Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-03-25
FACTORY IN RUINS
Explosion at BrOCktOn De-
strOys Scores of Lives.
FIFTY-FIvE CHARRED BODIES.
Boiler, Blown Through Building,
Wrecked II.
FIFTY-FIvE CHARRED BODIES.
FIRE ROASTED ENTANGLED VICTIMS

r.. ID. Glover q Co.'s Shoe Plant Scene
of Horror When Fifty to Seventy
Ave Operatives Perished by Being
Crushed or burned to Death-Exact
Number VIII Never BE known.
BROCKTON, Mass, March 23.-The
explosion of $50 horsepower boiler in
the large four story wooden factory at
r. B. Grover & Co.'S shoe factory in
the Campello district of this city killed
scores of employees, injured half
hundred others and destroyed property
valued at S250,0o0
The charred fragments of fifty-five
bodies taken out lay in the morgue,
and forty-five additional operatives
have not been accounted for 1t is
probable that the number of dead will
never be known.
The death list is estimated at as high
as seventy-five.
The cause of the explosion was a
flaw in the ceiling of the boiler, which
could not be detected from the outside,
but which is now visible in the wreck
ed boiler.
The entire Grover factory was re-
duced to ashes within an hour after the
explosion, the three story block across
the street, owned by Charles H. Dahl
burg, and five dwellings were burned
and several other small structures dam
aged. The search of the ruins was in
progress the entire afternoon and was
continued throughout the night.
While the fire ragged many persons
rushed into the blazing ruins and
pulled out the injured at the imminent
danger of their own lives.
Imprisoned operatives, too far away
for rescue and who knew that their
lives would last but a few moments,
spoke words of encouragement to those
who seemed nearer escape. Some pray
ed aloud, others pleaded with the res
cuers to say goodby to relatives, and
not q few shrieked from pain and
fright.
In the meantime the fire was spread
ing from the Grover factory. 1t leaped
across Calmar street to a three story
OAANA OiVeh IhC COlACl Vi MALI
street, owned by Charles f. Dahlburg
and occupied as hardware store and
storehouse, and then to a two story
wooden lodging house, owned by Will
liam Lawrence; dwelling house on
Calmar street and small buildings, all
of which were destroyed.
From the rear of the factory the
flames stretched across Denton street
to the dwelling house of Mrs. Sophia
Peterson and family and to the resi-
dence of Charles O'Brien.
BY this time the entire fire depart
ment and all the police reserves We're
on the scene, but with the high wind
blowing the flames could not be check
ed and soon reached the homes Of
Sylvester Rice and John w Taft. All
these buildings were practically ruined,
but at this point the fire was stopped.
The house to the north of the factory
through which the exploded boiler
crashed, was owned and occupied by
David w. Rockwell. the engineer in
charge of the boiler and who was
among the killed. The house was de
molished, the roof being ripped OFF and
two walls torn down. Mrs Rockwell,
who was sitting by the kitchen stove.
had a miraculous escape from death,
receiving many cuts from flying bits
of timber when the boiler speeded
through the upper portion of her house
Crawling through the mass, Mrs Rock
we'll snatched up her two children, who
were uninjured, and started for the
home of the nearest neighbor, Mrs
Eta Hood. She found this cottage
had been practically rent asunder by
the boiler, the head of which was
buried in the middle of the structure.
Miss Ella Pratt, seventy eight years of
age, relative of the Hoods, was alone
in the house. The cottage was thrown
several feet off its foundations, and
Miss Pratt was knocked down and
stunned, but recovered.
The explosion, which was followed
by such sacrifice of life and entailed
appalling instances of human suffer
ing, occurred shortly after the opera
tives had settled down to the work Of
the day and without warning.
Treasurer G. o. Emerson of the Gro
yer company estimated the loss on the
factory at 100000 and the aggregate
! of loss on the other burned structures
was placed at about $4,000.