The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1900-10-30
BLOWN INTO THE AIR.
CONTINUED rRon FIRsr PAGE.


Warren street vas choked Up with mass
Of debris ana the whole place was ailame.
The great explosion was followed by half
a dozen more scarcely less intense and by
a countless number Of smaller ones
BY this time the fire apparatus was NJ
irving from every direction Deputy Chief
Ahern came about two minutes after the
second series OF explosions and he al oEee
ordered a NTH alarm sent out followed
by a general call for ambulances. The ex-
pl0s!on and FIRE together had now assum-
ed the proportions Of great catastrophe.
and II was az first thought that hundreds
Of lives had been lost. ThrOngs OF people
were rushing about in the nearby streets,
many OF them panic-stricken. fleeing from
the fire. They mingled in the crowd that
was rushing down from Broadway 10 see
what had happened.
The heads Of city departments concerned
IN the many-slded disaster hurried 10 the
scene OF the fire. Chief DeveTy. Of the
police department. with Deputy Chief Nc
Laughlin. and Inspector Brooks and Capt.
McC1usky, Of the detective bureau, we're
on hand but a few minutes after Fire
Chief Croker. Commissioner Scannel, or
the FIRE department; Deputy Commission
er Brennan. Of the charities department,
IN which the city's hospitals are included,
and Superintendent DOoner, OF the build
ings department, were soon on the scene
Half an hour after the explosion the
streets for blocks around the fire were
crowded With fire apparatus, with score
Of ambuia noes, while hundreds Of police
were being rushed from all the lower pre-
cincts Of the city 10 form lines, and many
priests from nearby parishes were gong
- IL 4 a lta-glF rTsns
thoroughfares seeking for injured who
might need their aid From the burning
districts a column Of smoke was rising
high in the air, mingled with flames that
could not be controlled by hundreds OF
streams thrown upon them.
Had Ample Warning.
The second explosion carried destruction
in every direction That IT did not cause
wholesale loss OF life was due 70 the fact
that almost ten minutes warning came
after the first cry Of fire-a cry that was
a real warning to people who knew the
character OF the chemicals in the burning
huilding-and fully five minutes occurred
between the first explosion. which warned
every one within hearing. and the second
one.
Just after the outbreak Of fire from the
windows OF the building a downtown
bound train stopped at Warren street
station, of the Ninth avenue elevated
road. II passed On in time TO escape the
explosion. and the few people who were
left on the platform Of the station are
thought to have all escaped before the
great explosion came. The station-master
fled across the structure. carrying with
him the receipts Of the day and his I'M
used tickets. while two women. who had
stopped On the platform TO watch the
fire, frightened by the first explosion, fed
down the downtown tracks, assisted by
the station porter. who took them to the
Barclay street station in safety. The ex-
plosion completely carried away the sta
ton, and the mass of masonry that fell
with il broke through the flooring and
almost demolished The structure just be-
low the building.
Immense masses OF masonry pieces of
/ cOrnice, great beams, window castings and
an indescrlbable mass of wreckage of ev-
cry description tumbled suddenly into the
street in front of the building all at once.
Irving Rank Building shattered.
| The wreckage was thrown across
/ through the windows of the building in
which the Irving National Bank is, on the
northeast corner of the streets The Of
fees Of the Irving Bank and of Meck.em
Brothers, bankers and brokers, were
nearly wrecked. President Fancher, of
: the Irving Bank. was away on business
at the time of the explosion, but Vice
Presidents Charles II. Mattlage and John
( w. Castree, Cashier James A. Dennison.
/ and Assistant Cashier Benjamin f. Wer-
[ ner, Paying-teller William Dunlap, and
/ Adjuster Van Zeidt were present.
AT the first explosion an attempt was
made TO gather up all the money and
paper that was lying on the counters
and to throw them into the safes, and it
/ was supposed that this had been done
when the second explosion brought flying
/ glass and plastering from the skylighted
ceilings down about the heads of every
body and caused them to escape in a
| hurry. Capt. McClusky, Of the detec
/ tive bureau, who hurried every available
man OF his staff to the fire, was appealed
+ TO to protect the funds of the bank. he
being told that they were in the yauIt
/ the door of which was supposed to be nm
locked, When the captain and his men
went in, however. they found about SO 600
scattered in confusion over counters and
. rooi: ms was hastily thrown into the
vault and the door locked.
President Fancher, OF the bank arriv-
I ed within a few minutes of the start of
/ the llre and was nearly hysterical when
ne round what had happened BY $50
/ however the directors of the bank had
met ana posted sign in the window stat
ing that the bank would do business To-
| morrow. 'o
$4,000 scattered Around.
Down in Mecklem Brothers, oe7oo l..
the basement, there were H. C. MsckIem
and his brother William, with Fra,,t
Heckenberry, boy; Thomas Hackett q
clerk; another man named Bruce. and
some girls, among them Ellen Van Deon
and May Dunklemann. When the fire
/ broke out $4,000 In money Law upon the
/ counters. Heckenberry was stationed AT
the door while this was gathered together
Tor putting in the vault. The first expIo-
sion nlled the place with sulphurous
| smoke that nearly asphyXiated every
body. The second explosion blew i'm the
| windows and cut the two Mecklems So
riously The boy Heckenberry found the
two girls lying IN a heap. tainted away.
He carried them out TO a place of safety
The others, when they came 10 their
senses, gathered the money from the
floors, put ii In cigar boxes, and carried il
10 Waddell & Co.'S.
A barbershop in the same building was
demolished. the BARRIERS and two custom
ers that were being shaved being driven
: 10 the street The other tenants of the
building, a number Of lawyers and brok-
ers, all escaped injury, as did the jan
itor, James Rubini, who lived on the top
floor with his wife and two children. The
explosion completely demolished windows
along Greenwich street on both sides for
three blocks in both directions The
street was covered with fine bits Of glass.
Other Buildings Demolished.
The force of the explosion was exertcd
horizontally across the street, skylights
being carried away as If by storm, and
the castings of doors broken away with
the glass The explosion did not spart the
interiors of stores, everything being heap
ed up in confusion.
The explosion tore down the buildings
"Never Do Thinqs