Evening times-Republican., 1902-10-22
Terrible Loss OF Life and Prop
erty in Burning of Chicago
Glucose Plant
NUMBER LIVES LOST UNKNOWN
At Least Half a Dozen Men Were
Killed and About Twenty Msre Are
Missing, But May Not Have Been
klled-Loss of Property Over Half
Million Dollars.

4 Chicago, Oct. 22.-Ten persons We're
] instantly killed by leaping from the
upper stories, and half dozen more
injured so seriously that none of them
/! are expected to live, in disastrous fire
| which started in the boller-room of the
Glucose Sugar Refining Company's S
!, plant, at Twelfth street and the river,
! at lO:45 o'clock last night.
The men who lost their lives in the
building We're all workmen Oh the
night shift. Ten of them are supposed
tic have been buried in the flames,
which spread rapidly. Six men leaped
| tc the ground from the seventh story,
and two of these We're instantly Killed,
While third died While being taken to
the county hospital. Two others leaped
from the third story.
While the fire department was hur-
1ying to the scene in answer to the Ilrst
alarm the explosion occurred IN the
annex a siX-story building adJoln-
ing the twelve-Story man building. The
interior OF the building was blown IN
every direction. Great pieces OF
Mreckage were thrown many rods
away. Hundreds of burning brands
We're carried over into the Ghetto,
where they threatened ia fire the she'll
like buildings and sweep over the dis
trict.
The explosion opened the way for
the flames and they swept thru the
r.
rival of the firemen was delayed be-
cause of the failure to turn in an
alarm promptly. and when they did
come they We're compelled to devote all
their attention to saving the main
5l,uilding. 1t was in this explosion that
the loss of life occurred.
The walls of the annex crumbled and
fell before the tiremen had settled
Gown to their work. First the west
wall trembled and then plunged for
ward into the building. The south wall
followed few seconds later. sending
up thousands of sparks, which caused
citizens in verey part of the city to fear
q great conf!agratlon.
Regardless of the Efforts of the fire.
men, the flames crossed the interven-
ing space to the main building and at
tackled the framework on the SOUTH
side. The great height of the building,
formerly the Glucose Sugar Refining
Companys plant, made it difficult to
contend with the flames, and it began
to look as if the whole plant would be 4
destroyed Gradually the tiremen sue
ceeded in extinEushins the burning
portions of the building to see the
flames break out again in place
equally hard to reach few minutes
later.
No one could be found who knew
how the fire started. but 1t is believed
to have begun on the second floor. Why
all the men did not escape from the
is a mystery, because. it is
said, there was plenty OF time after the
flames were discovered.
The men of the night shift were
scattered thru the six floors of the an
mex when the blaze started. The
flames spread rapidly, but 1T Is sup
posed many Of the employees We're not
aware Of their danger till the explos-
ion shook the building and converted
it into huge pile of tiercely blazing
ruins.
Nearby along the river front a guam
tity Of oil was stored. Chief Musham
at once detailed men to remove i. to a I
place of safety. Several boats moored |
to the docks nearby We're threatened
and were hastily towed to a place of
safety.
To the west of the burning building
are the tracks of the Chicago & Alton, I
Pennsylvania, and Chicago, Burling-
ton and Quincy railroads. A number
Of trains of freight cars were In danger i
Of destruction, and several switch en-
gines We're put to work pulling them to
places of safety.
Late passenger trains on the three /
roads were tied up by the fire and the
network of hose that soon covered the
tracks.
The Taylor street plant of the old +
Glucose Company was the largest plant I
Of the company, which means the larg-
est in the United States. Its consump-
ton when operating at full capacity
was 10000 bushels Of corn daily. which
was manufactured into glucose, sugar,
starch and other products. A plant at
Peoria, H., with an equal consumption
has a more limited output,
the products not being so varied as in
the west side plant The loss on build
and machinery is thought to be total, i
and will reach nearly a million dollars.
Horses Die in Fire.
Thirty-siX horses perished and seven
narrowly escaped death last
evening in a fire which destroyed the
three story building of Adler & Obern-
dorf, 556-55S Twenty-fifth street, and
a loss of $4,000. Several att
tempts were made to rescue the horses,
which were on the second floor, after
the barnkeeper had carried OUT his
wife and five children, who We're nearly
overcome by the dense smoke in the
third story, where they We're sleeping.
The flames, however. had cut off the
second floor. and the horses were
burned to death.
Number of Dead Unknown.
Chicago, Oct. 22.-Five persons are
known to be dead, while seventeen are
for, as a result of the fire
which destroyed the plant of the Corn
Products Company last night. Fou,
Of those unaccounted for are belived
10 be alive. The dead are: Otto Trapp,
Edward Steinke.Three unidentified bod
les are at the morgue.The financial loss
is estimated at four hundred thousand, |.
fully covered by insurance.