The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-02-05
BRAVE FIREMEN DIE
NINE BURIED BENEATH RUINS AT
ST. LOUIS.
BIG BUILDING COLLAPSED.
THE TONS OF DEBRIS NOT YET
REMOVED.

Firemen Had Won Hard Fight
when without Warming the FIFTY
Year old building Came Down An
"a Heap, BuryinE Nine of Them.
Chief Swingley Had Narrow Es-
cape. hut Assistant Chief Thur
vey's Body Is Stiu I'm the Ruins.
The bodies Not Reached at Mid
night.
st. Louis, Feb. AT least nine fire.
men were killed and as many more
injured in a fire which broke out to-
night in the five-story stone and brick
building located at No. 314 Chestnut
street. occupied by the American Tent
and Awning Company, The building
suddenly collapsed, and although the
half dozen men who were caught in
the crash had not been reached by
their hard working companions two
hours later, it is almost absolutely GER
tain that they have succumbed.
The dead:
August Thierry, first assistant chief.
caught in ruins.
Michael Kehoe. assistant foreman
caught in ruins.
Daniel Steele. foreman, caught in
ruins.
William Dundon, pipeman, in ruins.
Charles Kroning, pipeman, in ruins.
Patrick Bergen, assistant foreman,
in ruins.
The injured are: Frank Lingo,
driver of aerial truck, thrown from
truck while working forty feet above
the ground, seriously injured; Monroe
Moore, inspector for the Imperial Elec-
trio Light Company, badly injured by
falling through a shaft Patrick Nc
Carthy, engineer, caught by falling
walls, seriously hurt; William Julieb,
driver for Marshal Thierry, caught by
falli1g wall, seriously hurt; William
Wand, foreman, seriously injured by
falling walls.
The building in which the fire origi-
mated was located In the old business
section of the city, and was about
fifty years old. The blaze, which
proved a hard one for the fire Depart
ment to master, had been brought
practically under control, when sud
denly with absolutely no warning, the
building collapsed and came down in
u Aledp WIN NOISE LIlaL COulu De neafQ
for blocks. Three pipeinen at work
or tire SECOND ilU0r i1sII difficulty In
managing a. line Of hose and Assistant
Chief Thierry was on his way will
three of his men to lend them aid, when
the building collapsed. The men went
down with tons of twisted iron, brick,
stone and wooden columns enveloping
them. Chief Swingley, who was in
front of the building directing his men,
had a miraculous escape from death.
AS the front wall fell outward he hur-
ried across the street and fell under
the aerial truck. The truck was COW
cred with debris and partially wrecked,
and 1t was to its sheltering protection
that the chief owes his life. Frank
Lingo, driver of the truck, was di-
recting a stream on the fire from the
aerial ladder about forty feet from the
ground when the wall fell A portion
of the debris struck him and he was
hurled through the air to the ground,
receiving probably fatal injuries.
Chief Swingley put his entire force
to work at once and made an effort to
rescue the firemen, but, although the
men work herofcally, they had not
been able to reach the victims at mid
night. 1t is certain that all are dead
as tons of debris covers them.
Following Is a list of the losses:
American Tent and Awning Compa-
ny, s25,000; Mclean estate, loss on
building, $35,000 Herman Ruppelt, job
printer, $4,000; scattering, $4,000.