Omaha daily bee., 1897-08-06
KILLED BY AN EXPLOSION
Large Number Of Firemen and severa'
Outsiders Caught.
CHIEF SWENlE AMONG THE INJURED
Fircmcn Were just Getting 10 work
when the Explosion brought
the Drick walls Down
ON Them.

n, possibly
eight, lives were lost in an explosion which
took pace this evening during fire in the
Northwestern grain elevator at Cook and
West Water streets. Three OF the dead are
firemen-the body Of another flremen is
thought to be buried in the ruins of the ele-
vator-and one man was blown into the Chi
cago river Either the bursting OF a boiler
or the explosion of mill dirt caused the
awful havoc.
The three flremen who were killed by the
falling walls of the elevator were:
JACOB j. SCHNUR.
JOHN j. COOGAN.
JACOB S. STRAMER.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN, blown into the
river by the explosion, body not recovered.
The injured are:
Charles H. Conway fireman, burned about
the face ANA hands and body crushed; may
die
Chief Dennis Swenc right foot crushed,
left arm wrenched and painfully burned.
Fire Marshal Campion, burned about face.
Lieutenant Smith, both legs crushed.
Lieutenant w. II. Bartlett, leg crushed.
Assistant Engineer Benjamin Blanchard,
badly bruised.
John Il. Smith, injured by debris.
William Mcclure, 15 years old, both feet
crushed
Thomas Engle, 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.
William Hanley, ppeman, cut in head.
William Thompson, hit by falling glass
c. =. Walker knocked down by explosion
and injured about the spine.
John Hentz, struck by falling beam and
skull fractured.
James Mcclure leg fractured
Joe Lacey, badly burned about face; case
serious
Frank C. HALEY, face burned beyond rec
ognition; may lose sight of both eyes.
Captain Martin Lacey, burned about the
face and body; wounds on face and fore
head.
Lieutenant John Miller, compound frac-
tute of leg; badly burned; condition critical.
Captain William Rooney, badly burned
about face; may lcse sight of both eyes;
condition serious.
John Evans, fracture of right arm; badly
burned about the face and body; condition
serious
William Schubert bruised and burned
John Hassey, left arm crushed at the
shoulder.
Lieutenant Smith, struck by flying debris.
Lieutenant Frank Donagan hurt by fall
Ing bricks; injured internally condition
serious.
Captain John Evans, face, hands and
Captain Falvey, legs, arms and shoulders
badly burned.
Lieutenant Frank Nigg, badly burned
about face and arms.
Beoldes these, dozens of fremen and
passers-by were more or less cut and bruised
by glass and flying debris.
CRUMBLES LIKE A CARD HOUSE.
The origin of the blaze is believed to have
been in the vicinity of the boiler house.
Accumulated duet as dry and infammable
as gunpowder that had been piling up for
years formed ready means for the
tire to spread. 1t spread with great
rapidity and then came terrific explosion
completing the work of scattering the fire
throughout the entire structure.
Just as the fremen were getting into posi-
tion for advantageous work and nearly all
the members of engine company No. 8 were
mounting ladders and bringing leads of hose
to play on the interior through upper win
dows, there came roar that could be heard
for half a mile, the roof was raised high
in the air and the walls came down with a
cras&.
The force of the explosion was so great
that the eastern wall was hurled into the
river, the western wall was tumbled down
upon the heads of the unfortunate men
below and the roof was torn into many
faSments and distributed for blocks around.
Every window in the vicinity of the ele-
vator was shatte; ed by the concussion doZ-
Cns Ol persons wee STUCK Dy nylng debris,
and several small fires resulted. in addition
TO those which were already in flames. At
Jefferson street and Carroll avenue, many
blocks distant great masses OF burning
wreckage fell upon four wagons loaded with
hay and set them aflre.
The building was of composite construc-
tlon, the lower portion being of brick and
the upper part of the same covered with a
roof of corrugated iron. The explosion
caused a perfect bombardment of tiling
bricks and sheet iron at almost 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 a moment the
police and fremen, but they quickly rallied
to help those who had been hurt. Dozens
of men Ia yinjured in the whitening heat,
some not seriously harmed and others in the
throes of death 1t was dangerous work
to get them out, but ii was gallantly and
quickly done and all of the slightly injured
we're removed. The dead were for the time
left where they lay. No man could reach
their bodies and live.
The fire was most difficult 10 control as
the elevator was surrounded by number OF
small frame buildings which were contln-
ualiy catching fire. The total loss is esti-
mated al $500 900. which is fully insured,