The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-20
CREMATED
 IN MID-AIR Ten Men 7 led and Four
 : Jured. AccIDy f AT FURNACE z Gas and Flames Belched Up Through the Bell.
Nineteen Men Were on Platform High in the Air When the Ex- plosion Took Place-Fright-
 full Scenes Witnessed.

explosion or gas at the Sobo iurhaSe "A Jones & Laughlin. limited. on Second Avenue, this morning. The explosion was caused by a slip in the furnace. the gas and flames belching upward through the bell. The men were on the furnace platform s5 feet above the ground.
 Dead-Andrew Seib. George Shishui. George semago, Michael Mileo, Michael Cazdovicz, John Maby, Joh Kerecke' Jospeh Frankowiz. John Ktochanka, George Valigo.
 Injured-John Yonsho, not expected to recover, frightfully burned about face and body; John sabol, not expected to recovery. burned all over body; Michael Petrovich. will recover.
 There were nineteen men on the fur mace platform when the explosion oc- cured. Fifteen of them were caught Ill the flames. The explosion was caused py the gas becoming encased in crust or cInder at the bottom of the furnace. A wheel barrow containing ore had been sent up to the men and when they went to dunn 1t into the bell of the furnace they pushed it over too far and 1t rolled into the hopper The barrow weighed 5OO pounds and was too heavy for the Tour men to raise. The fifteen laborers' all Hungarians, were then sent up to assist them. Had it not been for the barrow accident no one would have been hurt, as the regular men knew how to protect themselves at such times, as expioslohs are of frequent occurrence
 When the gas let go a panic ensued on the small platform about the top. The men made q rush for the elevator, put N had gone down and there was no escape. To jump meant death and to remain on the platform was just, as certain doom-
 The tons of molten metal fell upon them and burned ten men to death. Their bodies droppoa tc the roof of the mill below, every bone broken and an unrecoS- niSable mass of human flesh.
 Hurry calls were sent to the police and morgue.
 Petrols from all sections arrived before o'clock and the morgue wagon was with them. The bodies of some of the dead and many of the wounded were strewn about the yard beneath the furnace. some of the dead having fallen from the slip pery roof to the ground.
 The cries of the injured broke the still ness which had spread over the place when the fury of the explosion and fire had abated.
 To remove the dead from the roof of the mill 1t was found necessary to get hook and ladders No 13 and the firemen carried the burned. charred and misshap- en masses of humanity to the morgue wa gon and placed them in
 When the dead were removed the in- tured were then looked after.
 In all parts of the yard beneath the fur mace the injured were found. How many injured there are Is not known at this time.
 The injured were hurried to the mercy and other hospitals
 Eye witnesses say it was the most hor- rible sight they ever witnessed. They say that when the explosion took place there was one great, loud report and the murky heavens were illuminated with great sheet of flame, showing the men on top of the furnace running about. It looked like volcano in action.
 Five men were blown off the top of the furnace and, strange as it may seem. these men are the ones that are still liv- ing.
 The others hung on the railing, some on the outside, the others on the inside, un- til their clothing was burned off.
 Two of the victims hanging on the out side held on and remained tenaciously clinging to the railing until their fingers were burned off. Then they fell to the roof of the mill. dead.
 Seven of the victims were found dead on the platform of the cupola. These were completely denuded of clothes by the flames and their bodies were burned al- most to a crisp
 The company says that the night turn was just getting ready to quit work and that some of the day crew were at work on the place. They say that they are un- able to give out any names, as the men are only known by check numbers, and until the payroll is gone over, their names cannot be learned by them. at least Hundreds of pedestrians on Second Ave nue had narrow escapes from instant death when the explosion occurred. Tons of ore, coke and hot cinders and some pieces weighing almost three pounds rain | ed down on Second Avenue and many had to run into houses and stores for protec- | tion.
 Car No s69 of the Homestead division, vas passing just as the gas let go. The | coke and other material falling on the car which had twenty-five passengers, caused panic and many jumped off and more would have followed had not the l coolness of the conductor saved them. None of the passengers were in the least l injured but all were badly scared. over two tons of the debris fell on Sec ond Avenue and a force of fifty men was put to work to clean 1t off the tracks Traffc was impeded, but within & half hour after the accident all the tracks were cleared.
 When the explosion occurred the men in the plant became panic stricken and almost every employe of the place left the works and rushed to the street. The company's surgeon, Dr. J. w. McKeer- wan, and three nearby physicians were summoned. and they attended the injured The living victims were carried to one of the offices and hurried to the Mercy Hospital as soon as the ambulance ar rived.
 The people residing about the furnace and for four blocks on either side, rushed from their homes and few minutes aIter the report had sounded through soho' thousands of people gathered about the furnace.
 The most distressing feature of the dis-