The Savannah morning news., 1900-10-30
EXPLOSION AND FIRE.
c,nl-nDel from ID DC.

sar az once. me toFec ot tht eAAkH-
9er.lsniue windows and an wooden
rr,. about the houses in mo-
.t S. IRON street was caokcl up wi
- debris md tac whole place was
r.. great explosion was followed
s.n IA dozen more. scarcely less IN
... ur % countless number Of small
wn. o. Great Catastrophe.
h time che lire appautus wa-
...l from every direction. Deputy
An,ru cnmc about two minutes
.eord explosion. and he at oree
-.l % Hf-1 alarm sent OUT, followed
..raruI call Tor amouiauccs.
.,.or.ou und fire together had
..um~I the proportions o. great
a.. and b. WIS at arst thought
.audrol ol hves had been lost.
uf people were rushing about in
SIS, streets. many OF them panic
Hre'ur from the Gre. Iney mia
.. fte crowd that was running down
..t ..lIiwly to s,e what had happened
ln hour after tho explosion the
.ar blocks around the fire were
..H With ure apparatus with score
e.Ilurrs while hundreds OF police
..u- rushed from an the lower pre-
~ tac cit 40 form lines. and many
nom nearby parishes Were going
I'D there iu the smoke o5scured
fares. seeking for injured who
..a thclr add From the burning
column ui smvEc Wa- rising
.. uir mingled with flames tnat
Boz controlled by hundreds of
thrown upon them
.Hnl explosion carried destruction
direction. That Il ala not cause
#.l. loss Of llfe was due 20 the
..l. almost ton minutes warning
otter the frs cry OF fre-a cry that
real warning 90 people who knew
character OF fhe chemicals iu the
ul.. uuudiug-and fully five minutes
r..I between tho first and minor eX-
which warmed everyone within
e.rus AND the second one.
Nn ~" station Destroyed.
Ita after tho outbreak of fire from the
window. of the huldng downtown
bound uIu stopped at the Warren street
station ~ tho Ninth Avenue Elevated
ra4t !. p1=scd on iu time 90 esrapc tho
explosion ana tho few people who We're
let on thc platform OF tho station are
tnaaert go have an escaped before the
great sploslou came The citation master
fa1 a-Fo=s the stgeaiase carrying with
ism che receipts OF che dly ana his am
usei tickets while two women. who had
rtopp.i on tine platform 20 watch the
nre. frightened by the first explosion,
fled down the town tracks. assisted by
the eraaon porter who took them 10 the
Barclay street station in safety. The cN-
ploai0n completely carried away the sta
don, and the mass ~ masonry that Eel
with lt broke through the nooring and al
most demolished the structur, just below
the building
Immense masses % masonry pieces
ot e0ruIcc great beam. window
esslngs. ANA an understandable mass
oi wrcchasc Of every description
tambled suddenly lnto the stree.
% front ~ the binding Tho force
at thc explosion below had thrown the
fremcn back across The street so that
tney We're not caught. but their escape
from The rain 81 debris across the street
F1s almost miraculous
hank nuiIding Wrecked.
The wrcclSage was thrown across
iarough me windows % the building IN
which tho Irving National Bank IS To-
ated On the northeast corner Of the
..re.ts. Tho offices OF the Irving Bank
and OF Mecicm BROTHERS. bankers and
brokers. were nearly wrecked.
President F1n,hcr OF the Irving Bank
was away on business ar the time Of the
explosion. tuf Vice President Charles u
Maftare ana John ". Castro cashier
fatnes A Dtunisau aud Assistant Cashier
Htniamln r. Werner. paving teller
William Dunlap. and Adjuster Nanzeidi
were present
"a Tho nrst explosion an attempt was
made to gather all the money aud papers
.hat were ivirg on the counters. together.
.rI 60 throw thcm into the safes and II
was aupnosed that this had been done.
when tho second explosion brought hy-
ing glass ana p.lsfering from tho skyiisht-
81 ceilings d1wu about the heads Of every
BODY ana caused them to escape 10 bur
~ Capt McCuskey 81 tne detective hu-
NIB. hffrrIrH ff. HIH.T of
las STAFF 20 the IRE was appealed 40 20
ufateet tho funds 1T the bank. he being
rold that thcv were iu the vault, the door
Of which was supposed % be unlocked.
When tho captain ana bis men went IN.
however. they found about $1,000 scattered
iu confusion over the counters aud hoor.
This was hastily thrown iut" the fahit
ana tho door locked
President Fancher Of the bank. arrived
within a. few minutes Of the start 90 ne
me ana was nearly hystcriell when he
found what had happened. BY half-past
o'clock, however. The directors 81 tae
bank had met lul posted sisn in the
window STATING nat tae bank would 20
ha-iue-s tomorrow
Down in Mellon Brothers offices IN the
basement there wore 81. e.. Mec.cm ard
his brother william. with Frank Heeken-
berry. q boy Thomas Hackett a clerk.
another man named Bruce and some ~ Us.
among them Ellen Ndnbtcn ana My
nauklemnnn When the hrc broke out
$4,000 300 money lay unon the counters
Heekerb,rry was statiot "a az the door
while this was gathered together for put
ting IN tho vault
Restaurant Patrons Escaped.
The nrst explosion filed tho place with
.liphurous smoke that nearly phyNiated
,verybody The second explosion blew IN
tne windows and cue the two Aeoleme
riously The boy Hcckenberry found
ME two girls lying in a heap. tiin'ed
sau lie carried them out 90 place
safety The others, when they came
.. their senses. gathered the money from
fe floors. put u IN cigar boxes ara ca'-
tI il GO Waddcll q Co.'S.
The FIRST reports Of che hrc tnat went
..f we're that the Tarfant building IN Us
a.I mad crushed down upon two crowded
taurnuts ana buried probably a hun
.f-l or more 90 each. Subsequent eN-
animation showed that II any per
were cnusht in those places
Raa tho kitchen help and
.rs Few outsiders u anybody Tho
Iltrous OF the Homemade Restaurant
N#at by "a man named Buckley. were 10
-. most Imminent danger but witnesses
slT Is. escaped. and after the flames sub
#.a e cicnr view could be got into the
d.I.ue room. ana no bodies were seen.