The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1901-12-28
TEN BURN TO DEATH:
Awful Result Of Exp,osisa at ~
Blast Furnace.
wsrkmen Set Ahre ~ . xhswer 81
Molten Metal-Ten Lose VAeir
Lives and Four Are
Injured.

Pittsburg, Pa, Dec. 20.--Ten men
were burned to death and four In
1ured by an explosion of gas at tho
Soho furnace of Jones & Laughlin,
Limited, in Second avenue near Brady
street Thursday night. The explosion
the gas and flames belching upward
through the bell. The men were ON
1.-THE furnace platform. sS feet above
the ground. The victims are as fol-
lows:
DEAD-Andrew Seih. 20 years OF age. sin
gle; George shisul. 20. wife and two chill
dren; George Semago, Is. single: Michael
Atleo. 2. single; Michael Gasdovicz. g.
| wife and three children: John Marcy, q.
| wife and three children: John Kerecke, q,
single; Joseph Frankowicx, Ss. single: John
Kiochanka. r. single: George vaiigo. y.
| wife and three children.
INJURED-John Yonsho. Is. single, not
expected to recover. frightfuiit burned
about face and body; John Sabol. Is, not
expected to recover. burned all over body:
Michael Petrovich, q, will recover; John
| Trolosky.
| Cause of the Disaster.
There were 10 men on the furnace
when the explosion occurred. Fifteen
| 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
incased in crust Of cinder forming
at the bottom of the furnace. A
wheelbarrow containing ore had been
nm n xxha
went to dump it into the beH 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.
The Is laborers, all Hungarians, were
then sent up to assist them. Had it
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.
Panic Among the Men.
When the gas let go, panic ensued
on the small Platform about the top.
The men made rush for the elevator,
but it had gone down, and there was
no escape. The jump meant death. and
to remain on the platform was just as
certain doom.
The tons of molten metal and flames
fell upon them, and burned ten men
TO death. Their bodies dropped to
the roof of the mill, IS feet below,
every bone broken and an unrecog-
niZable mass of human flesh.
Ambulances Called.
Hurry calls were sent TO the police
and morgue.- Patrols from all sec
tions arrived before seven o'clock, and
the morgue wagon was with, them.
The bodies of some of the dead and
many of the injured were strewn about
the yard beneath the furnace, some Of
the dead having fallen from the slip
perry roof to the ground.
To remove the dead from the roof
of the mil it was found necessary to
get hook and ladder No. 10. and the
fremen carried the burned, charred
and misshapen masses of humanity to
the morgue wagon and placed them
in.
Eye-witnesses say that il was the
messed. They say that when the ex-
plosion took place there was one
great report and the murlsy heavens
were illuminated with a great sheet
of flame, showing the men on top of
the furnace running about, gesticu-
lating wildly. The flames and hot
metal looked like volcano in ac-
ton. Five of the men were blown
off the top of the furnace and.
strange as it may seem, these men
are the ones that are still living.
The others hung on the railing, some
on the outside, others on the inside,
until their clothing was burned OF.
Two OF the victims hanging on the
outside held on and remained tena-
ciously 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 were completely denuded Of
clothes by the flames and their bod
les were burned almost to q crisp.
Lives of Pedestrians Imperiled.
Hundreds of pedestrians on SECOND
avenue had narrow escapes from in
slant death when the explosion oc-
CURED. Tons of ore, coke and hot
cinders, and some pieces weighing al
most three pounds, rained down ON
Second avenue, and many had to run
into houses and stores for protec-
ton.
General Manager J. II. Laughlin said
that the accident was one of the most
disastrous that had ever occurred in
the history of the company.
Both Are Dead.
Centreville, Tex, Dec. SOL. 7.
Exum, farmer living near here, went
home and when his wife objected to