Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-08-08
FLOORS COLLAPSED IN A
 BIG DEPARTMENT STORE.
Men. Women and Children Carried Down in the Wreck Albany People Witness the Worst Wreck That Ever Occurred in That City-Only Very Few Deaths
 Considering the Number of People in the Building.

Albany, Aug. S.-Three hundred
 persons employed in the large depart
 ment store of the John G. Meyers es
 tate at Nos. 39-41 North Pearl street,
 had just gone to work this morning when the whole center of the build Ing collapsed from roof to cellar Nearly q hundred men, girls and
 children were carried down in the wreck. The first estimate placed the
 number of killed and injured at 40
 There is no doubt that when the
 rescuers reach the bottom of the heap
 they will find a number of dead The
 disaster, which is the worst of its
 kind in the city's history, occurred
 shortly before o'clock The Meyers
 estate has been making extensive re-
 pairs on it's building. This morning a
 gang of Italian workmen started to
 remove an iron pillar that supported
 the main floor. Evidently they had
 failed to brace the floor properly for scarcely had they loosened the post
 when down came all three upper
 floors within a radius of fifty feet from the fatal pillar. The wreck crashed through to, the cellar, 1burying the workmen and carrying down those who happened to be working in that portion of the building.
 The fire department was called out and the work of rescue began at once. Considering the nature of the accident the number of persons who escaped with slight injuries is remarkable The debris in which the f1remen and their assistants are digging Is light consisting mostly of wood and plas ter Little or no heavy brick or stone work fell, and this fact gives hope that the number of fatalities may not be large.
 The building that collapsed to-day was comparatively new, having been erected less than 20 years ago by the late John G. Meyers Since MT Mey CTS death two years ago, the business has been carried on by a company consisting of George P. Hilton. H. Kink Sturdee and Edward F. Hack cit. It was one of the city's two largest department stores.
 Up to 10:30 there had been taken from the ruins seventy-five persons, half of whom were seriously injured. The manager of the store at that time said that 30 more were underneath the ruins. Up to II o'clock one dead body had been removed. Most Of those injured were young women. The collapse came at S:45 o'clock without warning. The walls and roof of the center of the structure fell into the building forming a mass of debris, burying the victims. Telephone com munication was sent to the various bospitals and doctors throughout the city, and within half an hour twenty five doctors and four ambulanccs were on the scene. The stores near by were turned into emergency nos pitals and mattresses were brought from department stores.
 It was pitiable sight as young girls and little boys were dug from the ruins and carried through the street to some neighboring store. The work of digging out the victims was conducted by the members or the fire and police departments and city loborers. Water rushed into the ruins | from twisted pipes and it was neces' sary to cut off the supply in the vi- cinity.
 The scenes about the building were as nitiable as those within. Several hundred relatives of employees were there and their distress was heart rending. It was reported that ii'o- art N Chalmers, one of the members of the firm, was missing. A cierk win whom he was talking when me crash came and who escaped, saa' aHe was at my side and then there was the crash and l saw him no more- It will take several hours to iir out all of the victims.
 Scores of rescuers are toiling among Inc r1,ins and up to 1:3O this afternoon brought out only twenty-five inJured' three of whom died after reaching the 1osnjtal. At that time 11o were unac ,onnted for and it is certain that at east half of them are beneath 'he mound of debris About 400 persons ITO on the firms payroll, but some fifty are on their vacations. The dead ,o far taken out are Nellie Burns. Der Ina Cunningham and Miss McEvoy.
 Tn to ? o'clock the number of dead vas reported as between twenty and birty. Bertha Cunningham was the ,nly one of the dead so far identified.