Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1902-10-24
BURNED TO DEATH.
Twenty-Five Men Lose Their
Lives in a Chicago Fire.
Flames Spread HapidIy-Men Jumped
from seventh story OF Burning
Sugar Refinery and Were
Dashed TO Death - Fire
Caused by Explosion.

Chicago, Oct. 22.-By a 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 20 men lost their lives. The
number of dead has not been estab-
lished as yet, but it is known that
they were in the building and all were
working on the seventh floor.
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
firemen that the men in the upper
story could have avoided death At
midnight two bodies had been taken
from the ruins, but the fire was burn
ing so fiercely that it was impossible
to make further search.
The plant of the refining company
consisted of three buildings, the dry
ing house, seven stories in height;
the main refinery, IA 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. 1t was impossible for the
tiremen to make any effective fight
against the flames, and in short
time all the walls were down, and the
building within half an hour after
the explosion was a mass of debris.
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 firemen managed to save this
after hard struggle. They bent
every effort toward saving the IA.
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. On the third floor there
was one man at work. He was cut of
from the fire escape by the dense
clouds of smoke that poured through
the building, and was compelled ia
make n run for his life down the
stairs. He burst through n mass oi
fame when he reached the lower
doorway, and was badly scorched
The men on the seventh floor haC
no chance Whatever for their lives
Several of them left the windows anC
crawled along the sills in an effort t
reach a place of safety, but with tn,
exception of two men all those VIII,
attempted to reach safety in thi
way made up their minds that it wa
certain death and went back into tn
burning building. The two men, how
ever, determined to take the chance
of n leap, and climbing up on tn
window ledge they sprang out int,
the air.
One of them came straight dow
for the greater part of the way, bu
just after he was within a short dis
tance of the pavement, his bod,
swung around, and he struck tn
stone walk at full length. The othe
man turned over and over as he cam
whirling down. Their bodies were hor
ribly crushed.
Four other men jumped from win
dows on the fourth floor. These me,
were terribly injured.