Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1900-11-06
NEW YORK DISASTER.
EXPLOSIONS WRECK A LARGE
Bull DING.
Hundreds Are Killed or Injured by
Falling Walls and Flying Debris
Flames Started by the Explosions
Spread Until Block Is BurneT.

Tarrant & Co.'s wholesale drug house,
at the northwest corner of Warren and
Greenwich streets, New York, was the
scene of an awful disaster at l2:lo
o'clock Monday afternoon. The entire
building was wrecked by a mysterious
explosion, or series of explosions, which
shook the whole lower part of New York.
Many lives are known TO have been lost.
Hundreds were hurt and many will die
as a result of their injuries. The wreck
ed building caught fire and the flames
spread to both sides of the street and the
tEe department had hard fight to keep
the fire from spreading over an area of
several blocks.
-Four times did the ominous sounds
come from the building. At each eXplo-
sion debris shot out into the street, flames
roared out of every window and the n.y.
ing bricks and debris shattered the struc-
ture of the Sixth avenue elevated, which
passes the doomed building. There were
over 200 people in the Tarrant building
at the time of the explosion, and few are
said to have escaped. 1t was said by
spectators who saw the column of smoke,
flame and debris rise about 800 feet IN
the air over the wrecked wholesale drug
house that the explosion dashed oHt many
hrl1lan lives. Human bodies were seen
to dy upward and then turn and descend
into the furnace-like hole in the roof.
All accounts agree that the force of the
detonations, especially of the first one,
which hurled the roof of the drug house
high in the air, was terrific enough to
warrant the assumption that some pow
erful explosive must have caused the
damage For blocks in the immediate
vicinity of the wrecked building could be
seen the evidences of the force of the
drug explosions. Windows were shatter-
ed and the sidewalks were strewn with
bits of glass, bricks, clothing, etc.
Wall street plainly felt the shock of
the explosions Heavy plate-glass win
dows in that thoroughfare were shatter-
ed, people were hurled against the walls
of buildings and the street was strewn
with debris. In the Irving National
Bank, opposite the Tarrant Building, the
shock of the second explosion was great
enough to throw all of the clerks and
officials to the floor Thinking that their
own building was about to fall, they rush
ed out in mass, several being hurt In
the crush. Before they left, however,
the emplOyeS~GI the DdHh SSiZeu lhc
banks cash and threw it into the vault
which was then securely locked.
Blood yas spattered on the sidewalks
and WAITS in the vicinity of the fire, show
ing that many of the flying bits of glass
had cut. pedestrians. Little by little the
police succeeded in ascertaining where
the blaze was first seen. 1t is said that
flames were first discovered issuing from
the windows of the third story.
Fed by the infiammable material in the
Tarrant establishment, the fire spread
rapidly and reached to the Irving Bank
and to the two buildings Immediately
across the street. In the rear of the
wrecked structure were several smaller
buildings. These were soon in flames. So
dense was the smoke by this time that
the firemen seemed to be unable to direct
an intelligent attack on the fire.
With wonderful rapidity the fire contin-
ued to spread until the two blocks from
Chambers to Warren and from Washing
ton to Greenwich streets were ablaze and
apparently doomed to destruction.
The wrecked drug building was four
stories high Over 125 girls were EN-
ployed IN the building.