Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1901-08-07
GASOLINE EXPLOSION
AT PHILADELPHIA,PA
Six Persons Known to Have
Perished.
MANY MORE ARE MISSING

Six Buildings Were Blown to Atoms
and Scores of Others Were Wrecked
Firemen Searching the Ruins Fol
BOdies-Dtstressing Scenes.
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 6.-Six persons
are known to be dead as result of the
terrible gasoline explosion last night
which tore to atoms six buildings or
Locust street, between Tenth anC
Eleventh streets, and wrecked over {
score of others. AS to the number thai
yet remain in the ruins Of the wrecked
buildings all is mere speculation.
Only one of the six that perished has
been identified. This is Annie Harris
child years old, who lives at 1O15
Locust street, on the opposite side of the
street from the building in which the
explosion occurred.
The unidentified dead are; a child
about 2 years old. two women and q
man at the Pennsylvania hospital and q
man at the Jefferson hospital
Searching For Bodies.
It was O'Clock this morning before
the firemen after working hard all night
had the smouldering ruins sufficiently
cooled off to enable them to begin q
search for the bodies which are sup
posed to be beneath the wrecked build
ings.
Their attention was first directed tc
1913 Locust street, the building occupied
by Albert D. Mountain, grocer In this
building at the time Of the explosion
there were Robert and Dalton Noun.
tain and Lizzie Mountain, children OF
the proprietor of the store. None of
them have been accounted for.
No. 1916 Locust street was occupied
by Patrick Quigley as a grocery. Quig-
ley, his wife, three children and an
uncle were in the building when the
explosion occurred. The only one in
this family thus far accounted for is
Quigley and his uncle.
At 1914 Locust street George McClen.
ny, also conducted a small grocery 1t
was here that the explosion is thought
to have occurred. The building was
occupied by MoOlenny, his wife, a clerk
and a servant. At the time of the dis
aster Mrs. McClenny was visiting in
West Philadelphia, and the others are
thought to have been i'll the building.
Probably the greatest number per-
ished at 1919 Locust street. Here Will
liam Jones, negro, conducted q board
inghouse. He had q score of boarders,
but the number in the building at the
time cannot be learned positively. The
police officials say, however, that it is
probable that half dozen bodies will be
taken from the debris of this building
alone.
Blown Forty Feet.
At 1910 Locust street M. Rosenthal,
wife and five children lived. They es-
capped with broken limbs and contusions,
but the building was completely
wrecked. In the Rosenthal home was
bOarder named Frank Schmidt. He
was seated at q third story window
reading when the explosion occurred.
Schmidt was blown through the win
dow and landed on the top of a stable 40
feet from the wrecked buildings. He
escaped with few bruises.
Forty eight persons, all told, were
taken to the two hospitals close at hand.
OF this number six probably are fatally
injured, % are suffering from fractured
limbs and burns. while the injuries of
the others consist of slight cuts from
flying debris.
The building where the explosion is
supposed to have occurred is in the cen.
ter Of the group Of houses situated be.
tween Alder and Warnock streets,
small thoroughfares running parallel
with Tenth street. In this space on the
south side of Locust street the demoli-
tion Is complete, while on the opposite
side Of the street not pane of glass nor
door remained intact. The force of
the explosion was terrific.
The scene at the wreck and at the
hospitals this morning is sickening.
Persons who had relatives and friends
living in the wrecked structures are
standing weeping and almost distracted,
hoping that their loved ones may have
escaped terrible death, but fearful of
the worst
The work of searching in the ruins is
necessarily slow. There is a steady
downpour of rain, which makes the
debris hard to handle. The property
loss will amount to about $4,000, on
which there is small insurance,