Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-16
DIED IN THE FLAMES
SEVEN PEOPLE BURNED IN FUSE
FACTORY.
Panic After Explosion - Crowd Was
Powerless to Check the Spread
ing Flames.

An Avon Conn, dispatch last night says:
The explosion of fuse, followed by fire
in a building Of the Climax Fuse Company
here this afternoon. caused a panic among
the twenty employees in the building. and
resulted in the death of seven and injuries
that doubtless will prove fatal to several
others. There was no way OF coping with
the flames, which spread rapidly, and those
who were unable to escape were burned to
ashes. The crowd that collected saw the
bodies of men and women roasting In the
fire. but were powerless to even check the
flames The list of dead and Injured fol-
lows:
The dead-william Burke, forty years old,
married: James Joyce. about thirty-fve.
married; Robert Mccarthy, aged eighteen;
James Wallace, married; Molly Mccarthy,
Miss ]. Sullivan, Mrs. NJ. b. Tucker.
The injured-Charles Dimmock, severe
burns, expected to die: Michael Garfield.
severe burns; Michael Mccarthy, severely
burned: Lyman Hull. burns; Mrs. William
Burke, probably fatally burned; Earl Tul-
Ter, burns: Arthur fuller. burns; -
Ledeit. bruises Nellie Garfield. burns and
bruises: Mrs. Fish. severely bruised; Nora
Ryan, badly burned about the neck and
back.
Mrs. Burke is the wife OF William Burke,
who is numbered among the dead.
Burned Like finder.
The exact cause of the accident may never
be known, but II Is an accepted theory that
in an effort to burn out a stoppage on one
of the machines workman caused en-
explosion of a fuse with the hot iron he
held in his hand. Those who were in the
room where the explosion occurred say that
the explosion was not severe, and ordinarily
would not have caused panic. lnf1am-
mable material, however, was set on fire.
and in fax mo- re no w q m
of flames. In an instant there was mad
rush for the doors and windows, and during
the scramble many were pushed back into
the building, while others were severely
burned.
There were only sixty employees at work
in the entire plant. 1t was stated tonight
that some of the dead may have been over
come by smoke before they had chance
to flee, and that it is improbable that any
one of the seven victims lost his life by
the force of the explosion. Tonight ac-
counting was made for all the employees ex-
cept seven, whose names are given above.
Ten physicians from nearby towns came
to the rescue and did good service in caring
for the injured, the screams of some Of
whom could be heard for considerable dis
tances.
The scene at the fire was heartrending.
The friends and relatives of those missing
became almost frantic when il became
known that bodies of those kin to them were
being burned to a crisp in the ruins of the
factory. AS there is no fire department in
the town, it was utterly useless to cope
with the flames with buckets
Bodies Burned to Ashes.
AS one of the walls of the second largest
building fell several bodies could be seen
entangled in the mass of machinery in the
basement, and in short time they were
reduced to ashes. Early in the evening the
body of a woman was seen near the edge
of the fire and an effort was made to pull
1t away from the flames, but on account of
the great heat this was impossible.
Soon after the building in which the lives
were lost was consumed the fire spread to
the new structure, which was just COM
pleted at y cost of $4,000, and in a few
hours teis &uildng was Quilted, only. the
four walls remaining. Two smaller build
ings were reduced to ashes, making total
Of four burned, the loss on which is esti-
mated--to be 100000.
Superintendent F. NJ. Hadsel who was in
the building at the time of the explosion,
said tonight that the cause of the explosion
was mystery to him. He said from what
he could learn the explosion was not vto-
lent one, which is borne out by the fact
that persons living but two blocks from the
scene did not hear 1t.