The evening times., 1900-09-12

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 1.-Two dead,
six seriously some perhaps fatally, iujur-
ed and q score more with hurts OF a trl-
vial nature-are the results of an explosion
OF one of the tubes in boiler yesterday
afternoon IN the Seventeenth Street shop
of the Baldwin Locomotive Works 1t was
an accident so peculiar in its nature that
the men in charge Of the shop are yet un.
willing TO hazard an explanation for it.
The list of killed and injured follows:
Dead, james, MuIcahy, twenAy- four years
old, and Dennis Delaney, thirty eight
years of age; died last night in hospital.
Injured, Andrew Burns. forty-eight years
old; James Kelly. thirty-two years old;
Harry McGuinn, twenty-nine years old:
Adolph HoeschIer thirty-four years old;
Patrick McGonagle, thirty-six years old,
and James Smith, twenty-five years old.
1t was in one o: four boilers that com
pose the battery that operates the Seven
teerth Street shops in which the explosion
occurred. This shop, known as the tender
shop. is 5rgely devoted to the manufac-
ture of exterior fittings for locomotives
Recently Burnham, Williams & Co., have
been fitting up the boilers or rather the
fire boxes under them, with a device in
tended TO obviate the smoke nuisance,
about which there has been much com
plant. Most OF the injured men were
steam filters, in the employ of the Baldwin
Works, who had been putting the finishing
touches on the boiler construction. The
work was completed and It was announced
that the boilers were ready 10 start up. Be
fore they were fired, however, they were
inspected by the agent Of a boiler insur-
ance company
At thirty minutes after l O'Clock there
was a loud explosion in the fire box and
the room was filled with scaIding sseam
and hot Goals. Some of the men nearest
the door escaped with slight injuries. 9th
ers We're so badly injured that the flesh
was fairly scalded from their chests and
arms.
Mulcahy was so terribly burned that
he died before he could be removed 10 a
hospital All Of those given in the list
above with the exception OF HoeschIer
/ were scalded by steam or burned by live
Goals HoesChIeT's injuries were only in
! directly due to the explosion. He was
working over circular saw in one Of the
shops. The explosion caused a stoppage
of machinery and heavy block of wood
TO fly up and strike him in the face. in
fiCting severe cuts and bruises.
An alarm of fire was turned in when the
accident occurred and police patrols from
; the Wood Street sub-station were hurried
to the scene. There Were so many injured
requiring immediate attention that a wag-
on was pressed into service as an ambu-
| lance All of the injured, with the excep-
ticn OF McGuinn, who was taken TO the
Hahnemann, were removed TO the Medico-
, ChirurgicaI Hospital
When the injured had been removed the
boiler room was closed and rigid enquiry
was begun by superintendent Justis john
son, who was in charge of the tender
shops. This has not been completed.
Speaking for Burnham. Williams & Co.
Allan B. johnson. member of the firm
said: We do not yet know what caused
the accident. So far as we can learn one
of the circulating tubes that extend down
into the fire box burst. There must have
been a flaw in the welding. The tubes
were part of a device we are putting in to
abate the smoke nuisance Before the ac-
cident the boiler had been inspected by
| the boiler insurance company that insuTes
our plant and after the usual tests was
pronounced safe.
The men employed about the shops
where the accident occurred can throw
| very little light on the cause of the acct
| dent At lie office CO the insurance com
pany that nad inspected the boiler state.
ment was refused.