New-York tribune., 1901-02-01
MANY INJURED BY EXPLOSION
TWO BIG FACTORY BUILDINGS SHAKEN
R1 CoNCUSSfON-CAC RY
ESCAPING GAS.

The seven stoy factory OF the William Wieke
Company al 40. +l 10 ils East 1hiTty-hrst-st. was
shaken at rs r. m. yesterday by an explosion IN
iho shaving tower" which wrecked the tower and
demolished the roof of the engine house II Is be
Heved that the hre that devastated two blocks came
from this explosion. The explosion is thought 20
have been caused by gas which found its way into
tho tower and became ignited in some unknown
manner The tower extended from The ground floor
20 the roof snd built Of brick, lined with iron
n was at the rear Of the building, and directly
beneath i, was IN. engine house. one story brick
building in which were three boilers
The force of the explosion was tremendous, and
completely wrecked the tower The hrickwork fell
on the engine house. crushing IL and the coneus-
eion cracked the big smokestack one hundred feet
high Every window IN the rear OF the big factory
was shattered, were also the windows in the
front and rear Of the i've story baiding Nos. 40i.
40s and sos East Thirty y-second-st, which i con-
nected on tho top floor bv bridge With the wicke
factory.
Nesrlv eight hundred persons ~ work iu
th- Wicke factory AZ the time ~ the explosion.
Three hundred ana nifty Of them were women.
over hundred hands were busily engaged in the
Thirty-second-st factory. In both buildings a
panic ensued, but only two persons were seriously
injured. They were.
sPEIpLER Joseph. ,hirty-one yeArs ola of NJ 94l
West THIRTY nrArns1 vas ~ ne @ srgne %
bruised sbou, the head and body. sem 70 Bellevue
HoRscHEL Emil thirty ola Of No el7 First
S,sly eur ssou N. head ana shoulders sent q i6e
hospital
A score or more were slightly hu z by being cut
with broken glass or struck with living spnters.
II was runored that Sophie Gross, TWENTY-FIVE
years old of No. So East Seventeenth-st.. had re
eeived a sprain in her arm in jumping from the
ere escape m Thirty -hrst-st. and that Mamie
Coyle twenty-five years old. Of No. 50 Stanton-st.
had been painfully hurt in the same manner. The
police however. had no record OF IT.
Fritz schoefeIe of No sI7 FIrst-ave. the assist
ant engineer was the engine house. with Spied-
Ter. Berschel and Hene. when the explosion oc-
curved schoefeIe at the entrance. and escaped
uath few scratches The other men rushed 20 the
door spiedler was in the rear. and was caught in
she debris
The employees in the factories rushed 10 the FIRE
escapes, which were soon fed with excited men
and women. many % them bleeding from their
wounds Some OF them, in their excitement. think
ing that TIE buildings were about TO collapse,
'umped 20 the sidewalk from the FIRE escape bal
ceries the second floor
Three ambulanoes Ar lived with the fre appa-
rAtus. The surgeons found plenty for them 70 do.
Men and women running about, crying with
Manv Man, Of the Injured ala not wait Tor the ambu-
lances but ran Bellevue Hospital and were at
way ana then sent home. The surgeons said they
had never such excitement as met their eyes
II was Al frst thought that dozens OF lives ha d
been lost. The"nremen rushed into the runway
l5crschel ana ITeine. The FIRST named was covered
With debris and was unconscious 1- ne vas Pse S
Carmelite Church. who is chaplain al the hospital
Jumped on the ambulance and administered ex-
trcme junction TO the Injured
A water tank. containing 900 gallons OF water
The water drenched the ruins
otto Reidele, the chief engineer. who was Just
srrrd ak Fo snreetSd ST ord Of Sapan pean
Schoefele was also arrested.