The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-11-29
FEARFUL RESULT OF BOILER ExPL0.
SION DURING WORK HOURS.
AN APPALLING CASUALTY LIST
Men Dead, Twenty-Four
In Hospitals with serious Wounds,
Many Others Injured and Fifteen
Missing, the Result Of q Boiler Ex-
plosion In Detroit Fire Adds to the
Horror of the Wreck-Some OF the
Wounded Burned to Death

n SO terribly burned ana Dldchehee
that Identification is almost impossible
and t~wenty-four other men are lying
in the various hospitals of the city. suf'
fering from terrible cuts and burns anc
other injuries, all results of the ex'
plosion of one of the boilers in the Pen
berthy Injector Company's large plant
at the corner of Abbott street and
Brooklyn avenue. at $50 o'clock today
In addition to the twenty-four In
jured in the hospitals d dozen or more
of the employees who suffered compar-
atively slight injury aside from the
shock were taken directly to their
homes.
Twenty-Five men and boys have not
as vet been located either at their
homes or at the hospitals. The ten un-
identified bodies account for ten OF
these, and the officers of the company
say that they feel positive that the
major portion of the remaining fifteen
are, by tonight. at their homes.
Tonight a great force of men is
searching the ruins by electric light,
and the work will not be stopped un-
til every foot of the debris has been
examined.
The Penberthy Injector Company's
plant occupied half a square at the cor
ner of Abbott street n Brooklyn
avenue. 1t was COMPOSED of two brick
buildings, separated by a sixteen foot
alley. The rear building, in which the
bioler was located and which was COM
pletely DESTROYED, was 3 stories in
height, 81 feet in depth and 100 feet
wide. The boiler room was located at
the northwest corner of the building
a.. -,-- T. It, Ill
ing that most of the manufacturing
was done
The first floor was utilized as the
engine and boiler room and a room for
testing the output of the plant. The
finishing and brass manufacturing de-
partment was located on the second
floor and the third floor was devoted to
the foundry.
It is impossible to tell exactly how
many men were at work in the various
departments of this rear building when
the explosion occurred but the officers
insist that the number was not over
eighty-fiVe.
There were four boilers in the plant,
two horizontal ones which furnish
steam for the engines. and two Verdical
boilers which were used solely to test
injectors. 1t was the horizontal boiler
that was in use his morning which let
go and caused the awful loss of life.
The awful crash came without the
slightest warning. Those in the front
building said it seemed like the con-
cussion of an immense canon.
The floors and roof of the rear build
ing bulged upward and then crashed
down with their heavy loads Of machin-
cry and foundry apparatus. Walls.
roof and all. dropped into a shapeless
mass of debris.
Windows in houses for a block around
were broken by the concussiOn and fly
ing bricks filled the n%eighboring yards.
A dense cloud of dust arose, and. as it
settled, and was succeeded by denSer
clouds Of smoke and steam. agoniZed
cries began to come from the heap of
tangled wood. metal and bricks. Those
who were only partly buried frantic
ally dug themselves out, and hen as
theoretically turned to digging for their
comrades who were buried deeper.
Flames broke out almost Immediately
and the horror of fire was added to the
suffering of the imprisoned ones.
A fire alarm was turned in and quick
~ responded to. Calls were sent ont
for all the ambulances in the city and
they were hurled to the scene. Pend
Ing their arrival. ~neighboring houses
were turned into temporary hospitals.
and those physicians who were in the
vicinity eased the suffering as much as
they were able. The first ambulances
on the scene were totally inadequate to
carry those who had already been ex-
tricated and express wagons and similar
vehicles were pressed into service.
AS Dol as the gravity of the acct
dent was realized, calls for additional
firemen were sent in. and h apparatus
came flying to the scene from all parts
of the city. While six of the fremen
about exhaused their efforts. the greater
number of them seized axes and crow
bars and began prying out the victims
who could be seen or whose faint cries
were audible.
The department of public works was
notified of the horror and Immediately
sent all it's available men and horses
to the scene.
In comparatively short time. all the
1aborers who could work to advantage
were feverishly throwing and pulling
the debris out into Brooklyn avenue,
where it was loaded into wagon and
carried off.
The floors and roof had fallen at an
angle and formed a sort of huge
cover under which the fire burned
fiercely. Not until the firemen had
chopped through this did their streams
begin to have an appreciable effect on
the flames.
The sufferings of those who were
buried beneath were later mutely tes-
llSu - Dy lhClA oho
ed bodies.
Engineer Riley was among the first
to be dug out of the wreck. His es-
cape was little short OF miraculous.
When the boiler let go, he was knocked
to the floor aud one Of the smaller test
ing boilers was blown over his pros
trate form in such a way that n end
rested on some debris high above him,
thereby forming a shield that kept the
falling timbers, bricks and machinery
from crushing him. The escaping
steam, however, burned him frightfully.
After his arrival at Grace hospital,
Rfley's first words were: How did it
happen? The engine and boilers were
all right"
Gradually the rescuers worked their
way downward through the pile. By
this time there were no cries or groans
to aid them, for the flames had destroy
ed those unfortunates who were not
killed by the explosion or fall But
the work of rescue continued with un-
abated haste. When a heavy beam or
piece of shafting was encountered, a
team of horses was driven in n the
piece of wreckage hauled TO the street.
Stretcher bearers stood beside the del
vers and pore away the burned and
blackened bodies