The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-03-21
la CITY TN
MOURNING.
Brockton Shoe Factory Fire and
Explosion Caused Death
Of at Least Sixty.
SCORES INJURED AND MISSING.


Brockton, Mass. March 2ls-The city
is in mourning for at least three score
Of her citizens whose lives We're blotted
out by the explosion Of boiler in
large shoe manufacturing estabIish-
ment in the Campello district conduct
ed by the r. B Grover company The
explosion was Immediately followed by
a flash of fame, which consumed the
factory, long four story structure,
with surprising rapidity and incinerat-
ed employees Of both sexes who were
unable to extricate themselves from a
mass of tangled wreckage formed BY
the terrific upheaval in the boiler room.
Besides those killed outright more than
half a hundred Of the employees III the
| building were manned, burned or
bruised by the time they reached safe
ground in the mad rush to escape from
the doomed factory, which from all
parts emitted the intense, awful heat
of an inferno, driving back the band Of
heroic rescuers, who in few brief mo-
ments had performed gallant service
The fire extended from the factory to
seven other buildings III the vicinity
and also reduced them to ashes. One OF
these buildings was three story wood
en- block owned by Charles r. Dahl
borg, and others were cottages Of small
value and blacksmith shop. Two
wooden dwellings near the engine room
were practically demolished by the on
ru i of the boiler, but none of the occu-
pants were seriously injured The total
| Financial loss is estimated at a quar-
ter of million dollars, 100000 Of
| which falls on the r. B. Grover com
pany. The monetary losses are nearly
offset by insurance.
No Warning Given.
The explosion came without warn
ing. The large wooden framed factory,
four story building, quivered, and
the rear portion Of it collapsed. In
second this section Of the great build
/ ing was transformed into mass Of
iron and wood wreekage, in the midst
| Of which human beings We're pinioned.
In another moment fire started in the
debris, and death by fire and suffoca
tion became the fate Of scores Of oper-
atiYes. :
| When the boiler exploded it passed
upward almost perpendicularly, tear
ing a passage as it went and killing
many on its way. After rising high In
the air it descended half the distance
and then. swerying northerly, cut its
way, like some huge projectile, com
pletely through the upper part Of the
house occupied by David Rockwell, the
engineer, practically wrecking the
dwelling. Then, uninterrupted in It's
fight, it passed on to another dwelling.
100 feet farther away, upon which it
fell, practically demoIishing the struc-
ture. The boiler now lies in the midst
! of the fallen house.
/ Bodies In Fragments.
1t may never be known just how
many persons perished in the big foot
wear plant. No one knows exactly how
many persons were in the factory. The
number has been estimated at 400, but
Treasurer Charles o. Emerson said
that he doubted whether there were SO
many at work. Two hundred and fifty
survivors have been accounted for, and
already the remains of fifty bodies have
been recovered from the ruins, the
J search among which still continues.
Fragments Of human frames, which
, possibly might belong to bodies other
than those enumerated, have also been
found Few of the remains have been
identified. The head in nearly every
case is missing, and except in rare in
stances it was impossible even to dis
tingush the sex.
The disaster was attended by many
narrowing scenes and thrilling rescues.
: For hours hundreds of the relatives OF
the factory operatives besieged the ru-
ins and the fire and police stations in
+ quest of missing ones. Some in their
, violent grief and agonizlng stress Of
mind collapsed.