The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-08-13
bad EXPLOSION.
One Jersey City Man Killed
and Four Injured in
New York.
STEAM PIPE BURST
Head Engineer Arrested and
the Wounded Sent to
a Hospital.
STEAM PIPE BURST

Three men were killed and four badly
injured by an explosion, at seven o'clock
thls morning, of a 15-inch steam pipe of
the New York Steam Heating Company.
at No. 172-4 Greenwich street, near the
corner of Cortlandt New York City. The
pipe was the main one which is run
through the city and which supplies steam
power to many buildings The three men
Killed were near the elbow of the pipe
where the explosion occurred, and their
death, the surgeon said, was caused by
the inhalation of steam. The four who
We're injured were knocked against the
walls by the shock and they also inhaled
the hot vapor. A list of the dead and in
jured follows:-
THE DEAD
Frank Sherry, No. 742 Jersey avenue.
Edward Brown, No. 213 Sullivan street.
New York
George Jackson, No. ITO Macdougal
street, New York
THE INJURED.
Frank Green, No 1856 Stueben street.
John Killher, No. 1876 Steuben street.
Fl. A. Peterson No. 135 Carlisle avenue.
Frank Arzbrger, No. 1923 Grand street.
Steam is supplied to the pipe which
burst from fifty boilers in the summer
time and in the winter time at least sixty
boilers are in operation. The pipe is at
the Greenwich street side of the basement
and about ten feet away from the first
boiler there is an elbow by which the
pipe is directed into the street 1t was
at this elbow that the break occurred.
1t was a minute to O'Clock when the
vV IN, J,o, 81
Cries for help came from the basement,
explosion occurred. For a time the place
but those who attemepted to go through
the steam to the rescue were beaten back.
fire alarm was ent out and ambufances
were called from the Hudson Street Hos
pital.
When the f1remen arrived the steam
was still pouring from theb uilding Moth
ing could be done until the steam was
shut off. Meanwhile those on the upper
floors of the building had rushed to the
windows and were either holding out their
heads to escape death by suffocation or
were climbing down the fire escape The
steam sperad through all the floors and
there was no room that was not full of
it.
1t was John johnson, a Swede who
finally managed TO shut off the steam
from the broken pipe. Although only a
stoker in the company's employ, he knew
Q ia lever in the rear of the boiler room
by which the flow from the boilers to the
main pipe could be stopped. He found
his way to it through an alley from
Washington street and mana ged to shut
off the steam This was at least ten
minutes after the explosion.
Ihe four men who were injured brt
stlll alive, were found unconscious. All
had inhaled steam, and had been thrown
against the walls. Golden had his Shoes
and stockings off, and he declare, after he
had been revived, that they were blowa
off The firemen heard his story and said
that the eycte5ssent of the accident must
be responsible for his saying it. H. A.
Patterson had been in charge of the
freight elevator.
There was no mark on the bodies of
the dead men. They had met death by
inhaling the vapor. With the exception of
Golden, the injured men were attended by
the ambulance surgeons and went to their
homes. Golden was taken to the hos
pital, but it was said that he would re-
cover.
M. J. Davis, of No. 743 Thirteenth street,
Jersey City, the head engineer, was ar
rested. II was said that the elbow was
new one, which had been put in place
only few days ago.