The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-03-21
Unable to Extriicate Themselves,
Over Half Hundred Are
Burned Ito Death.
DYING MAN HELP u.
TO sREtsC y "a COMRAD DES.
Lifted Several Girls Out of
eckage Until Eli Fire r, Re- M Mche,d1 ,1L3
Him and He as Lost il,
Flame ifty odies II.
Already Re
covered. s$33s

- u " IIa5 n 4. '7Is Y 2
(By Il AkSociated Press. \

5Sis sa
(By Associated Prcss.) y 8 3:
BRocKroN, III MASS, March 2o-Nhiss
lefty is In mourning to-ni light FOR at least
three score people. whose ives We're
blotted out earl to-d by t he explosion
$of a boiler IN a. large shoe manu- acturir1g#
festablishme In " he Cainpello DistrictsM
conducted by the r. SB. Grover and Com
pany. 38S
wi The xplosionA was immed diatel ~ followed
by a flash 5or fame which consumed
the factory. ns long four-storys structure.
as IL Il We're a. house Of cards, and sincin-
Grated an unlcnown number Of men and
women, who were unable to extricatesS
themselves from a ma SIS Of tnngle wreck
age formed by the terrific up heaval lin theN
boiler room. fore than hal f5 5a hundrsd3
of the employees " in the jbu ildlng we're
manned, burned or bruised by t he time
they reached SAT ground. Some had
Jumped 81 from the roof ,E$ Home from vim
sdows, and ot others had been injured I'm the
mad rush to escape from the do onled fac
tory, "a, viii lch from all arts eI1ll those
intense, awful heat oi n In fernps a riy-ssss
ing back the band Of heroic rescuers Who.H
|insf a few brief moments had peri formed#
lNgallant servicas.s
The fire extend led from the factory to-
seven oth her build dlngs IN he VI Unity a nd
destroyed thenl.s One OF & these bull ldtngss
was B a three story. wooden block owned
by Charles 4 r. p Dahl borg the 9 others3 be-&&
ing cottages Of small value, and "a bl aek-a
smith shop IT wos wooden dwell lin gss near
the engine room were sprac tically demolsh--
ed by the@ flying boiler, but none of the
occupants was eriously j n jured .s The to-
tai financial loss is Ses tirnated "a sa uar-@
ter Of a million dollars, il $500, 900 OF which
falls on the r. b. Grover and Company.8
The monetary losses are nearly of ffsets by
INSURANCE. g
The Number Killed. II
It may never be known Il just how many
persons perished In the wrecka ge, N one
knows exactly how many persons we're
inaS the factory. II The number has been
estimated at 400, but Treasurer Charles
o. * Emerson said tonight he doubted
whether there were SO many Il at work.
Two hundred land fifty sur7yiyors have ys's
been accounted for. dnd at midnig ight sto-#
might the remains of fifty bodies had been
recovered i from the ruins, the1 search be-
ing continued all night. Fragments q f8
human frames, which posi- bly, nig hit be-&
long to bodies other than those enume-SS
rated. have also N been N found. RIB III Few of33
the remains have been identified. The
except lin rare Instances. ~ It was inrpos-
slble even to distinguish the sex. 85gs
Chief of Police fBoyden at a late hour
to-night expressed the opinion tha t some
ofSthe employees had no t renched 4 he fac
tory at the time Of the explosion and VI
that undoubtedly a number of those liY-s@
Ing In nearby places We're injured, and #
had gone home without reporting their
injuries He thought that many Of those
living nearby We're not accounted for.E
upwards of one hundred In number were
among these. # II "a
An Inspection OF the wrecked boiler
by the state boiler inspectors showed
that there was a sufficient supply OF wa
ter In 1t. Tho ctlus eof the explosiongis4t s4ta
at present a mystery. The disaster will 5
be further investigated BY the State au-8
3thoritics. s
Buried Beneath Wrec eckage. s5
The explosion occurred without warning
shortly after tho operatives had settled
down TO work for the day Suddenly the
air vibrated with the roar. AT the same
moment the larger wooden frame OF the
factory. a four-story structure, prlyercd@ @
and then the rear portion of II collapsed. .8
In Il fraction Of a second this end or tho
great building had been trans sformed Into
q mass OF iron and wood Bwreckage IN ftha40
midst OF which human beings We're pins
loned. In another moment fire had broken
out in the debris and death by fire and "a
suffocation became the fate Of scores OF
the operatives. VI m NJ 1gsS5
When the boiler exploded 1t pa ssed lp-3s&
ward almost erpenHlcilafly,alSt tearing a.
passage as 1t went, killing many on the IA
way. After rising high In the air. N de-Ss
scended half tho distance and then lsWerY-s
Ing llortherly, cuts its way Ike solla& Is
huge projectle through u dwelling house
fifty feet away and pierced another idWfl.sS
ling further along, denlolishing the latter IA
structure, Here Its course was stopped 9
Fell Into Fiery Furnace.
Scenes or horror followed I he wrench
Ing apart of the factory building In tho el9
rear tho ilree upper floors. Weighted I'd
as they were with heavy machinery. coi-
lapsed with a crash that Was heard for III
blocks Men and women operatives.
working IN departments Of this section
who We're busy ar their machines. had S
time but to turn In an attenp: 70 flee,
utter the first dull roar, when the floof-
ing sank beneath them, and they were
carried Ia the ground floor, crushed ss,id 9
bruised amid the mass OF debris! n Many
fell into Il veritablc fiery furnac.s. b
the sections or the factory, which renlain- rs
cd standing. The operatives were panic
as they sought escap pe. IL Mafy
fled down the s,aisways and reached the 81
street h Others ran 10 the windews M 9a
fire escapes In many cases having been
torn away by theIsaplos!oa IN despssss