Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-06
FIREHEN ARE KILLED
Eumb'r Of Others, Inc SdinE the ohisf, In
jared By the Falling Of WAllA
SOME GIVE UP TatIa LIVES tos OTHERS
Caught ny Final Crash WINE A.
Tempting 60 Rescue Comraaes-st.
Louis Department Meets One Of
worst DtsRsters in Years.


worst DtsRsters In Years.
ct. LOUIS. Feb. 5.-The fire that Last
night destroyed the fye-story building at
az and S14 Chestnut street, occupied By the
American Tent and Awning company, re-
suited In the death OF seven fremen, who
were crushed by the falling walls and floors.
Three Of the bodies have been recovered
and the nremen are digging at the immense
heaps Of ruins IN order TO reach the others.
A number OF nremen, among them Chief
swingley, were injured by flying debris, but
none seriously. The total financial loss on
building and contents is today estimated BY
Chief swingley at $4,000. It is believed
this is fully covered by insurance.
The Ore broke out last night, the coolest
Of the season, about s o'clock. Several ERE
companies responded 10 the alarm and soon
had the Ere partially. under control. An
hour after the FIRE started timbers and In
fammable material on the upper floors con-
tinued to burn and a line was run up to
extinsuish the flames. Three plpemen were
operating THE. stream when the floor on
which they stood gave way without warning
and they fell with II.
s'. Give LiveA fer others 4. ia
Assistant chief Thierry, VINO was on q
lower floor, heard the crash. Gathering TO-
gether a few men he went TO. the rescue
OF his comrades. Hardly bad the Fescuers
disappeared into the structure when the
front wall fen forward and the entire build
ing collapsed. bufylng beneath It's ruins
everyone inside. Spectators, police oficers
and hremen on Chestnut street saw the
wall tottsr and managed TO escape on either
side before n tell. f
Firemen In the alley back OF the building
fed when the ripping sound Of crumbling
walls was heard aud for the most part es-
capped injury.
Chief swingley says that the successive
coilapses OF floor and walls came without
warning and at a inns when the IRE seemed
to have been placed under control.
ITO all appearances" said the chief,
there was mo danger to the pipemen who
went into the upper floors.
The fire was all on the fourth and NTH
foors and more on the hth than on the
fourth. Under such circumstance no one
would expect a building TO collapse.
with Dan Steele, foreman Of No. IL,
were Charles Krenning OF No. IL and Mike
Kehoe OF No. 10.
tThose Of US who were in front Of the
building heard q crash al the rear, but did
not know exactly what had happened until
Krenning came out.
rKrenning ran to Assistant Chief Thierry.
He said: Chief, the floor fell and two men
on the pipe. are covered up
+" Give me some men, said Thierry to
me, and I'll so back and get them out
"Thierry and I called for men and as four
men came up Thierry started to lead the
way. Krenning followed right behind
.Thierry.. Then came Frank Mcbride and
Dundon. Wand and Juelich went last.
Comes without warning.
Two minutes later came the crash. l
never saw q catastrophe come 30 without
warning. ! was knocked down by the
debris and fell under the water tower.
When / got up, half stunned. the building
was in ruins and the only thing that could
be done was to put the men At work dis-
ging to get out those who we're inside"
According to Chief swinglcy. one Of the
most skillful battles against flames In the
departments history had been fopght. A
confagratlon that half an hour before had
threatened q whole block at least and
might easily have extended farther had
been restrained.
The building. which was nearly nfty years
old, was weak and the water with which II
had been flooded loosened its joists and
soaked Its walls. When the pipemen en-
tered the walls were already totterlne, but
2 there was nothing to warn them Of theii
peril. When the building collapsed the
debris flled the alley and fell clear across
Chestnut street. william o'Donneil, Johr
Purcell and William O'ConneIl OF salvage
corps No. 1 were covering material with
tarpullns on an upper floor when the wall
started to fall. They were carried outward
with II and landed safely In the street.
. William Wann. foreman of engine com
pany No, IS, was on the second noor whsr
the collapse came. Falling plaster warned
him Of IL and he slipped down the banistei
TO the first door and ran into the street
Patrick +. Mccarthy and william
Jeulich. who were about TO enter the build.
ing to assist In the rescue OF their com.
rades. were struck by falling debris.
When the building fell all the light cir,
cults In the neighborhood were cut ant
darkness was added to the horror OF III,
scene. The Debris had smothsred whai
little IRE remained in the building just be,
fore the collapse.
All Hands to the Rescas.
Chief swingiey ordered his men fron
their pipes and engines and put them q
work digging In the debris for the mel
who had been caught. How many were Il
the ruins was not known. Fifteen per
sons were thought 70 be In the building
when II collapsed. Only a roll call coals
tell how many had escaped. Darkness
handicapped the rescuers in their work
for all the electric wires were cut. III
Groans Of their comrades in the dehri