Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1902-10-30
BURNED TO Death.
Twelve Men Lose Their Lives
in a Chicago Fire.
Flames Spread RapidIy-Nen Jumped
from Seventh Story of burning
Sugar Refinery and Were
Dashed to Death - Fire
Caused by Explosion.

Chicago, Oct. 22.-iBy fire which
broke out shortly before midnight in
the plant of the glucose sugar re-
tinery, situated at Taylor street and
the Chicago river, that factory was
almost entirely destroyed, and it is
said that % men lost their lives.
The flames spread so rapidly that
man who was working on the third
floor had barely time to escape with
his life, and it is not thought by the
employees of the concern or by the
tiremen that the men in the upper
story could have avoided death.
The plant of the refining company
consisted of three buildings, the dry
ing house, seven stories in height;
the main refinery, II stories high, and
another structure of four stories.
The fire started in the drying house,
being caused by an explosion. The
flames spread with almost incredible
rapidity, and by the time the first of
the fire department had arrived the
building was ablaZe from foundation
to roof. II was impossible for the
tiremen to make any effective fight
against the flames, and in short
Iili' 'ii tiiN "tIlS N'IC NpNhs
The fire was so hot that at one time
it was feared that the Taylor street
viaduct, across which access is had
to the South Side, would be destroyed,
but the tiremen managed to save this
after a hard struggle. They bent
every effort toward saving the A.
story building of the refinery, but so
intense was the fire in the drying
house that this caught fire in sew
eral places, and at 1890 a. m. it was
evident that it could not be saved.
The men employed in the three low
er floors of the drying house ran for
the doors and windows as soon as
they had knowledge of the fire, and
all of them succeeded in reaching the
open air.
The men on the seventh floor had
no chance Whatever for their lives.
Several of them left the windows and
crawled along the sills in an effort to
reach a place of safety, but with the
exception of two men all those who
attempted to reach safety in this
way made up their minds that it was
certain death and went back into the
burning building. The two men. how
ever, utitIlllllltu 10 Idht tHt cnanceS
of a leap, and climbing up on the
window ledge they sprang out into
the air.
One of them came straight down
for the greater part of the way. but
just after he was within a short dis
tance of the pavement, his body
swung around, and he struck the
stone walk at full length. The other
man turned over and over as he came
whirlng down. Their bodies were hor-
ribly crushed.
Four other men jumped from VIM
dows on the fourth floor. These men
were terribly injured.
Chicago. Oct. 23.-Four of the five
bodies taken to the morgue from the
fire in the plant of the Glucose Sugar
Refining Co. Tuesday night have been
identified. They are:
Otto Trapp, Edward Steinke, An
drew Wosellla, Joseph Barry.
1t is almost certain that several
more bodies are lying in the ruins,
but the heat of the debris has pre-
vented tiremen from making any
search and the exact number is not
known.
\ switchman declares that he saw
four men slide down water pipe. and
II is known that one man jumped INTO
the river and made his escape This
diminishes the list to II,