The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-08-06
EXPLOSION KILLS SEVEN
During a Fire in a Chicago Grain
;~~ * Elevator. ,.,..,t4
F1REMEN KILLED, MANY HURT

Jne kOO1 was RAISED High In the Ali
and the Walls Came Down with q
Crash-Several Small Fires Resulted
From Falling Timbers.
Chicago. Aug. 6.-Seven, and prob.
ably eight, lives were lost In an ex-
ploslon which took place last evening
during fire in the Northwestern grain
elevator. at Cook and West Water
streets. Three Of the dead are flremen
(the body of another fireman Is thought
to be buried In the ruins of the ele-
vator) and three people were blown
into the Chicago river. From the force
with which the explosion swept the
spot on which they were standing 1t
is certain they must have been in
stantly killed. Either the bursting of
q boiler or the explosion of mill dust
caused the awful havoc.
The three firemen who were killed
by the falling walls of the elevator
We're: Jacob j. Schnur, John ]. Coogan,
Jacob s. Stramer.
The injured are: Charles H. Con-
way, fireman, burned about face and
hands and body crushed, may die;
Chief Dennis Swenie, right foot crush
ed, left arm wrenched and painfully
burned; Fire Marshal Campion, burned
about face; Lieutenant Smith, both legs
crushed; Lieutenant W. H. Bartlett,
leg crushed; Assistant Engineer Ben
Jamin blanchard, badly bruised John
F. Smith, injured by debris; William
Mcclure, Is years old, both feet crush.
ed; Thomas Engle, pipeman, cut about
face and hands and internally injured;
Ignatius Bond, cut by falling glass;
Captain John j. Evans, struck by de-
bris and rendered unconscious. con-
dition serious: William Hanley pipe.
man, cut in head; William Thompson,
hit by falling glass; C. F. Walter,
knocked down by the explosion and in.
jured about the spine; John Hentz,
struck by falling beam and skull frao-
tured; James Mcclure, leg fractured
Besides these dozens of firemen and
passersby We're more or less cut and
bruised by glass and flying debris. 10.
seph Lacey, Frank c. HALEY, Captain
Martin Lacey, Lieutenant John ]. Mil
Ter, Captain William Rooney. John
Evans, Harry Kugleman, William
Schubert, John Hassey, Lieutenant
Smith, Lieutenant Frank Donagan,
Captain John Evans, Captain Falvey
and Lieutenant Frank Nigg, all fire.
men, were more or less badly injured.
The origin of the blaze is believed
to have been in the vicinity of the boiler
house. Accumulated dust as dry and
infiammable as gunpowder, that had
been piling UP for years formed
ready means for the fire. 1t spread
with great rapidly, 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 8
were mounting ladders and bringing
leads Of hose to play on the interior
from the upper windows, there came
roar that could be heard for half
mile, the roof was raised high in the
air and the walls came down with a
crash.
The force of 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 below and the roof
was torn into mighty fragments and
distributed for blocks around. Every
window in the vicinity of the elevator
was shattered by the conclusion, doz-
ems of persons were struck by flying
debris and several small fires resulted
from falling timbers that were still in
flames. At Jefferson street and Car
roll avenue, many blocks distant, great
burning masses OF wreckage fell upon
four wagons loaded with hay and set
them in flames.
The elevator was of composite con-
Struction, the lower portion being of
brick and the upper part of frame COW
cred with corrugated iron. The en-
plosion caused perfect bombardment
of flying bricks and sheets of iron at
almost white heat, leaving little of the
building save a frame work of wood
and iron surrounding a great pile of
blazing wheat.
The explosion stunned, for a moment,
the police and the firemcn, but they
quickly rallied 10 help those who had
been hurt. Dozens of men lay injured
in the whitening wheat, some seri-
Ously harmed and others in the throes
of DEATH 1t was dangerous work to
get them out but 1t was CALAMITY 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 to control,
as the elevator was surrounded by a
hon e h,,;I