The age-herald., 1900-10-30
AWFUL DISASTER IN NEW YORK CITY Many Buildings Wrecked by Explosion of Chemicals THE LOSS OF LIFE NOT KNOWN Feared That Many Bodies Are in
 the Ruins CAUSED BY FIRE IN A DRUG STORE The Most Appalling Catastrophe in the History of the Merropolis-Many
 Persons Missing and Hun
 dreds Are Injured
CAUSED BY FIRE IN A DRUG STORE

New York, October 29.-As the result of a small fire, several successive explosions of chemicals stored in the drug store at Warren and Greenwich streets today blew down number of buildings and badly damaged a score of others
 The loss of life is not known, but there are perhaps the bodies of thirty persons in the ruins, though because of the hot de- bris and the slowness of the moving of it no bodies had been recovered up to mid night The disaster is the most terrible that has ever occurred in this city, and rivals the Windsor Hotel fire in its appal ing results, though in loss of property it will be worse. Chief Croker of the fire de- partment said tonight that the loss is fully $1,5OO,OOO.
 The action of the tremendous catastrophe was more vivid and awful than the city has seen for long time. Buildings fell in on themselves or toppled over on others; iron girders were thrown yards away. smashing through great walls; 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 build- ings clean through the walls, where they were buried; people walking through the streets were knocked down and dangerous ly injured by timbers, glass and steel; horses were thrown down; wagons and store fronts and streets of property for blocks in every direction were wrecked and damaged.
 There are thirty-fve persons reported missing. and one hundred men, women and children are on the list of the injured. The search for bodies is going on.
 The big building of Tarrant & Co.,, mak- CTS of medicinal specialties, at the north west corner of Greenwich and Warren streets, filled with chemicals. took fire in some way that may never be known, at about quarter after F this afternoon. It was sixteen minutes after noon when a cit- izen rushed into the house of fire engine No. 29 in Chambers street, and shouted that the Tarrant drug store was on fire. He had seen a volume of black smoke com ing from the third story window. An alarm was turned in Soon afterward second and third alarms were turned in. One fire com pany had just arrived when a terrific ex- plosion occurred and threw the entire en- zine crew down the stairway. The fire men, realizing the danger of their position, rushed out of the building into the streets. The explosion had filled the street in front with a shower of falling glass and some small debris, which sent the crowd which was already gathered on the opposite side walks fleeing for safety, and caused the engine horses to rear and try to get away.
 Engineer Rocksberry was un1astenng the horses and Fireman Brown was turn ing the safety valve of the engine when the explosion occurred and covered them with shower of glass. Both were in- jured, as was another fireman.
 Captain 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, Captain Devanney being so badly injured that he was sent to a hospital. In the meantime the other en- zines that had responded 10 the alarm had arrived and the firemen were busy rescu- ing people from the surrounding buildings. Bremen had already taken four girls down the only fire escape upon the building and more persons had been carried down the escapes of the Home Restaurant next door and the buildings adjoining on Warren street.
 The Second Explosion
 The second explosion occurred about five minutes after the first The building seemed to leap into the air and in a mo- ment masses of brick walls, timber and stones were falling into the street. The force of the explosion tore away the walls of the big commission house fronting on Washington street and caused them to col- lapse, falling all around in a mass of ttm- bers boxes and barrels, from which the flames which burst out of the Tarrant building like the belchng of cannon at once broke forth. Across Warren street 10 --~~~~~~~~~~~~~-~~~~~
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