The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-06-25
KILLS FOURTEEN AND INJURIES
SEVERAL OTHERS.
MANY SAVED BY FIREMEN
Collapse Of Burning Building
Adds to Horror Of the
Situation.

VIZ
pie are believed to have been killed
and a number injured today in a fire
an explosion among q quaint
tty Of fireworks in the store of Abra.
ham M. Rittenberg, at Patterson, N.
j. The. store was on the ground floor
Of a tenement building. The cause
of the explosion is not known. The
property loss will not exceed $4,000.
The dead are:
MRS. LUCINDA ADAMSON.
MRS. CHAS. WILLIAMS, burned
trying to save husband.
CHAS. WILLIAMS, cripple.
HAROLD RITTENBERG, 10-months
old, son Of the keeper Of the fireworks
store.
HENRY ELASSER, baby.
Those missing and almost certainly
dead are: Mrs. Bert Bamberg, Chas.
Bamberg, six months old child Of
above. Mrs. Andrew Elvin was in the
house and has not been seen since the
explosion. Mrs. Mary Elasser. Jos.
Elvin, baby of Mrs. Andrew Elvin.
Mrs. Burns, not seer since explosion
and known to have been in the house.
Clarence Burns, six year old son of
the above. Mrs. Ann Fentemann,
not seen since the explosion, and
known to have been in the house.
Mrs. Annie Lannigan, seer to enter
her apartments a few minutes before
the explosion. Two nephews of Mrs.
Lannigan were with, her when she
entered her rooms. Their names
not yet a~stertained.
The injured: J. Jessup, bruised mi
burned about head and body. BAN
berger, head and face burned. Geo.
Solder, head severely cut. Nicholas
Hillman, cut in head. Fireman Ed
ward S. Lingland, injured by falling
wall. Mr.. and Mrs. John McGlen,
burned about face and body. A num-
Der Of people received minor injuries,
but all went to their homes.
The explosion occurred shortly az
ter noon and many Of the occupants
Of the building were out atdinner. The
building in which the explosion oc.
Cured was a frame tenement, four
stories high with stores on the ground
floor. The middle store was occupied
by Rittenberg. Ten families eccup
led flats in the building.
So great was the force of the ex
plosion that a boy playing in the
street half a block away was lifted
from his feet and hurled against ar
iron fence and one of his legs broken
A trolley car was directly in from
of the building when the explosion oc
Cured. The burst of flame blown
out into the street scorched the side'
of the car and singed the hair OF thu
passengers. A number of those VIII
were on the upper floors Of the build
ing when the explosion took plac'
were either stunned and then burne'
to death or found escape cut OF an
were s%uffocated.
After the first explosion, which wa
terrific, there was a succession 9
smaller ones, and then came a secon
big explosion which was muftied an
deadened, and probably occurred
the cellar. Every window seemed t
be emitting fame within a minute a
ter the first explosion.
A woman, her clothing OF fire, leal
ed out of one Of the windows and fe
to the yard below. Her body wa
dragged out of the reach OF the flame
but her flesh was roasted and drol
ned from the bones. She later prove
to be Mrs. Williams. Mrs. William
husband was a cripple. His wife
supposed to have remained long
than she could with safety in an {
fort to save him. He was found bur
ed to q crisp on his bed. Some
the occupants Of the rooms droppt
from the windows and were brulse
Others hung from the windows UNI
fremen came. Twenty persons we
=E =
taken down in this way through Il
and smoke by firemen, while othe
dropped into life nets. Daniel Dool
who was in the yard when the
plosion took place saw two Rite
berg children in the rear room q
rushed into the flames for them.
got one of them and carried it out q
turned to go back fol- the other .
the room was then q. mass OF fire q
he was too late. He was bae
scorched in rescuink the first child
While rescues wofe going on, d
men were lighting the flames. ca
Allen led with "a hose line in an
fort to keep tie fire from the upl