The herald., 1898-09-21
Associated Press Special Wire.

TOLEDO, o., Sept. 20.-Eight men ere
mated, eight seriously burned and eight
the wreck is the result of u bad fire here tc
night. The spontaneous combustion c
dust in the grain elevator owned by Pad
dock Hodge & Co., at o'clock, caused thi
terrible destruction of lifej and none o
those who We're taken out after the fir
started were far enough from deaths doc
to tell any of the details.
List of the dead:
SAMUEL ALEXANDER
BERT WAINWRIGHT.
FRED GARRETT
HAROLD PARKS.
JOHN SMITH.
GRACE PARKS.
FRANK VAN HOUSEN.
JOHN CARR.
The injured number sixteen.
William J. Parks the superintendent, at
ter being blown through the window of the
lower story, was conscious for a moment
and said that about $50 a terrible explosion
occurred on the south side of the elevator
and that he knew there We're about twenty
men at work on the seven floors of the
building Besides those regularly en-
ployed al the elevator, the three children OF
Superintendent Parks were visiting him al
the time. One of these may recover, but
Grace. a 17-year-ol1 girl is burned almost
beyond recognition, and Harold, the third
child, has not been found. being either
blown to atoms cremated All over
Toledo houses were shaken by the explo-
sion as by an earthquake, and windows
were shattered for blocks around. Very
soon nfterward flames burst from all sides
of the elevator. 1t was but few minutes
till the fire department 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
seemd to be less fierce.
The families of a dozen men who were
known to be at work within rushed to the
scene and women calling for their i'm
prisoned husbands, brothers and fathers
made a scene indescribable.
1t was learned that force of twenty 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 build
ing. frightfully burned, and his clothes al
most entirely torn off. He had been hurled
from his place in the main room through q
window. Another employe, John Carr
was hurled from the fifth floor OF the build
ing and was found bleeding and burned
with many bones broken. He did not long
survive.
Fireman David Kemp and Charles Keif-
er. the engineer, were found at their
places in the engine room. They We're
wounded by falling timbers and their
faces were charred to a crisp by the
flames.
The little daughter of VIM. 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 wounds from which she |
cannot recover.
John Smith was fatally burned.
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 twenty
cars standing on the siding near the build
ing were added to the loss. The fire de-
partment had a hard struggle to save
other elevators and property.
Mr.. Paddock, member of the firm own
ing the plant said there were between
100000 and 900 bushels of grain in stor-
age at the time, the most of it being win
ter wheat. The property and the grain
Is an entire loss and will reach $3.50 900
The insurance is S135.0o0 on the building
and the grain IS covered with S25S, ,00O in
surancc.
AT 1920 o'clock the fire was under control.
A Tacoma Fire
TACOMA, Wash, Sept. 2O.-The exposi- |
ton building, the largest structure of its !
Kind in the northwest, was completely de- f
stroyed by fire this afternoon. f
The flames We're discovered breaking out
Of the building at 1:30 o'clock In fifteen i
minutes the vast structure was a mass of ,
hire. The building was owned byt the Ia \
coma Land company and is part of the n
mortgaged to the Provident LIZ.
and Trust company of Philadelphia Total
loss Wi'l aggregate 500 900 There was no