Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1901-08-15
A GREAT DISASTER.
A Block of Buildings Wrecked by
an Explosion.
Many Persons Were Killed and q
Large Number Injured - Ruins
Caught Fire-A FrightfuI
Accident in Phil
adeIphia.

ploson in a block on Locust street
last night, completely wrecked five of
the structures and caused the death
of from ten to 30 or more persons.
Over a score of others were more or
less seriously 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 occurred,
The buildings were occupied as fol-
lows
1910 Locust street, Morris Rosen-
thai, second hand clothing store, oc-
.cuped by Rosenthal, his wife and five
children.
1912, William Jones colored restau-
rant, occupied by Jones and about Is
boarders.
1914, George McClemmy's grocery
store, occupied by McClemmy, clerk
and servant girl
1O16, Patrick Quigley's grocery
store, occupied by Quigley, his wife,
three children and his uncle.
1918, Albert Mountains grocery and
meat store, occupied by Mountain,
mother, sister and clerk.
o'clock What exploded or what
happened is not known but it is be-
lieved to have been a barrel of gaso-
line With the exception of No. 1908,
the front walls of the buildings were
blown out into the street. Almost
every building in a radius of two
blocks about the scene of the explo-
sion had window panes shattered and
nf 1n mn Crp I'VpI.V
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 took
place. Women and children, occu-
pants of the wrecked houses, could be
seen crawling from the debris, while
the agonizing cries of others were
heard in the wreckage. From all
the surrounding buildings injured
people came running and fell uncon-
scous in the street
To add to the horror, fire broke out
in the debris the moment it settled
10 the ground and in less than five
minutes the great pile was burning
fiercely from end to end. \ general
alarm was turned in for fire appa
meantime the work of rescue was
voluntarily began by those in the
neighborhood that were not injured.
Here and there person was dragged
from the ruins before the firemen
could reach the victim, several lives
being saved by this prompt work.
When the firemen reached the scene
the flames had made great head
way and were ignting the buildings
across the street. The fire. however,
was soon under control and with the
exception of a small blaze here and
there the fire was eXtinguished in a
few minutes.
The work of digging away the ruins
was then begun in earnest. Near the
edge of the debris several colored
men were taken out and sent to the
hospital. While the firemen were
digging into the debris and hauling
away timbers in several sections of
the wreckage, cries were heard com
ing from the cellar of Mountains
grocery store. Fifty men, with rope
and tackle were Immediately put to
work at that point and pulled away
the roofing and flooring, which had
fallen into a heap. From the bot
tom of the pit were taken a man and
a woman. The man was able to
speak, but the woman was apparently
dead.
While the work oil rescue was going
on in the exploded block, hospital at
tendants and others made a search of
all the damaged houses on the oppo-
site side of the street and almost a
score of persons were taken to hos
pitals from these places.
The jefferson and Pennsylvania
hospitals, which are located nearest
to the scene of the explosion, were
soon crowded with the injured.
The buildings containing the pool
rooms, clothing store and the restau-
rant were three-story brick struc-
lures, while the other three buildings
were two and one-half stories.
At 1880 a. m. the cnly known deaths
are those at the hospitals, that of an
unknown colored woman and a 9
year-old colored child. At the Penn
sylvana hospital five of the patients
will die. These are two colored wo-
men, one colored man and two col
ored children. They are so badly
injured and undergoing such severe
suffering that their names could not
be obtained. Others at the various
hospitals Will also die. Among these
are Samuel Gale, aged 40 (white) and
his daughter Florence Gale, aged 20.
Philadelphia, Aug. 7.-Seven dead,
three or four probably fatally in
.iured and more than 60 other per-
sons hurt~ more or less seriously, is
the latest revised record of Monday
nights explosion in the block of
buildings ON Locust street in this city.
Philadelphia, Aug. S.-Another body
was found yesterday in the ruins of
Monday nights explosion on Locust
street, making n total of eight fatali-
ties as result of the disaster. The
last body found was that of an un-
known negro. 1t is believed this is
the last of the victims.
Empress Frederick Dies.
Berlin, Aug. 6.-Empress Frederick
died at 6:15 p. m. Monday, at Cron-
berg. The death of the dowager EN-