Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-10-30

He carried them out to place Of safe
ty. The others when they came to
their. senses gathered the money from
the floors, put it cigar boxes and car
ried it to Waddell & Company.
A barber shop in the same building
was demolished, the BARRIERS and two
customers who were being shaved be-
ing driven into the street. The other
tenants of the building, number OF
lawyers and brokers, all escaped in
jury, as did the janitor, James Rubin,
who lived on the top floor with his wife
and two children
The explosion completely demolished
the windows along Greenwich street
On both sides for three blocks in both
directions.
The force of the explosion was ex-
erted horizontally across the street,
skylights being carried away as if by
a storm and the castings of doors broken
away with the glass. The explosion
did not spare the interiors of stores,
everything being heaped UP in confu-
sion.
The explosion tore down the build
ings to the west, the walls of those on
the Washington street side being hurl-
ed outward to the streets as if an ex-
ploslon had been taking place locally,
street end of the block 1t was
thought, indeed, that explosions had
followed in these buildings, but no
cause for them could be found. The
immense buildings of j. H. Mohlman g.
Company, fronting on Washington
street, simply collapsed,
A DeIuge of Barrels and Boxes
filled with fruit, rolling out and form
ing pile that stretched half way across
the street. At the time of the explos-
ion, blazing barrels were hurled clear
across Washington street and set fires
in the buildings to the west, threaten
ed an extension of the confagration in
that direction, but the firemen deluged
these buildings and saved them.
The first reports of the fire that went
out were the Tarrant building in it's fall
had crushed down upon two crowded
restaurants and buried hundred or
more in each. Subsequent examina-
ton showed that if any persons were
caught in these places, it was the kit
SASl1 ASip 'duu Vel ICW IL
anybody. The patrons of the Home
Made restaurant kept by man named
Buckley, were in imminent danger, but
witnesses say all escaped and after the
flames subsidized clear view could be
got into the dining room, and no bodies
We're seen, the place being untouched
by fire, though damaged by the col
lapse of the Tarrant building.
A restaurant on the south side of
Warren street was In as much danger,
nearly, and the building was totally
destroyed by the fire, but it was said
that the crowd got out of this also. 1t
was thought that the cooks in the Buck
ley restaurant and some of the guests
who tried to escape by rear alley,
might have been caught.
Outside of few who were injured in
the streets and the loss of life by the
fire and explosion, must have occurred
in the Tarrant buildings mainly, and
possibly in the other buildings destroy
ed by the fire.
The number of persons in the Tar
rant building was estimated to be in
the neighborhood of fifty. Secretary
Allen of the company said that there
were forty-fve employees and he
thought all got out with the exception
of one. People who saw the fire de-
clared however, that
More Lives Must Have Been Lost
Engineer Alex Phillips, who lives
in HOboken, was seen after the fire.
and told how he tried to make his
way up into the burning. He said
ppnn1n ionildipo noro
as follows:
In the basement were the engineer 8
department and the shipping room
where five men were employed. All
these, he thought, escaped as he him
self warned them in plenty of time.
On the first floor were the offices of
the company and the retail dispens-
ing department. There were about
half dozen persons on this floor at
the time of the fire.
On the second floor was Breiten-
bach's chewing gum factory where
ten girls and six boys were employed.
The third and fourth floors were
storage floors for the Tarrant COM
pany.
There were several porters on the
two floors The fifth floor was used
as bottling department for one Of
the firms specialties. Six girls were
employed here.
The sixth floor was the place of
manufacture of one of the specialties
where three men were usually en-
ployed One of these. a porter named
John Phillips is known to have es-
capped. Another, an old man eighty
years of age, named Callahan, Phillips
thought, must have lost his life, being
unable TO get out.
The top floor was a chemical labora
tory used by Louis Patterson, the chem
list of the concern, and the two men
and two girls helped him there. Phil
lips was inclined to think that most
of them got out, although at late hour
Patterson himself
Had Not Been Heard From.
Phillips said that he saw the fire
while out at lunch and rushed into
the building to try to warn the people
inside. He went to his own depart
ment and yelled fire, then he made his
way up to the fifth floor. where he
found that the way was cut off by
flames.
How many of the girls and other en-
ployes escaped could not be guessed
even tonight.
seen TWO men and a woman at one of
the top floor windows, just before the
building collapsed. Another witness