The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1900-11-01
TERRIBLE DISASTER.
Flames and Explosives De.
stroy Life and Property.
DOWN TOWN NEW YORK SHAKEN.
Fire In Tnrrnnt's Wholesale Drug
store Reaches Chemicals. Caus-
ing Terrific Explosion-Un-
known Number killed.

NEW YORK, Oct. 30.-Not since the
disaster of the falling building in Park
place has there been such horror If
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 X
Co., druggist and chemists, as the start
ing point of destruction and the fear.
some center of interest. In less than 10
minutes, from - 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 ablazc. All the north
side of Warren street was down, swept
clean by the rear wall of the Tarrant
building as Ii was blown out by Il 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 atire 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 We're paved with
glass from windows and doors, whose
empty frames told of the force of tho
Quakes.
1t was not until 3 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.
At the time the explosion took place
Broadway was thrOnged. The full force
Of the explosion appeared to sweep up
Warren street and Park place. Simulta-
neously with the shaking of the earth
came three distinct blasts of hot air and
the smell of drugs. The hot air blasts
CAUSED people to throw their hands before
their eyes. At the corner of Broadway
and Park place an elderly lady was
thrown heavily to the sidewalk.
When lifted to her feet, she began to
cry Historically. Scores of women rush
ed to the east side of Broadway. Men
with blanched faces turned into Broad
way from Warren street, declaring that
hundreds of people had been killed and
that the danger was not yet over. To add
to the excitement horses attached to
heavy trucks reared when they felt the
earth tremble beneath them The panic
was over in few minutes, and then the
people turned to watch the debris which
had been carried up into the air by the
explosion.
A conservative estimate of the loss
places ii at $1,300,000. Forty buildings
were destroyed.