Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1900-11-03
LOSS OF LIFE
In Terrible Explosions Following
a New York Fire.
THE LOSS OF LIFE UNKNOWN.
Catastrophe 0courredin the Crowd
ed Business District.
fHIRTY-Tw0 PEOPLE MISSING.

A Dozen Big buildings Demolished
and n Score of Others Badly Dam
aged-The Disaster Rivals the
Windsor Hotel Fire and Exceeds
1t in Property Loss, Which IL Esti-
mated at Million and "A HaIf-EIe-
waited Station Wrecked and Track
Torn Up-one Body md Portions of
Another Recovered From the Ruins.
New York, Oct 31.--As result of
a small fire several successive explo-
sions Of chemicals occurred in the drug
store of Tarrant & Co., at Warren and
Greenwich streets, Monday and blew
down a dozen buildings and badly
damaged score Of others. The loss
of life is not known, but from all
sources of information 1t is gathered
that there are perhaps the bodies of 32
persons in the ruins, that being the
number of persons officially reported
missing. 1t is believed by many, how
ever, that the death list will be much
higher.
The Tarrant building was a seven
story structure, and the other build
stories high.
The disaster was one Of the most
terrible that has ever occurred in this
city, and rivals the Windsor hotel fire
in its appalling results, though in loss
OF property it will be worse. Chief
Croker, OF the fire department, said to-
day that the loss is fully 81, 5O0,O 900.
The action OF the tremendous catas-
Uophe was more vivid and awful than
the city had seen for a long time.
Buildings fell in on themselves or top
pied over on others, iron Orders were
thrown yards away, smashing through
great walls, whole structures fell into
the streets In piles so that the line OF
thoroughfare' could not be marked out,
huge splinters of iron, steel and wood
were flung into the streets and into
the buildings, clean through the walls.
where they buried women and men.
People walking through the streets
were knocked down and dangerously
injured by timbers, glass and steel,
horses were thrown down, wagons,
windows, store fronts and all sorts of
property for blocks in every direction
were wrecked and damaged.
One tre company had just arrived
when a terrific explosion occurred and
threw the entire engines crew down
the stairway. The firemen, realizing
the danger Of their position, rushed
out OF the building to the street. The
explosion had filled the street in front
with shower OF falling glass and
small debris, which sent the crowd
which was already gathered on the op-
posite sidewalks fleeing for safety and
caused the horses hitched to the en-
gines to rear and try TO get away.
Engineer Rocksberry was unfast-
ening the horses, and Fireman Brown,
OF the company, was turning the safety
valve OF the engine when the explo-
sion occurred and covered them with a
shower of glass. Both were injured.
as was another fireman belonging to
the company.
Capt. Devanney, of the company, or
dered his crew back into the building
again. They were dragging the line
TO the doorway for the second time
when another explosion, more terrific
than the first, came, and the whole
crew was hurled across Greenwich
street, Devanney being so badly in
5ured that he was sent to a hospital.
In the meantime the other engines
that had responded to the alarm had
collected, and the firemen were busy
rescuing people from surrounding
buildings. Firemen had already taken
many girls down the only fire escape
upon the building, and more persons
had been carried down the escapes of
the Home Made restaurant, next door.
and the buildings adjoining upon War
rem street.
The second explosion occurred about
nVe minutes after the first. From the
accounts OF witnesses the building
seemed to leap into the air, and In a
moment masses of brick wall, timbers
and stone were falling into the streets.
Inc force OF the explosion tore away
the walls OF the big commission store
! houses fronting on Washington street
and caused them to collapse. falling
at once In a mass of timbers. boxes
and barrels, from which the flames,
which burst out from the Tarrant
building like the belching of a cannon.
at once broke forth.
= Across Warren street to the opno-
= site buildings the flames leaned set
ting them all afire at once. the force
or the explosion deInolishing windows
and all wooden structures about the
houses. In moment Warren street
was choked up with mass of debris
and the whole place was afiame. The
great explosion was followed by half
dozen more scarcely less intense
anu Dy countless number OF smaller
ones.
The second explosion carried de-
struction in every direction. That II
ala not cause wholesale loss of life
was que to the fact that almost ten
minutes warning came after the nrst
cry OF nre-a cry that was real warn
ing TO people who knew the character
OF the chemicals in the burning build
lng-and fully five minutes occurred
between the first and second explosion,
which warned every one within hear
ing
Just as the fire broke out train
stopped at Warren street station of the
Ninth Avenue Elevated road. 1t pass
ed on in time to escape the explosion,
and the few people who were left on