The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-20
MINIATURE VOLCANO
MEN CAUGHT IN FIERY DEATH
TRAP AT PITTSBURG.
CRATER EXPL 0DED BENEATH.
WAS LIKE A SCENE FROM DANTE.s
INFERNO.


Sent Flames and Tons of Melted
Ore BeIching Upward-Fifteen In
experienced LabOrers We're
Caught nnd Died a. Fiery Death.
Thousands Saw Man Leap From
Tower, Blazing as He Fell, and
Burn to Death.
Pittsburg, Pa, Dec. 19.-Ten men
were burned to death and four injured
by an explosion of gas at the Soho
furnace of Jones & Laughlin, in Sec
ond avenue near Brady street to-day.
The explosion was caused by a slip IN
the furnace, the gas and flames belch-
ing upward through the bell. The
men were on the furnace platfrom So
feet above the ground.
There We're nineteen men on the fur
mace when the explosion occurred. F'if-
teen of them were caught in the flames
Two of them escaped with slight in
juries. The other four were the reg
ular men employed as top filters, and
escaped without injury. The explo-
sion was caused by the gas becoming
encased in a crust of cinder forming
at the bottom of the furnace A
wheelbarrow containing ore had been
sent up to the men, and when they
went to dump it into the bell of the
furnace, they pushed it over too far
and it rolled into the hopper. The
barrow weighed 900 pounds and was
too heavy for the four men to raise.
Tho IoV al
were then sent up to assist them. Had
1t not been for the barrow accident, no
one would have been hurt, as the reg
ular men know how to protect them
selves at such times, as similar ex-
plosions are of frequent occurrence.
The most distressing feature of the
accident was the burning of a man
named Frankowicz. He was seen by
the thousands of people who were on
their way to work, to run to the plat.
form railing and leap into the air. He
was a mass of flames as he went
through the air. He fell to the stock
yard shed and literally burned to death
before the eyes of the crowd, fifty feet
below, who had no way to reach him.
Tons of molten metal and flames fell
upon the men and burned ten of them
to death. Their bodies fell to the roof
OF the mill, S5 feet below, every bone
broken and an unrecognizable mass of
flesh.
Ordinarily only three men work on
top of the furnace, but this morning
about 6:15 o'clock one of the heavy
IRON wagons used in taking up the ore
to the top of the furnace got stuck on
the top of the structure and the three
men sent for assistance A few men
went up, but they could not move the
wagon and more went up, until the
number reached fourteen. 1t was
While they were trying to get the wag-
on released that the fatal explosion
TOOK place. All the men at work on
top of the furnaces were Slavs and
Poles.
Weird and Awful sight.
Eye witnesses say that il was the
most horrible sight they ever Witness
ed. They say that when the explosion
took place there was one great loud
report, and the heavens were illun1t-
mated with a sheet of flames, showing
the men on top of the furnace rum
nlng about, gesticulating wildly. The
hames and hot metal looked like n
volcano in action. Five of the men
We're blown off the top of the furnace
and' strange as it may Seem, these
men are the ones that are still liv-
ing. The others hung on the railing
some on the outside, others on the
inside, until their clothing was burned
OH. TWO of the victims hanging on the
outslde held on and remained tena-
clouSly clinging to the railing until
their fingers were burned off. They
then fell to the roof of the mill. dead.
seven OF the victims were found dead
on the platform of the cupola.
These We're completely denuded of
clothes by the flames and their bodies
were burned almost to a crisp.
Hundreds of pedestrians on Second
avenue had narrow escapes from death
when the explosion occurred Tons of
ore, coke and hot cinders, some pieces
weighing almost three pounds. rained
down on Second avenue and many had
to run into houses and stores for pro-
lection. Car No. 1863 of the Homestead
division was passing just at the time
the gas let go. The coke and other
material falling on the car which had
twenty-five passengers aboard, caused
a panic and many jumped off and
more would have followed had not the
GOODNESS of the conductor saved them
None of the passengers was in the
least injured, but all were badly scared
Over two tons of the debris fell on
Second avenue and force of fifty men
was put to work to clean off the tracks
Traffic was impeded. but within a half
hour after the accident all the tracks
were cleared.
The people residing about the fur
mace and for blocks on either side were
badly frightened. They rushed from
their homes and a few minutes after
the report had sounded throughout
Soho. thousands of people gathered
about the furnace.
Found 250 Yards Away.
Two OF the victims were found in the
stock yards Of the plant $50 yards from
the furnace. They were horribly burn
ed, but had they not been they would
have been killed by the force of such
a fall. Every bone in their bodies
seemed to be broken.
-s-o-s-