Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1901-06-22
Woman Sacrifices Her Life in
Vain Attempt to Save Grip
pied Husband
BUILDING is A TOTAL WRECK
BOV Playing in the Street Half a
Block AWAY Hurled Against
Iron Fence

Paterson, N. j.. June 22.-Seventeen
people are believed to have been killed
and number were injured yesterday
as the result of a fire following an ex-
plosion among a quantity of fireworks
In TIE store of Abraham NJ. Rittenburg.
In this city. The store was on the
ground floor of a tenement building
The cause of the explosion is not
known and the property loss will not
exceed $4,000.
The bodies found are: Mrs. Charles
Williams, burned while trying to res
cue her husband; Charles Williams
helpless cripple; Harold Rittenburg
10 months old, child of the keeper Of
the fireworks store; Willie Elsasser,
years old, mother kept baker store;
Mrs. Bert Bamber, whose husband is
In hospital; " Bamber, months
old; Mrs. Andrew Elyln, head only
found. trunk missing; Clarence Burns.
6 years old, found elapsed in his moth
er's arms; Mrs. Anna Burns. the moth
or; Mrs. Annie Lannigan, Mrs. Mary
Duffy, Mrs. Lucinda Adamson.
The missing: Joseph Elvin, 2 weeks
old, mothers head found; Mrs. Anne
Fenteman; two nephews of Mrs. Lam
nigan. whose body has been found;
Mrs Mary Elsasser kept baker shop.
child's body found
Eight persons were seriously iniur-
ed, as follows; Mr.. J. Jessup, bruised
about the head and body and burned
about head; Mrs. ]. Jessup, bruised
and burned about the body; l. Bamber
head and face burned; George Soder,
head severely cut; Nicholas Hillman.
cut on head; Fireman Edward Sling
land, injured by falling wall; Mr.. and
Mrs. John McGlone, burned about face
and bodies
A number Of people received mino7
injuries but went to their homes.
The explosion occurred shortly after
noon. and many of the occupants Of
the building were out at dinner. The
building In which the explosion occur
red was a frame tenement four stories
high. with stores on ground floor.
The middle store was occupied by Rit-
tenburg Ten families occupied flats
in the building
So great was the force of the ex-
plosion that boy playing in the street
half block away was lifted from his
feet and hurled against an iron fence
One of his legs was broken. A trolley
car was directly in front Of the build
Ing when the explosion occurred. The |
burst of flame blown out into the |
street scorched the sides of the car
and singed the passengers.
A number of those who were on the !
upper floors of the building when the |
explosion took place were either stun
ned and then burned to death or found |
escape cut off and were suffocated. |
After the first explosion there were a
series OF smaller ones, and then came
a second big explosion, which was
mulled and deadened, and probably oc- |
CURED in the cellar
Every window seemed to be emitting
flame within a minute after the first
explosion. A woman. her clothing on
fire, leaped out of one of the windows
and fell to the yard below Her dead |
body was dragged out of reach of the |
flames. but the flesh was roasted and
dropped from the bones She later |
proved to be Mrs. Williams.
Mrs. Williams husband was a Grip
pie. His wife is supposed to have re-
mained longer than she could with
safety in an effort to save him. He
was found burned to a crisp on his bed
Some Of the occupants of the rooms
dropped from the windows and were
bruised; others hung from the win
dows until the firement came, and 20
persons were taken down in this way
throuhg the fire and smoke by the
hremen, while others dropped into life
nets.
Daniel Dooley, who was in the yard
when the explosion took place. saw the
two Rittenburg children in the rear
room and rushed into the flames for
them. He got one Of them and carried