The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-05
FATAL FLASH OF GAS
SIX KILLED AND TWENTY IN
JURED BY AN EXPLOSION IN
INDIANA.
BROAD RIPPLE THE SCENE.
LARGEST BUILDINGS IN THE BUsI-
NESS PORTION Of THE TOWN
BURNED.
BROAD RIPPLE THE SCENE.
NO MORE BODIES AT GLENwooD.
Total of Fatalities in the Sunshine
Mine Disaster Given In the
First Reports.

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 4. Two
frightful explosions of natural gas oc-
CURED in Broad Ripple, suburb six
miles north of here this morning, at
10 o'clock. Five are known to have
been killed, and the seriously injured
will number between twenty and
thirty. The business part of the town
took fire, and the largest buildings
were destroyed. The city of Indian
arolis was called on for help and sent
engines and doctors. The first eXplo-
sion occurred in J. L. Watts drug
store, from unknown causes. Five
were injured there, and the building
was set on fire. Across the street was
the Odd Fellows hall, underneath
which was Pious Gresh's grocery store.
Seeing that the fire was spreading,
Gresh and twenty men were removing
his stock of groceries, when crashing
explosion occurred in this building.
The walls were blown out, the upper
floor fell in on the men. Gresh and
Jacob Darling, painter, were taken
out dead The others in the building
were badly injured, several of them
-
them suffered a broken leg or arm.
The fire spread from the Odd Fellows
hall, and the drug store ruins in every
direction. Five buildings were on fire
at once, and were doomed before help
could be attempted. The entire COM
munity turned out and there was work
for all to do in reScuing the injured,
now threatened with danger of death
by fire. Hurried calls for help were
sent to the city. The hospital and dis
pensary doctors took the first Ripple
car, and the fire department loaded an
engine on a Monon fiat car and LETT
for the scene The fire was under con-
troll at noon, with five business houses
destroyed. The dead:
CHARLES YoUNT, Indianapolis.
JACOB DARLING, Broad Ripple.
Plus GRESHE, groceryman, Broad Ripple.
HENRY ERNEST laborer, Broad Ripple. ,
TWO UNIDENTIFIED dead, one supposed
to be John Porter, .aborer.
The injured: Edgar Watts, badly burned
Frank Watts. head cut by glass, not serious
w hurt. Edward Morris, shoulder dlsiocateo,
compound fracture of right arm, seriously
burned: Joseph Wambaugh, bad cut ABOUT the
eyes, condition serious; A. T. LUMBER. cue
by flying glass; W. F. Priyltt, CUT. acloss h en5
a
bruises on forehead; Orville Heady, lett knee
cap fractured and leg broken in two places
below knee; Charles Jones, cut on tne la .15
and all over the body by flying glass VIII
! n7oos not serious. C. A. Gulbert-
Son, badly bruised and cur, =. not
serious; j. B. Watts, extent ol in ad,,l lGs
unknown: Thomas Jones, bad cut on tslipie
and bruises on body; Samuel kelso, snoi d
number of times by exploding shotgun shelis,
condition serious; Thomas E. Mitchell, leit
leg broken; Emslie Johnson, oI hr'sed dp and
ont. Jacob Cruise sixty-seNen years ~,
caught under piece of flying timber supp9sse e
internal injuries; Harvey Dugan' s1ou iue
c crt' serious; Frank Atkinson, cut on mead
clarence Metzger cut on Leg Amos Bay
bruised about head and BODY, very pail au5
hut not serious Jesse Day, cut On IaG Win AN
pumerous bruises On body, not serious; Vlhlol'
Record. cut and burns, painful put NOT SELL
Gus: John Doaks, back injured seriously
At 2:SO it was reported that seven
dead bodies had been recovered IRON,
the ruins. Of these only three hdu
been positively identified. IL Is 1housIll
at least the remains OF two ,'ore may
he in the debris. 1t is Supposeu ma
natural gas had accumulated III g..
collar and that some one went III tne
darl1 room with light ana q tel;lnle
avnIoeion followed 1t shattered the
h,,ildine and injured all the occupants.
EVERY house in the SUBURBS Was
shaken and farmers two miles north
of Broad Ripple felt the conclusion
aud hurried to the scene. Tne 3uild-
ING was a two-story white frame ana
caught fire from the explosion. Peo,
ME ran from their homes and the mana
FIRE apparatus was hurriedly dragged
70 the burning building. There was no
water supply at hand, and hose was
laid in the direction of White River.
Rut the hose would not reach to the
stream. and large crowd OF persons
stood helpless as they watched the
bI,iIding burn. Women ran III the
street crying and wringing their
hands. The men who went to the res
enc found a fierce fire as well as heavy
debris in their course. Thelr hanos
We're burned and they almost suffo-
Gated from the heat but they worked
heroically to remove the timbers ana
debris under which they knew tneir
neighbors were buried. The Odd rel
lows building was also wooden strucc
ture and it was a seethlng mass OF
fire before the first man was rescued.
The work of rescue was slow ana 1t
was we'll on into the afternoon before
the fast body was taken out. The
money loss will likely not amount to
more than $40. 600. All of the build
ings destroyed were wooden ones.