The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1902-10-22
LlEEIllST IN FIRE
len Caught il the Seventh Story
with No nay TO Escape.
THREE KNOWN DEAD
TIVE 81 These whe Jumped Are "
Badly Injured They win Die-Set
Known How Many Lives
Have Been Lost.

/ Chicago. Oct 22.-Fire In the plant
OF the Glucose Sugar Refinery, situat-
! ed At Taylor street and the Chicago
river. almost entirely destroyed the
/ plant and it is reported that l9 men
lost their lives. The number of dead
| has not been established but It Is
known that they were in the building
and ali we're working on the seventh
door. The flames broke out just before
midnight last night and spread so rap
| idly that men working on the third
floor had barely time TO escape with
their hives and it Is not thought by the
employees Of the concern or by the Are
men, that the men in the upper story
/ could have avoided death. At mid
| night two bodies had been taken from
the ruins. but the fire was burning SO
| fercely that il was impossible to make
further search.
The plant Of the refining company
consisted 81 three buildings. the dry
ing house. seven stories in height the
main refinery. IA stories high. and an
other structure Of four stories. The
hre started In the drying house. being
/ caused hy an explosion The flames
spread with almost incredible rapidity
and by the time the first Of the fire
/ department had arrived the building
| VAS abiaze from foundation TO roof. Tt
| was impossible for the flremen TO make
any effective fight against the flames.
and In "a short time all the walls were
down and the building within one half
hour from the time OF the explosion
was mass OF dehFia
The frenen bent every effort toward
saving the history building OF the re-
auefy but So Intense was the Are In
the drying house that this caught FIRE
In several places and at l2: 80 a IN. 1t
was evident that, even II IL could be
saved st all, II would be badly dam
aged
The men employed tn the three low
er floors of the drying house ran for
the doors and windows as soon as
they had knowledge Of the Ere and all
succeeded In escaping. bat the mea
ON the seventh floor had 40 chance
whateyeC fer their lives Several OF
them left the windows and crawle<i
along the siils Ia an effort TO reach
| q place of safety. but with the exeep-
ton Of swo men all those who al
tempted 20 reach safety In this way.
made gp their minds THAI II was Ger
/ tain death and went back into the
burning building The two men. how
ever, det ermined To take the chances
Of a leap, and climbing upon the win
dow ledge they SpFanE cut into the
air. One Of them came straight down
FOR the greater part Of the way. but
Just as be was wSahing short dis
tanoe Of the pavement. bis body swung
around aud be struck the stone walk
at faA length The other man turn
sd oycf and over "a he came whirllng
down Their bodies were horahly
crushed and maagled and IL was i'm
pos@t bic for any of the men WHO saw
them directly after their jump to Sdent-
ify them In any way. These are the
bodies reported taken out Of the ruins
-Four other men jumped from the
men were terribly injured and we're
taken in police ambuiances To the
county hospital Two OF them who
we're able TO give their names to the
physicians are Jos. Dukes aud Paul
Keyee.
One of the survivors who reached
the ground ia safety after u pcriious
Journey down the are escape from the
fourth naoT said
= don't believe any OF the men on
the top story could have escaped. The
flames drove me from my post and but
for the fact that was near the Are es-
cape | would never have reached the
ground"
The FIRE was under control at
O'clock, and although II was not pos
sble al that time to form any estimate
Of the l0ss of life the statements of
the men employed 10 the drying house
were so conflicting that the police de
ciared that In their opinion the loss Of
life would not be more than ten or
twelve Several OF the men who made
their escape from the lower part of
the building said that there we're not
more than ten men on the top floor
The officers of the company when
informed that the two smaller build
ings had been destroyed and that the
fourteen story building was damaged
would not make any estimate OF dam
age One OF them said 1T may be
anywhere between $500 600 and 81 600.
900. and that Is all We can say at this
time"