New-York tribune., 1901-06-22
EXPLOSION DEALS DEATH.
FOURTEEN BODIES RECOVERED AND
THREE STILL. IN THE RUINS.
DEADLY WORK OF FLAMES AND CONCUS-
SION IN A FIREWORKS STORE
AT PATTERSON. y. J.

AT PATTERSON, y. j.
Paterson, N j.. June II (SpeclaD.-An ex
plosion IN a store where fireworks are kept. No
40 Nain-st. this city. caused the loss Of at
least fourteen lives and serious injury TO many
others. besides doing considerable damage 20
property. The building IS three story brick
structure with a seventy five foct frontage. The
fireworks store IN the centre of ;he build
ing It was occupied by a. NJ. Rttenburg.
whose family lived in the Of the store.
Some Of the family are stlll missing.
THE DEAD
ADAMsON. Mrs.
BAMRFR
BAMBUR. --. months old.
BURNS Clarence yeas old found casped in mothers
TI rms Mrs
DUFFY Mrs. Mary.
FJISASSER. william. six weeks Cd.
EI.vIN. Mrs. and her baby.
FENTIMEN. Mrs
LANNrGAN Mrs
RGTTENBURG Harold year old.
WILLIAMS. Charles.
WILLIAMS. Mrs.
THE MISSING.
znrAIES Mrs. mother of Mrs. Rittenburs. siH'y-hvs
The injured at st. Joseph's Hospitals
BANNER Isaac head and face burned.
HIIIMAN Nicholas Clifton. head
JEssoP Joseph severely bruised about the head and
body.
JEssOP. Mrs. bruised and cut.
MGIoNE. Michael suffering from shock caused by jump
ing from n window.
MGIoNB. Mrs. who also Jumped from window.
o'RIr.Ns John sohooI5oy Haledon. ana burned
sILNGLAND Edward. fireman injured by fallns walls
SOBER. George. schooboy Stony Road. head severely
No one can tell the cause OF the explosion 1t
occurred at 1890 o'clock and blew out the en-
tire front OF the store with terrific force The
noise could be heard in remote parts Of the city.
The glass and debris were blown across the
street. and small boy who was in front of the
building was carried across the street by the
concussion. People the street near the store
were thrown down. Others living In the neigh
borhood. who at dinner at the time. were
thrown from their seats to the floor Windows
in houses a block distant were blown out.
second explosion followed almost Immediately
after the first but 1t not violent.
BODY BURNED TO a CRISP
Fire broke out in several parts Of the building
almost at the same time. and a panic ensued
Mrs Williams who lived on the second floor
over the Rittenburg store, rushed into the yard
in flames. Several residents in Marsha-st. in
the of Main-st ran to her assistance, but
Mrs. Williams dropped dead. Her body was
burned to a crisp. Charles Williams. her hus-
band, who cripple vas found dead in bed,
after the fire eXtinRuished.
Mrs William Adamson, who also lived on the
second floor jumped from the window and was
killed. Her body found in the yard where
she fell
on the third floor lived Michael McGlone and
his wife. They thrown to the floor by the
explosion. When they tried to get out their
cape was cut off by the flames. Mctilone rushed
to the front window and raised it. He assisted
his wife out the sill, and about to jump
with her when the crowd cried 10 him to wait
until one Of the fire crews spread a net Nc
Clone held his wife In her perilous position for
Al fTanfa hGVo fh.a nat rnz
McGlone jumped and safely caught. Nc
Clone followed. amid the greatest excitement.
John Phalon fifteen years Old was in the rear
Of the building at the time. He knocked
unconscious by the flying debris and the con-
cusson. Isaac Bamber, who lived at No. 43S
Main-st., was badly burned. He said that he
did not know how he got out of the burning
building.
Thomas Healy. of Slater-st was standing at
Slater and Main SITS. when the explosion oc-
CURED. He rushed into the building and up
stairs to help the panicstricken people. AS he
upstairs the second explosion occurred, and
there upheCval of the stairs but Healy
kept on. Reaching the second floor, he IA
a dining and found number of persons
lying the floor stunned and bleeding. They
had been at dinner and had been thrown - the
floor by the force of the explosion. Healy seized
the inanmate form OF woman and carried II
downstairs, where she was taken in charge by
other women. Then Heay hurried back and
helped TO carry others out until the fire grew
too fierce to permit such work. Heay and his
helpers were covered with blood when the flames
drove them away.
PERISHED IN THE RUINS.
James Laningan, twelve years old, had q
miraculous escape. lie lived the third floor
with Andrew Elvin. He says that they
sitting at the table when he felt the floor heave
Then everything seemed to slip away from
him and the next thing he knew he lying
in the cellar in the ruins. He smoke m
ing through a hole, and he crawled through the
hole into the open air Mrs, Elvin and her two
months-od baby Annie Laningan, eighteen
years old and Mrs. Annie Fentim. ffty-six
years old mother OF Mrs. Elvin who were in
the room with young Laningan. were all en-
quilted in the wreck and perished In the ruins.
1t was time before the fremen could do
effective work in stopping the flames. The
structure burned like tinder, and the work OF
rescue was so urgent and manifold that the fire
men were beset with the difficulties OF the stua-
ton The building burning half an hour
before the fire had been overcome sufficiently
TO allow an entrance TO the building next door
10 Rittenburg's. While the iremen were going
into the building the whole first story OF the