The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-27
DETROIT'S HORROR
rwENTY-sIx MEN KILLED III
BOILER EXPLOSION.
FACTORY BUILDING WRECKED
WOUNDED NUMBER TwENrY-sEv'
EN- AND MANY ARE MISSING.


Injector Company's Plant Brought
sudden and Terrible Death.
Floors Forced Upward, Then
Crashed Down with Their Heavy
Loads of Machinery and Impris-
oned the Helpless Occupants-Fire
Added TO the Horror of the Ca
tastrOphe.
Detroit, Mich, Nov. 6.-Twenty-six
men are dead, five of them unidentified
and so terribly burned and blackened
that identification is almost imposs-
BILE. and twenty-four other men are ly-
ing in the various hospitals of this
city. Following are the names of
the dead:
A. E. Hoffman, Louis Henning, Pat
rick Malloy, A. E. Miller, Eugene Ber-
tram, r. Mulkee, Joseph Coffey,
Charles Marvin, Joseph Koseck, Steph-
en- Chrisp. George Schenor, Charles
Lydy, Jacob Keobel, William Mann,
Christopher Walman, Robert Greer,
Edward Burch, John Schaible, h;chard
Ryan, Douglass Dickinson, boy, Peter
Boil, and eighteen men not located.
iured in hospitals, dozen or more of
the employees who suffered compara-
lively slight injuries, aside from the
shock, were taken to their homes.
Twenty-Five men and boys have not
as yet been located either at their
homes or at the hospitals. The ten un-
identified bodies account for ten of
these, and the officers of the company
say they feel positive that the major
portion of the remaining fifteen are
by tonight at their homes.
Tonight a great force of men is
searching the ruins by electric light
and the work will not be stopped un-
til every foot has been examined.
The Penberthy Injector Company's
plant occupied half a square at the
corner of Abbott street and Brooklyn
avenue. 1t was composed of two brick
buildings, separated by a sixteen foot
alley. The rear building, in
which the boiler was located,
and which was completely destroyed,
was three stories in hight. tifty-four
feet in depth and 100 feet wide. The
boiler room was located at the north
west corner of the building on the
first floor. 1t was in this building that
most of the manufacturing was done.
The first floor was utilized as the en-
gfne and boiler room and a room for
testing the output of the plant. The
finishing and brass manufacturing de-
partment was located on the second
floor, and the third floor was devoted
to the foundry. 1t is impossible to tell
exactly how many men were at work
in the various departments of this rear
building when the explosion occurred,
but the officers insist that the number
was not over S5 There were four
boilers in the plant, horizontal ones.
which furnished steam for the engines
and two vertical boilers, which were
used solely to test injectors. 1t was the
hc .ontal boiler which was in use this
morning which let go and caused the
awful loss of life.
With the Roar of Cannon.
The crash came without the slightest
warning. Those in the front building
said it seemed like the concussion of
an immense cannon. The roof and floors
OF the rear building bulged upward
and then crashed down with their
heavy loads of machinery and foun-
dry apparatus. Walls roof and all
dropped into a shapeless mass of de-
bris Windows in houses for a block
around were broken by the concussion,
and flying bricks filled the neighboring
yards. A dense cloud of dust arose. and
as it settled and was succeeded by
denser clouds Of smoke and steam,
agonized cries began to come from the
heap of tangled wood, metal and bricks.
Those who were only partly buried
frantically dug themselves out and
then as energetically turned to digging
for their comrades who were buried
deeper Flames broke out almost inn
mediately and the horror of fire was
added to the suffering of the imprison-
I'D ones.
A fire alarm was turned in and
quickly responded to. Calls were sent
out for all the ambulances in the city,
and they were hurried to the scene.
Pending their arrival neighboring
houses We're turned into temporary
hospitals, and those physicians who
were in the vicinity eased the sufferers
as much as they were able. The first
anbulances on the scene were totally
inadequate to carry those who had al
ready been extricated, and express
wagons and similar vehicles were
pressed into service.
AS soon as the gravity of the acci-
dent were realized calls for additional
iiremen were sent in and the appara-
tus came flying to the scene from all
parts Of the city. While part OF the
nremen turned their efforts at the fire
which was burning fiercely in the CEN
Ter Of the wreck, the greater number
OF them seized axes and crowbars and
began prying out the victims who
rould be seen or whose faint cries were
audible.
The department of public works
vas notified of the horror and imme-
dlately sent all its available men and
norses to the scene.
In a comparatively short time all this
laDorers who could work 10 advantage
We're energetically throwing and pull
ing the debris out into Brooklyn ave-
nue., where IL was loaded into wagons
ana carried Off.
The floors and roof had fallen at ar
Hhgie and formed a sort OF huge cover
under which the IRE burned hercely
Not until the firemen had choppec
through this did their streams begiT
70 have an appreclable effect on IN,
hames. The sufferlngs OF those whs
We're buried beneath We're latel
mutely testified 10 By fheil
'Aarred and blaekened bodies.
The Engineers ENperlsnes.
Engineer Riley was among the hrsi
i' pe taken OUT of the wreck His -.
re was little short o. miraculous
nep the boiler iet 80 he was knoc kee
lht noor and one of The em0liel
.lnF boilers was blown over hli
shWaie form in Fach 8 way tha|
enc rested on nomf debris hlFi
ffe him thereby formlnF a ehiflf
hepi the falliaN f|mbers broki
N'-.nineff hoto crufainf him.