New-York tribune., 1905-05-23
PANIC IN MANHATTAN.
STEAM EXPLOSION KILLS.
Hotel Guests Rash for Street-Fire-
man the Victim.

James Doran. a fireman. killed in the
Hotel Manhattan. Forty y-second-st. and Madi-
son-ave.. last night by the blowing off of the
cap of a steam pipe In the third sub-cellar.
Twenty other firemen, engineers and employees
escaped injury by fleeing to a freight elevator.
Every light in the hotel went out, elevators
stopped cooking which was being done by cleo
tricity brought to a standstin and con-
sternation was caused among the four hundred
guests and hundred or more employees. Lamps.
lanterns and candles had TO be employed for
more than an hour.
Just before II o'clock Doran. with eleven
other flremen, was at work in the third sub
cellar shoveling coal into the large furnaces.
Suddenly the cap, about the size of mans
fist blew off with a loud explosion. The
boiler room was Immediately flooded with
steam.
Doran was standing nearest the boiler He
and the others rushed toward the freight ele-
vator realizing there was no chance for shut
ting off the steam. Eleven men gained the
freight elevator. The steam was gathering
around them fast. 1t was believed every one
was aboard and the car was started. Doran's
absence was not Immediately noted
The steam gained headway on the men all
the way up to the top. or street level on the
Madison-ave. side Of the hotel. Persons on that
the shaft were astounded to see the clouds Of
steam shoot out and crowd of men literally
fall off the freight elevator out of the cloud
The men were unnjured. The clouds of steam
kept coming from the hole for ten minutes.
In the room off the boiler room were nine en-
gineers fremen and porters. When they heard
the explosion they rushed up a narrow iron
stairway and escaped unhurt
Doran was not missed even then. For half an
hour it was impossible to go into the boiler
room. Then David Stewart. chief engineer and
his assistant John J. Mckinley took lanterns
and went into the cellar. As they got on the
elevator they stumbled over Dorans body. He
had been sufrocated and his hands and face were
terribly scalded by the steam
Immediately following the explosion the lights
In the hotel began to grow dim and they went
out altogether in minute or So The rooms
the office, the lobby. the reception room, the
dining room. the cafe. the workrooms, Kitchen
and every part of the hotel had occupants. All
Guests at once telephoned to the clerks asking
what had happened The clerks stuck 10 thelr
posts and answered every call they could
Persons began to rush down to the lobby. Per
sons from the street rushed into the hotel, max
ing the excitement greater. The panic among
the hotel guests however. was soon over 1here
were about fifty persons In the dining room at
the time All of these remained in their seats
The boys of the hotel procured lamps
candles and lanterns wherever they could IN the
neghborhOod, scurrying into private houses,
stores and stables for them and they FOUND
dozens of them, modern, medieval ana arcnalC
But not enough of these lights were procured for
every room to have one. and the majority of the
hotel guests had to sit in darkness. If they pre-
ferred their own room. until the power was
turned on again, something like an hour or more
later