Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1901-11-27
THAT BOILER EXPLOSION
Details of the Terrible Accident in a.
Detroit Factory in Which Four n.
teen Lives Were Lost .:
The Building Total Wreck and
Scores of Employees Buried
in the Ruins. ., ~ i.
Ruins Take Fire and Burn FierceIy
Before the Work of Rescue r
q
Is Completed. ul .;:sg*.

hundred men who began their days
work in the factory of the Penberthy
Injector company are victims of an ex-
plosion of the large boiler situated in
one end of the structures in which they
Were at work. OF these IA are known
to be dead and the bodies Of several
others are believed to be beneath the
debris.
The boiler was located in one end of
a three-story brick building, 81 by 150
feet in size. The structure was in
stantly and completely reduced. to a.
mass Of burning ruins. The only men
On the first floor, which was largely
utilized as storeroom, were the en-
gineers, firemen and some workmen
who were making alterations. All OF
these were either killed or badly
manned. On the second floor were IS
finishers; on the third were rs brass
moulders. just how many escaped
from this building is not yet determin-
ed, but up to 1 o'clock SO injured had
been taken to hospitals and IL dead
bodies had been gotten out of the
ruins.
The ruined building was separated
from the other portion of the factory
by an alley way. A portion Of the
wall of the second building was blown
in but none Of the inmates were Sc
riously hurt. Samuel Riley, the en-
gineer, was taken from the ruins an
hour after the explosion. He had been
pinned under heavy shaft and his
face was cooked by the flames and he
was badly injured. He was, however,
still alive, though unable to explain
the cause of the disaster. AS soon as
news Of the explosion spread anxious
| relatives of the employees crowded to
the scene and struggled to enter the
ruins in search of the missing.
Work OF Rescue Begun.
removing the hot debris as rapidly as
possible and ropes were hastily
stretched across the intersection of
back the excited crowds. Most of the
injured were hurried to Emergency
hospital, four blocks distant.
Hugh Guy, city boiler inspector, says
that his deputies inspected the boil
ers in the Penberthy plant on July
and II last. There we're four boilers
in the plant, two horizontals and two
uprights. They were in use on alter
nate days and supposedly were we'll
cared for.
While the number of missing has
narrowed somewhat during the after
noon, it is certain that several bod
les are still undiscovered.
President Johnson nf the Penherfhy
company is making a systematic
messenger boys to their homes. He
were two testing boilers in the plant,
also one 100-horse power upright and
one 100-horse power tubular.
II am satisfied he said. that it was
the latter which exploded. The boil
only week ago that the boiler test
er complimented us on our careful en-
gineer."
The property loss amounts to $780,
200.
Riley, who lies in Grace hospital in a
sciousness, were:
How did it happen? Everything
was all right with the boiler and en-
gine as far as I knew"
The 14th body was taken from the
ruins during the afternoon.
Later two more bodies were recov-
cred from the ruins. They were lying
side by side under section of the roof
which had fallen in. They were SO
badly burned as to be unrecognizable.