Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-10-30
rant building like the belching of a
cannon, at once broke forth.

explosion demoishing windows and all
wooden work about the houses. In a
moment Warren street was chOked up
with a mass of debris and the whole
place was aflame.
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
arriving from every direction. Deputy
Chief Ahearn came about two minutes
after the second series of explosions,
and he at once ordered a fifth alarm
sent out, followed by a general call for
ambulances. The explosion and fire to-
gether had now assumed the proper
lions of a great catastrophe and it was
at 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 to see what had happened.
The heads of city departments con-
cerned in the many sided disaster hur-
ried to the scene of the fire. Chief
Devery, Of the police department, with
deputy chief, Mclaughlin and lnspec-
tor Brooks and Captain MeClusky, of
the detective bureau, were on hand, but
a few minutes after Fire Choef Croker,
Commissioner Scannell, of the fire de-
partment, Deputy Bremen, of the
charities department, in which the
city's hospitals are included and Supt.
Dooner, of the buildings department,
were soon on me scene.
Half an hour after the explosion the
streets for blocks around the fire were
crowded with fire apparatus, with a
score of ambulances, while hundreds of
police were being rushed from all the
lower precincts of the city to form
lines, and many priests from nearby
parishes were going here and there in
the smoke obscured thoroughfares,
seeking for injured wh1 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.
The second explosion carried des-
truction in every direction. That it
did not cause a wholesale loss of life
was due to the fact that almost ten
minutes warning came after the first
cry of fire-a cry that was real warn
ing to the people who knew the char
acter of the chemicals in the burning
building-and fully five minutes oc-
Cured between the first and minor eX-
jlOsion which warned every one with
in hearing and the second one.
just After the Outbreak
of fire from the windows of the build
Ing a downtown, bound train stop
ped at Warren street station of the
Ninth avenue elevated road. II pass
ed 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 fed across the
structure carrying with him the re-
ceipts of the day and his unused tick
cts, while two women who had stop
ped on the platform to watch the fire
frightened by the first explosion, fed
down the down town tracks, assisted
by the station porter, who took them
to the Barclay street station in safety
The big explosion completely carried
away the station and the mass of ma
sonry that fell with it broke through
the flooring and almost demolished
the structure just below the building
Immense masses Of masonry, pieces
or cornice, great beams, window cas-
ings and an understandable mass of
wreckage of every description tum-
bled suddenly into the street in front
Of the building all at once. The force
of the explosion below had thrown
the fremen back across the street so
that they were not caught, but their
escape from the rain of debris was
almost miraculous.
The wreckage was thrown across
through the windows of the buildings
in which the Irving National bank is,
on the northeast corner of the streets
The Offices of the Irving bank and Of
Meclem Bros. bankers and brokers,
were nearly wrecked
President Fancher. of the Irving
bank. was away on business at the
time of the explosion, but Vice Presi-
dents Charles H. Mattlage and John
w. Castro, Cashier James A. Denni-
son and Assistant Cashier Benjamin
F. Werner. Paying Teller Wm. Dun
lap and Adjuster Van Zeidt, were
present.
At the first explosion an attempt was
made to
Gather All the Money and Paper
that was lying on the counters togeth-
er and throw it into the safes, and it
was supposed that this had been done
when the second explosion brought
flying glass and plasterings from the
lighted ceilings down about the heads
OF everybody and caused them to es-
cape in a hurry. Captain McCluskey.
of the detective 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 vault, the door of
which was supposed to be unlocked.
When the captain and his men went in,
however, they found about ten thous-
and dollars scattered in confusion over
counters and floor This was hastily
thrown into the vault and the door
locked
President Fancher, of the bank. ar
rived within a few minutes of the start
of the fire and was nearly hysterical
when he found what had happened.
BY half-past two, however, the direc-
tors of the bank had met and posted
a sign in the window stating that the
bank would do business tomorrow.
Down in Mecklem Bros. office in the
basement. there were II. c. Mecklem
md his brother William with Frank
HppEen hary a how Tboonoc