The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1901-08-09
KILLS SCORE
Tenants Caught Under Failing
Walls of Five Buildings.
FIRE BREAKS OUT IN DEBRIS.
Many Are Drawn From Wreckage
Just in<Time to Escape the Flames.
over Two Score More or Less In.
Iured-Work of Rescue.

over Two Score More or Less In
Iured-Work Of Rescue.
Philadelphia. Aug. CA terrific ex-
plosion in a block of six buildings on
Locust street, above Tenth, last night
completely wrecked five of the struct-
ures and caused the death of from ten
to twenty or more persons. Over two
score of others were more or less seri.
ously injured. Some of those taken to
the hospital will die. 1t is estimated
, that at least 35 persons were In the
five buildings when the explosion oc.
Cured, and the exact number of dead
will probably not be known for "a
hours.
What exploded and how 1t hap.
pened is not known, but 1t Is believed
to have been a barrel of gasoline In
one of the three grocery stores.
The buildings were occupied as fol.
lows: No. zoos, Housman's pool and
, billiard rooms; 1910, Morris Rosen.
that's second hand clothing store, occu.
pied by Rosenthal, his wife and five
children; 1912, William Jones, colored
restaurant, occupied by Jones and
, about Is boarders; 1914, George Nc.
Clemmy's grocery store. occupied by
McClemmy's clerk and servant girl;
1016, Patrick Quigley's grocery store,
' occupied by Quigley, his wife, three
children and his uncle; 1918, Albert
Mountains grocery store, occupied by
Mountain, mother sister and clerk.
The explosion occurred about $3.50
o'clock. With the explosion of 1908
the front walls of the buildings were
blown outward into the street while
the floors and the roofs were blown
upward and fell straight to the ground.
Almost every building in a radius of
two blocks about the scene Of the eX.
plosion had window panes shattered
and was otherwise damaged. Every
building on the opposite side of Lo.
Gust street was more or less wrecked,
but none of them fell.
A terrible cry went up from the ruins
the moment the explosion occurred.
Women, children and men, occupants
of the wrecked houses, could be seen
crawling from the debris, while agoniz.
ing cries of others were heard in the
wreckage. From all the surrounding
cummings ihJuiSu pSopiS SohiS I'LL
and fell into the street unconscious
To add to the horror, fire broke out
In the debris the moment it settled to
the ground, and in less than five min.
utes the great pile was burning fierce.
ly from end to end. A general alarm
was turned In for fire apparatus and
ambulances, and in the meantime the
work of rescue was voluntarily begun
by those in the neighborhood that
were not injured. Here and there. a
person vas dragged from the ruins
before the fire could reach the victim,
several lives being saved by this
prompt work. When the firemen
reached the scene the flames had
reached great Roadway and were ignit,
ing the buildings across the street.
The fire, however, was ~eXtinguished in
a few minutes.
The work of digging away the
ruins was begun in earnest Near the
edge of the debris several colored men
were taken out and sent to the hos.
pitfalls. While the firemen and police.
men were digging in the debris and
hauling away heavy timbers in sew.
eral sections of the wreckage, cries
were heard coming from the cellar of
Mountains grocery store. Fifty men,
with rope and tackle, were immediate.
ly put to work at that point, and pulled
away the roofing and flooring which
had fallen into a massed heap. From
the bottom of the pile, doubled up
were taken a man and a woman. The
man was able to speak, but the WON,
an was apparently dead.
While the work of rescue was go
Ing on in the exploded block, hospital
attendants and others made a search
of all the damaged houses on the oppo
site of the street and almost a score
OF persons were taken to various hos
pitfalls from these places.
The Jefferson and the Pennsylvania
hospitals, which are located nearest
to the scene of the explosion, were
soon crowded with the injured. Two
J hundred men are now at work .clearine
away the ~wreckage. The buildings
containing the pool rooms, clothine
store and the restaurant were three
story bricks, while the other three
? buildings were two and one-hal
stories.
From 40 to As persons are lying II
the several hospitals suffering more o.
less severe injuries.
At 2 a. m, the 'rescuers came acros!
, an inanimate body of a colored WON
an, but, remarkable to relate, tn,
woman was alive and asked for water
; She was quickly placed in an ambu
lance and sent to a hospital. She wa,
: Lizzie Watkins, aged IS years. Sh,
had been in the ruins for four and
: half hours. Four bodies have been re
covered.