Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1905-09-15
FIVE employees
BADLY BURNED

There was an alarm of fire yesterday
afternoon, which originated in an ac-
cident at the Stove Works. The fire.
men were not needed, bat five men
were badly burned and Wholesale dam
age was narrowly averted.
The accident was caused by the bot
tom dropping out of the cupola, the
iron to be used in the manufacture of
stove plate. The accident was utterly
unlocked for, being of kind seldom
heard of in foundries. owing to the pre-
/ cautions taken to prevent such an oo
currence.
1t was about 2 :45 O'Clock. The Gu
pola had been charged with its usua
quantity of iron, some 5000 pounds.
The blast had just been turned on. and
the melting process had begun. John
Sherwood, a "day man." according
to custom stood at the spout ready to
take first iron. The other moulders
| with their ladies in hand stood in a
semi i-circle about the cupola awaiting
their turn. Suddenly, without mo-
ment's warning, the bottom plates.
which open downward aud are sup
ported by a heavy iron bar. gave way
and the entire charge of eighteen tons
dropped to the ground. The bottom of
the cupola is some three feet from the
ground and as the heavy charge fell
dense fame of fire shot out on all sides
ten or twelve feet from the cupola and
enveloped the workmen. There was
scarcely one that escaped burns, while
five were very painfully injured.
John Sherwood, who stood directly
in front of the cupola waiting for the
iron. which was just beginning to run.
received the brunt of the explosion
and was the most seriously injured.
His wort burns are about the arms
and head. The skin Oh his neck and
ears seemed literally roasted.
john Jenkins was injured only lit
tie less seriously than Sherwood. In
addition to very painful injuries on
his arms, neck aud face he was burned
about the body.
Nicholas Hill was burned about the
hands and face.
Fred Wendell. the cupola tender, was
also painfully burned about the face
and the hands.
Oh irles Smedley. the engineer. was
standing Immediately behind the Gu
pola and was struck by the fame of
fire and sustained bad burns about the
face and hands.
When the bottom first dropped and
the flames shot ont Oh all sides there
seemed to be nothing to prevent the
wood work of the foundry from ignit-
ing aud one of the workmen ran over
to the Washington Hose House and
gave an alarm. In few minutes there
was a general ringing OF fire bells
throughout thu Borough, in response
to which each of the fire companies
started out to find the scene of the
fire. The first flash as the bottom fell
was all that occurred and the red hot
mass lay in heap under the cupola
out of reach of any combustible ma
terial. The Washington Hose Com
pany was the only one that reached
the Stove Works, before it learned that
the services of the firemen were not
needed.
Meanwhile everything possible was
being done for the injured workmen
with such means as were at hand at
the plant to temporarily relieve their
sufferings and prepare them for their
journey home where they would re-
ceive help from their family physi-
clan. No kinder or more sympathetic
men are to be found anywhere than
the wage earners of our big industrial
plants. who are very anxious to do all
they can for each other when misfor-
tune overtakes them in the hard strug-
gle for livelihood. AS was revealed
at the Stove Works yesterday there are
in the ranks there not few who are
first class nurses and the injured men
after some delay we're wrapped and
bandaged IN way that would not
have reflected badly OIL professionals.
When all was ready the large wagon
of the Stove Works was placed at the
disposal of the injured men and they
were loaded up and~driven to their
respective homes.
W. A. Sechler, General Manager of
the Stove Works, in an interview last
evening stated that he was utterly un-
able to assign cause for the accident.
Another day he said might throw some
light on the mishap. Frederick Wen
del, he said, had been in the employ
of the Company as cupola tender for
twelve years and was a thoroughly
careful and trustworthy man.