The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1901-06-27
DEATH AND DISASTER
Follow In Wake Of Two Terrific
Explosions Among Fireworks.
SIXTEEN LIVES REPORTED LOST
Many Narrowing Scenes Witnessed
While Building Burned-Force
Of Conclusion Was Felt
For Many Blocks.

been killed and a number injured Fri
Gay in a fire following a series Of ex.
plosions among quantity Of fireworks
in the store Of Abraham NJ. Rittenberg,
at Paterson, n. J. The store waS on
the ground floor Of four story frame
tenement building. The cause Of the
explosion IS not known. The property
loss will not exceed $4,000. =
The explosion occurred shortly af.
ter noon and many Of the occupants
Of the building were out at dinner. The
building in which the explosion &C.
Cured was a frame tenement, four
stories high, with stores on the ground
floor. The middle store was occupied
by Rittenberg. Ten families occupied
the fats in the building.
So great was the force Of the explo-
sion that boy playing in the street
half block away was lifted from his
feet and hurled against an iron fence.
One OF his legs was broken. A trolley
car was directly in front of the build
ing when the explosion occurred. The
burst of flame blown out into the street
scorched the sides Of the car and sing
ed the hair of the passengers.
A number of those who were on the
upper floors of the building when the
explosion took place were either stun
ned and then burned to death or found
escape cut of and were suffocated. Az
ter the first explosion there was a se-
ries of smaller ones and then came a
second big explosion, which was muf-
fed and deadened and probably occur
red in the cellar
Every window seemed to be emitting
flame within a minute after the first
explosion. A woman, with her cloth
ing on fire, leaped out Of one OF the
windows and fell to the yard below.
Her dead body was dragged out OF
reach of the flames, but the flesh was
roasted and dropping from the bones,
She later proved to be Mrs. Williams.
MRS. Williams's husband was Grip.
pie. His wife is supposed to have re-
malned longer than she could with
safety in an effort to save him. He
was found burned to a crisp in his bed.
Some of the occupants Of the rooms
dropped from the windows and were
bruised; others hung from the win
dows until the firemen came ana twen-
ty persons were taken down IN this
way through the fire and smoke by
the iremen, while others dropped into
life nets.
Dan Dooly, who was in the yard
, when the explosion took place, saw the
two Rittenberg children In the rear
room and rushed into the flames for
them. He got one Of them and carried
it out and tried to go back for the 9TH
er, but the room was then one mass
of fire and he was toe late. He was
baly scorched In rescuing the nrst
child.
While the rescues were going on the
firemen were fighting the flames. Cap
tain Allen led with a hose line in an
effort to keep the fire from the upper
floors, where it was said many were
uenned in. The men had hardly taken
their positions and begun on the side
walk 30 throw water into the upper
floor when without any warning, the
whose upper part OF the building above
them ssgged outward and fell. The
,,,to;n oDd two of his men were bu-
ried under the blazing debris. One OF
the men Is badly hurt. The building
in which the explosion occurred was
entirely destroyed.