The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-21
Eight Others Seriously Burned In
An Elevator Fire.
LOSS HALF A MILLION
MOST DISASTROUS FIRE IN
TOLEDO'S HISTORY.
Some of the Men Were Frightfully
Mangled, Others Were Burned to a
Crisp and None Escaped = Fire
Caused By Spontaneous Combus-
ton of Dust.

Toledo, O., Sept 20.-Eight men ere
mated and eight more seriously burned i:
the result of the most disastrous fire thai
ever occurred in Toledo. The spontaneous
combustion of dust in the grain elevator
owned by Paddock. Hodge & Co., at
O'Clock caused this terrible destruction Of
life and none of those who were takeT
out after the fire started were fal
enough from deaths door to tell any OF
the details.
William j. Parks, the superintendent
after being blown through the window
of the lower story. was conscious for a
moment and said that about $50 terri
BILE explosion occurred on the south side
was about 20 men at work on the seven
floors of the great building.
Besides those regularly employed at
the elevator, the three children of super
intendent Parks were visiting him at the
time One of these may recover from
his burns but Grace. a 17-year-old girl
is burned almost beyond recognition and
Harold. the third child. has not been
found, being either blown to atoms or
cremated.
All over Toledo houses were shaken
by the explosion as by an earthquake,
and windows were shattered for blocks
around. Very soon afterwards flames
burst from all SIDES of the elevator. 1t
was but a few minutes till the fire de-
partment of the city began the work of
rescue, which was rendered difficult by
the terrific heat of the fire. The river
cut off escape on one side, and there the
flames seemed to be the less fierce. The
families of dozen men who worked
within rushed to the scene and women
calling for their imprisoned husbands,
brothers and fathers, made scene in
describable.
1t was learned that a force of 20 men
had been in the building, their purpose
having been to load $1,000 bushels OF
grain during the night. No one of the
entire number could be seen in any part
of the building, and it was impossible to
reach them in any way. William Parks
was found first, he was 20 feet from the
building, frightfully burned and his
clothes almost entirely torn off. He had
room through a window and his agoniz-
ing cries were most pitifui. Another
employee, John Carr, was hurled from
the fifth floor of the building and was
found bleeding and burned, with many
bones broken. He did not long survive.
David Kemp and Charles
Keifer, the engineer. were found at their
places in the engine room. They were
faces were charred to crisp by. the
flames.
The little daughter of William Parks
was sitting at the desk in the office at
the time of the explosion and was
hurled out of the door. She walked
down the elevation on which the building
stands and dropped down. to be carried
away unconscious. suffering from
which she cannot recover.
John Smith was fatally burned. He
was literally disembowled and was taken
to the hospital to die.
The missing men are doubtless all
dead. No trace can be found of any of
them and as they were employed at the
top of the elevator, their chances for
escape were but slight
The heat became so intense that %
cars standing on the sidings near the
building We're added to the loss. The
fire department had a hard struggle to
save other elevators and property.
The bridge across the MaEmee river
was on fire several times but outside the
loss OF the elevator, the damage is slight
Mr. Paddock, a member of the firm
owning the plant, said there was be-
tween 500 900 and 601,O09 bushels of grain
in storage at the time, the most of it
being winter wheat. The property and
the grain is an entire loss and will reach
$3.50, 0G0
The insurance is s1S5,oOo on the build
ing and the grain Is covered with $685.
300 insurance.
At 1920 o'clock the flames were under
control.
\ late revision of the fire loss shows
the buildings and contents are valued
at $550,000. The damage to adjoining
property is $4,000. .t-
Superintendent William Parks and
one OF the unknown men, died early
this morning from their injuries, max
ing the total number of fatalities ten.