Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-12-21
ANOTHER HORROR
Shocks the People Of fittsburg
Friday Morning.
Four Boilers Explode, Killing Four
and Badly lnjuring Twelve.
Black Diamond Steel Plant and McNeirs S
Boiler Works Wrecked.

| one missing and probably dead and L.
| injured Is the result of a terrific boiler
| explosion at the Black Diamond Steel
Work of Park Bros. on 30th street, to-
| day. The dead:
| John Welvik, aged 81 years Patrick
| O'Connor, %: an unknown man.
| The missing: John Wits Che is prob
ably among the killed..
The injured at the hospitals are all
| doing well except Steinbaugh Mhosr
| injuries may yet prove fatal. No
| known cause can be given for the cx-
| plosion.
1t was just 4I5 O'Clock. as the night
! crew was about to turn over the mill
10 the day force. that four boilers IN
i the lO-inch bar mill number three. eX-
| plodec with terrific force. scattering
death and destruction in All directions.
| The mill was completely wrecked and
The debris H. piled from 20 to - FEE
high.
The boiler works of James Mcneil,
adjoining the Black Diamond mill.
We're also destroyed.
\ force Of men went to work as
quickly as possible after the explosion,
searching in the debris for bodies.
Three dead and T. injured have already
been removed. The dead who have not
been identified We're taken TO the
morgue and the injured were removed
10 the West Penn hospital.
From what can be learned. the four
boilers exploded simultaneously, reduc-
ing the mill to a heap Of burned and
charred timbers and twisted iron.
The mill had 90 men on each turn
and il is though that almost l20 men.
both crews. We're in the plant at the
time Of the explosion. They We're all
ut work or just about to begin.
When the boilers exploded a panic
ensued and the men, all that We're able,
felt their way TO the trenches and
rushed to the street. The Injured and
known dead We're found under wreck
age and in the mill yard where they
had fallen in their race for life. one Of
the boilers went clean through the
Park Bros. Mill and crashed into the
Mcneil plant almost completely de-
moliShing it. The only man 1t work
in the McNoil plant was Rudolph
I<orff.
The only man in the Mcneil plant
was Rudolph korff, the night watch
man. He was knocked down by the
force OF the explosion and his nervous
system badly shocked.
Another of the boilers went through
the roof of the bar mill. scared through
the air across Thrtieth street and
crashed into the residence Of Robert
Price. II went through the front wall
and fell into the cellar. completely
i;
family. who We're asleep at the time es-
capped injury.
The other two boilers were blown to
pieces and il was these which causaI
the complete destruction of the mill
The report of the explosion. which
was heard for blocks around the plant
quickly attracted the police from
nearby station to the scene. Hurry
calls We're sent out for further police
assistance and ambulanceS. Both re-
sronded quickly and the work Of re-
moving The injured from the wreck was
begun.
About the same time the call was
Sent for the ambulances. an alarm of
fire was sent in and several engines re-
spQnded. The tiremen gave the search
ers torches and crawling over the de-
Dris the tiremen and police searched
for the dead and manned 1t was a
gruesome task and the biting cold
winds from the river made the work
slow and painful. One by one the in
jured We're carried to the patrols and
ambulances and hurried to the hospi-
tai. Some of the men found in the mill
We're only shocked by the explosion
and were able to walk after they were
carried out and would not go to the
hospital and were taken home.
No official statement as to the cause |
OF the accident has been given out as
yet. |
Just what the extent of the loss Will |
be to the Park Bros. Co. and the Nc |
Neis is not known, but it is variously |
estimated from $4,000 to 100000. Both |
plants will have to be rebuilt.
The force of the explosion was great |
on 3Hth street, opposite the mill. For |
almost one block there is not whole
pane of glass in any of the houses.
y row of brick tenement houses in
Spruce alley opposite the mill, occupied
by Slavs principally. was badly dam
aged. The inmates when they heard |
the explosion jumped from their beds
and when they felt the houses shaking II
rushed to the street. shrieking and II
shouting. For at least II minutes the
entire number of occupants of the
houses stood in their bare feet and in
their night clothes in the snow until Il
they found that their homes We're not
going to collapse.
Another body was taken from the II
ruins at 1O.45 A. NJ, and identified as
that of John Welvick, Pole, aged %
years. Il
One of the bodies at the morgue was
identified as Patrick Conner. fireman
al the plant.
John Wits, aged 80 years, is missing.
and Peter Book. night superintendent,
has been added to the injured.
The morgue wagon that took away
Welvick's remains also took a box
filed with parts of human bodies 1t
was stated that judging from this col
lection. there must have been from
eight to 10 killed. but the timekeeper
Of the mill said he had called the roll
If employees and had ascertained that
four We're dead and Il injured. \