The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-10-30
EXPLOSION AND FIRE
DISASTER AND DEAT WE'RE CAUs-
ED ~ CHEMICALS.
NEW YORK SEVERELY SHAKEN.
Loss or LIFE ~ COVERED UP UN-
DER MASS OF RUINS.

Thirty-nVe Are Missing and 100
Mere InJured-TNo severe Explo-
sions in Tarrant's building wreck
ed Everything Around It--A Bank
Smashed aud Money Was Left
Scattered on the F'Ioor-Mnny Had
Narrow Escapes.
New York. Oct e9-As the result of
small hre several successive explosions Of
chemicals occurred In the drug store a.
Warren and Greenwich streets to-day and
blew down dozen buildings ana badly
damaged a score Of others.
The loss OF life Is not known. but from
oil sources OF information Il Is gathered
that there are perhaps the bodies of thir-
ty persons Ia the ruins though because Of
the hot ,Abris and the slowness ofmoving
OF Il. no body had been removed Up TO
midnight.
The disaster was one OF the most ter
rlble that has ever occurred IN this city
ana rivals tho Windsor Hotel nre in ap-
pllling results. though In loss OF property
10 Will be worse. Chief Croker Of the
IRE department said tonight that the loss
IS fully $1,000
The action of the tremendous catastro-
phe was more vivid and awful than the
city has seen for long time. Bteldings
fell In on Themselves or toppled over on
others. iron sirders were thrown yards
away. smashing through great walls
whole structures fell into the streets in
piles 50 that the nne OF thoroughfare
could. not be marked out. huge splnters
OF iron. steel and wool were hung into
tho streets aud into the buildings. clean
through the walls. where they buried
women and men, people walking through
the streets were knocked down and dan
gerousIy injured by umbors. glass AMI
steel. horses were thrown down wagons.
windows store fronts and all sorts ofprop-
erty for blocks IN every direction were
wrecked and damgaed.
There were thlrty-nve persons reported
missing and one hundred men. women and
children are on the list OF the injured.
Search for bodies is going on and viii
be continued all night Chief Croker said
tonight that no nremen had perished
In the FIRE. ali his men having been ae-
counted for.
Like an Earthquake shock.
The long list of IRE horrors that
have occurred In and around The
city Of New York. list that includes
the Royal Hotel IRE. the Park Place dis
aster. and the Windsor and Hohoken
fires was added 70 to-day by fire and
explosion that shook the lower end OF
Manhattan like an earthquake. hurled
seven story building into the air, and set
nre 20 two books Of buildings. with "a
loss Of life that only the efforts Of The
hundreds OF men VINO were rushed 60 the
work Of digging away the ruins as soon
as The IRE was cxtinguished. win reveal.
The big building ~ Tnrrant & Co.
makers OF mediclnal specialties. standing
at the northwest corner Of Greenwich and
Warren street. ana hlled with chemicals.
took FIRE IN some way that may never
be- known. AZ about quarter after y
o'clock this afternoon II was sixteen
minutes after noon. when a citizen rushed
into the house of fire engine number ..
on Chambers street. near Greenwich. and
shout that Tarrant's drug house was on
IRE. lie had seen volume of black
smoke coming from the third story win
dow An alarm Was turned IN
soon afterwards second and third alarms
we're turned in one are company had
just arrived when "a terrific explosion o.
CURED and threw the entire engines crew
down the stairway. The nrcmcn. reallz-
Ing the danger Of their position. rushed
out Of che building 70 the street. The
cxp.osion had hilei the street in front
with a shower OF falling glass and small
debris which sent the crowd. which was
already gathered on the opposite side
walks. fleeing for safety. and caused the
horses hitchcd 70 thc engines 20 rear and
try 10 get away.
Engineer Rocksbcrry was unfastcning
the horses and Fireman Brown OF tho
company was turning the safety valve Of
tho engine when the explosion occurred
and covered them with a shower Of glass
Both were injured as was another fireman
belonging TO the company.
sent the F'ircmen Back.
Capt Deylnney. Of the company. ordered
his crew back into the building again
They were dragging the line 20 the door
way for a secnc time when another explo-
sion. more terrific than the first. came.
and the whole crew was hurled across
Greenwich street. Devnnucy being so
badly injured that he was sent to
hospital
Iu the meantime the other engines that
had responded 20 the arm had collected.
and the hremen were busy rescuing peo-
pie from surrounding buildings Fircmen
had already taken many girls down tag
only FIRE escape on the builling. and
more persons had been carried down the
escapes of tho Homemade Restaurant next
door, and The buildings adjoining upon
Warren street
The second explosion occurred about
nve minutes after the FIRST From the ac-
counts Of witnesses. the building seemeI
TO leap into the air. and in a moment
masses Of brick wall tImbers ana stone
were falling into the streets Tho force
OF the explosion tore away tho walls OF
the big commission storehouscs frontlrg
on washington street and caused them TO
collapse falling all at once IN mass u
tlfnbers. boxes and barrels from which
.ahn Nawwaa which huraf out frH m the