Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1901-03-15
TERRIFIC EXPLOSION.
Boiler In n Chicago Laundry Bursts--
Eight Employees Killed and
Many Injured.

Chicago, March 12.-By the terrific
explosion of an old secondhand boiler
that had been inspected only once in
four years the Doremus laundry build
ing at 45s West Madison street was
blown to pieces shortly after eight
o'clock Monday morning. Nearly two
score persons were buried in the de-
bris. Eight bodies taken from the
ruins are at the county morgue, while
the injured list runs well up toward
so. Eight persons are still missing,
and their bodies are supposed to be in
the ruins. Abraham +. Doremus, gen.
eral manager of the laundry, is in the
hands of the police. The dead are
George Phil, Catherine Kelly, Minnie
Olson, Frank Hannemann, Bessie Ku
caba, Katheryne Voss, Martha Jocobi,
| Emma Sebreska.
The Doremus laundry was one of the
sublaundries of the Sanitary Laundry
company. 1t was on the south side of
Madison street, between Loomis and
Throop streets, and 65 persons, mostly
women, were employed in the estab-
| lishment. As near as could be
|
ployes were at their places at eight
o'clock.
The explosion came at S:15 o'clock.
There was a frightful roar, and the
roof of the building sailed into the
air. Bricks flew out through the front
Office and broke shop windows across
the street. Wooden beams, pieces of
twisted iron and debris of every de-
scripton shot out over the tops of
the walls and were hurled into the
vacant lots in the rear. Strangely
enough, the walls did not fall when
the roof first left them, but they
parted at the corners, swayed out,
and then all, with the exception of
the east wall, tumbled in. When it
swayed out the east wall struck the
wall of the adjoining building, the old
Waverly theater. which has been used
of late as barracks for the Volunteers
of America. The moment the walls
touched persons who witnessed it say
that they both crumbled and fell to-
gether.
Aside from its pitifulness the sight
which met the eyes of the firemen as
the smoke and dust settled was re-
voting. All about on the ends of
the timbers were hair, blood and
pieces of flesh. On the end of one
beam hung the entire scalp of wom-
an with the blood still dripping from
it. Wedged and crushed in between
timbers were the mangled forms of
the dead and injured. In n short time
injured men and girls were being car
ried from the wrecked building to
neighboring drug stores, where doc
tors were called to attend them. Am
balances and patrol wagons from all
over the city soon arrived and the
work of conveying the injured to the
hospitals was put under way. After
nearly 20 persons had been taken
from the ruins the police and fire.
men were unable to see any others
in the debris. yet from beneath the
wreckage could be heard means and
cries. Locating point whence a cry
came. the firemen with their axes
would go to work and dig down to-
ward the sufferers, stopping to catch
cry or a groan for a guide to
work by.
The shock of the explosion was felt
for nearly 4 mile in every direction
Buildings on both sides of Madison
street, in Throop street and Waverly
place were shaken to their founda.
tions. Scores of plate glass windows
were shattered, while the sashes ot
smaller windows were left without q
piece of glass in them.