Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-11-01
VOTETHEREPUBLlCAN TICKET
TERRIBLE DISASTER.
Flames and Explosives De-
stroy Life and Property.
DOWN TOWN NEW YORK SHAKEN.
Fire In Tarrant's Wholesale DruR
Store Reaches Chemicals, Caus-
ing Terrific ExpIOsiOn-Un-
known Number Killed.

NEW YORK, Oct 30.-Not since the
disaster of the falling building in Park
place has there been such n horror cf
fire, explosion, falling walls and loss Of
life as that which occurred yesterday
along Warren street between Greenwich
and Washington streets, with the new
seven story brick building of Tarrant &
Co., druggist and chemists, as the start
ing point of destruction and the fear
some center of interest In less than 10
minutes, from II o'clock to the quarter
after, Warren street between Washing
ton and Greenwich was a mass of high
piled debris. The blocks bounded to the
north and south by Chambers and Muir
ray streets were ablaze. All the north
side Of Warren street was down, swept
clean by the rear wall of the Tarrant
building as it was blown out by ter
rife explosion. Half the buildings on
the south side of Warren street were
down, crushed in the same way. The
big coffee roasting plant of the Eppen,
Smith & Wiemann company in the mid
die of the block was afire from top to
bottom and its front caved in. What
grewsome story Of death was hidden un-
der the heaps Of stone, brick, beams and
heavy machinery could only be guess
ed at.
Estimates put the loss of life at from
30 to 100 and more. The injured, who
came from every store and Office along
the street, struck by flying stones and
rafters and shattered glass, probably
counted over 100. Ambulances by the
dozen stood in nearby streets, and the
surgeons had their hands full of work.
How the fire started none could be
found who knew or guessed. 1t broke out
in the Tarrant building at II O'Clock.
when smoke was seen curling thinly out
Of third floor window on the Warren
street side. The place was stocked with
chemicals, and these caused the frightful
feature of the disaster, the explosions
following fast on the heels of the alarm
of fire. The whole lower part of the
city felt the shock, and streets for blocks
leading to the scene were paved with
glass from windows and doors, whose
empty frames told of the force of the
quakes.
1t was not until o'clock that the fire
men, under Chief Croker's personal di-
rection, had the flames under control.
At one time they threatened two whole
blocks.
A dull low reverberating explosion, a
quick volcanic swirl of smoke and dust
and FIRE, and a whole block of business
buildings reaching from Greenwich street
to Washington on Warren had lifted,
cracked like Il crushed eggshell and
crumbled into dust Within five min
utes the jumbled. tangled pile was roar
Ing like furnace, the rows of tall build
ings across the street had caught like set
pieces Of fireworks, and the crowds who
hed white faced from the terror behind
them seemed to be pursued by the crash
ing shower of glass and the line of leap
ing fire.
What had happened was this: \ fire
had started In Tarrant 4 Co.'S drug
warehouse on the northwest corner of
Greenwich and Warren streets. 1t had
burned long enough for the alarm to be
sent in, for the iiremen tn arrive and get
their pipe lines playing on 1t and for an
insurance patrol. who. II was supposed
lost their lives. tn get inside II building
before Ii fell. Suddenly out from the
midst of the lire there flashed u strange
pink iialne. The men in the coffee ware
house across the street saw that flame
and yelled
Run for your lives! She's going to
blow up"
Almost instuntaneously with that. be-
fore the people Oh the south side Of War
rem street could mere than turn ia their
tracks. there eauie the heart clutehine
earthquake roar and the whole north side
/ of Warren street crashed Into ruins. The
| tire la the drushouse reached the explo
sive chslaieals--just what no one knew
at the time-and the dozen or ~ build