1t is certain l he must have been instantly killed. l Either the bursting of a boiler or the explosion of mill dust caused the havoc The three firemen who were killed by | the falling walls of the elevator were: | Jacob J. Schnur.
 | John J. Coogan.
 | Jacob s. Stramer
 | The injured are:
 Charles H. Conway, fireman, burned about face and hands and body bruised, may die; Chief Denis Swenie, right foot crushed, left arm wrenched and pain fully burned; Fire Marshal Campion, burned about face; Lieutenant Smith, | both legs crushed Lieutenant w. H. | Par Jc11 Accic rt En- gineer Benjamin Blanchard, badly
 bruised; John F. Smith, injured by l debris; William Mcclure, fifteen years
 old, both feet crushed; Thomas Engle, l pipeman. cut about face and hands and
 internally injured; Ignatius Bond, cut | by falling glass; Captain John J.
 Evans, struck by debris and rendered
 unconscious, serious; William Hanley, pipeman, cut In head; William Thomp-
 son, hit by falling glass; c. F. Wi1- bur, knocked dWon by explosion and in-
 jured about the spine; John Hentz,
 struck by falling beam and skull frac-
 tured; James Mcclure, leg fractured;
 Joseph Lacy, Frank Haley, Martin
 Lacey, Lieutenant John T. Miller
 Captain William Rooney, John Evans, Parry Kugleman, William Schubert,
 John Hasesy Lieutenant Frank Dona- | gan, Captain Falvey, Lieutenant Frank Miggs, all firemen.
 l Besides these dozens of firemen and 1 passers-by were more or less cut and
 bruised by glass and flying debris. The origin of the blaze is believed to l have been in the vicinity of the boiler house. Dust as dry and inf1ammable
 as giant powder that had been piling
 up for years, formed ready means for | the fire. It spread with great rapidity, and then came a terrific explosion | completing the work of scattering the
 fire throughout the entire structure.
 Just as the firemen were getting into
 position for advantageous work and nearly all the members of Engine com pany No. 3 were mounting ladders and 1 bringing leads of hose to play on the 1 interior from the upper windows there came roar that could be heard for
 half a mile, the roof was raised high l in the air and the walls came down | with a crash.
 | The explosion was so great that the eastern wall was hurled into the river,
 the west wall was tumbled down upon | the heads of the unfortunate men be-
 low and the roof was torn into frag-
 ments and distributed for blocks
 around. Every window in the vicinity 1 of the elevator was shattered by the concussion, dozens of persons were
 struck by flying debris and several
 small fires resulted from falling tim-
 bers that were still in flames.
 At Jefferson street and Carroll ave
 nue, many blocks distant great burn
 ing masses of wreckage fell upon four
 wagons loaded with hay and set them
 on fire.
 The elevator was of composite con-
 struction, the lower portion being of
 brick and the upper part of frame cov- cred with corrugated iron. The explo-
 sion caused a perfect bombardment of
 flying bricks and sheets of iron at all
 most white heat, leaving little of the | building save frame work of wood
 and iron surrounding a great pile of | blazing wheat.
 The explosion stunned, for moment,
 the police and the fremen, but they 1 quickly rallied to help those who had
 been hurt. Dozens of men lay injured
 in the whitening heat, some not seri-
 ously harmed and others In the throes | of death. It was dangerous work to | get them out, but it was gallantly and l quickly done and all of the slightly
 injured were removed. The dead were
 for the time left where they lay No
 man could reach their bodies and live | The fire was most difficult to control as the elevator was surrounded by a
 number of small buildings, which
 were continually catching fire. The
 total loss is estimated at $3OO, ,0O0, which | is fully covered by insurance. TO BE DOCHED AT HALTFAY.