Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-02-02
FIRE IN THE HOLD
Blaze Discovered on Transport Meade in
San Francisco Harbor.
FlREMEk PREVENT GREAT CATASTROPHE
Tons Of High Explosive Loaded in After
Part OF Vessel
THREE MEN SUFF0CATED TO DEATH
Fifty Eight Fire Fighters Overcome by the
Smoke,
THREE MEN SUFFocATEO TO DEATH
)RlGIs OF gLkZt YET UNKNOWN
Officers Carefully Investigat tins
Theory that ~ is Due
TO an Internal Ma
chine.

SAN FRANCISCO. Feb. i.-Three men
were killed and hfty-eight injured, mostly
/ by su1oCatiou. in 4 fire that ragged on the
United States transport Meade as 1t lay
at the Folsom street dock early this morn
ing. For three hours after midnight the
forward hold Of the big troopship was
roaring furnace from which hremen were
borne in almost a continuous stream. Re
lays promptly stepped forward TO take the
places Of those who were carried out
conscious.
Tons Of high explosives were loaded in
the afterpart Of the vessel and the fremen
worked with the possibility ever before
them that the flames would reach this COM
partment Had this occurred the whole
city would probably have been shaken by
a terrific explosion and no man aboard the
ship would have escaped.
Owing proba bly, to the fact that an in
! fernal machine was found in the bunkers
! OF the transport Thomas on it's last voyage
! the rumor circulated that plot had
! been laid to fire the Meade at sea- as II was
to have departed for Manila today. Major
| c. A. Devol, chief Of the transport service.
! is investigating this theory with great care.
] He is having the cargo taken from ccm-
| partment No. ?. where the fire started with
a view to discovering the real cause Of the
| disaster The flames did not spread from
! compartment No 2. Dock Captain Dun
/ gave IT his opinion that some Of the
officers had packed matches in their trunks
and that these were lgnited in loading.
Property Loss Small.
The surprising fact developed late to-
day that the property loss amounted to
| only S95 This was the estimate made by
| Major Devol. When the water had been
pumped from the holds and the debris re-
! moved II discovered that the fire
| had been confined TO a space about six
| feet square. There very little fame.
| the fire being of a smoldering variety that
emitted great volumes of smoke. There
| were fears that some of the officers ef-
| fects had been destroyed but investigation
showed these goods to be safe.
| 1t is believed by some of the officials
| that the fire was due to spontaneous COM
| bustion OF gun oil ana cotton. Rifles
| were in the vicinity OF. the FIRE ana II is
thought that after cleaning the weapons
J the men had carelessly tossed the oil
soaked waste into heap A board OF in
qury has been appointed TO make in
| vestigation. II consists of Captain W. L.
! Simpson, quartermaster department; Cap
tain A. F. Williams. Second infantry. and
Lieutenant Campbell, Fourth infantry.
The Meade will sail Saturday for the
orient.
Dead and Injured,
The dead:
CAPTAIN CHARLES DAKIN OF San
Francisco. fire engine company No. I: fell
| unconscious into the water of the hold and
was drowned. Leaves wife and son.
| HOSEMAN THOMAS HENNESSY of en-
gine No. I; suffocated TO death while fight
ing fire in hold. Leaves wife and three
children. -
of the transport Meade suffocated while
climbing n ladder from the hold and fell
back unconscious. dying short time later.
was 20 years of age and native of Sgd
The injured all of whom suffered terribly
from suffocation:
Chief Sullivan Of the fire department: Cap
tain George Wilson Of the transport Meade,
shoulders broken: First Officer Lasak of the
transport Meade: Captain Sewel of en-
gine No. 9: Battalion Fire Chief /. \. Fer
No s; Captain Jerry Sullivan, acting bait
talon chief; Lieutenant \. Matlock; John
Gilbert, acting captain engine No. T.; Ca
briel Cuneo; Charles Gill operator for En-
gineer Fernandez; Morris Fireman Of the
transport Meade; Alexander Lack OF the
Meade crew
The following members Of the fire depart
ment
Coleman. j. Quinn, W. O'Keefc, L. Cook
Captain Robert Wood. Captain J Conlan
! +. ONcil y. MatthcwsUn, I. Devine r
Cashen. J. Brdgewood, J. Healy, f. Ken
ney. r. Harrigan, George Hartman. J
Y. =. I
( F. Doherty. Frank Kenney. Harry Brown
Henry Gull, X. CARRIER, George Wells
James Campbell Robert Montgomery +
Collins A. Lohres, J. Kirby, A, Butler. G
Lenahan, J. Dallette, Z. Cosgrove, W Sea
man, Richard Curtin.
Heroic work IL Done.
The fact that the vessel was on FIRE was
first discovered by a painter on the main
deck He rushed 20 Master-at-Arms Morris
7 nh he Sa
master Wilson. Alarms were then hurriedly
turned in from the boxes in the vicinity,
. Deeds OF thrilling heroism marked the
r nre Captain George Wilson OF the Meade
] fell down a hatchway and lay crippled and
unconscious with an injured shoulder
Chief Operator Lasaek and others OF the
crew threw themselves down into the hold
and mana eed to struggle back out OF the
pit of death bearing Wilson, who was re-
moved ~ a berth out Of reach Of the
flames and there attended 10. IRsaek him
self was rescued from death by Lewis Cook
OF truck No. ! and an unknown man, both
, Of whom took their lives in their hands
/, J. H. Dale OF the United States transport
, service was overcome while trying TO save
Third Oficsr Wallace from the fate that
, overlook him. Wallace comes from Sidney.
Australia The fore part Of the ship where
the fire broke out contained the personal
effects Of the on ,ers n the Second Infantry
and Of the Eighth and Thirteenth batteries
Of light artillery and the loss OF property
was confined 10 tins part OF the vessel.
70 The fear Of an explosion prevailed, but did
not deter the dremen, who knew that there
was large quantity Of ammunition an
, board. This however, stored in com
: psrtment No g. next 20 the last on the
. boat. while tho fire began in No. = com
partment. well forward. The flames how
70 over. were eating their way backward and
at . o'clock had Crt through No. , com
20 partmont and 10. 4 and were eating their
f. way toward the hold whore th" explosive
matter vas s'~'. ].
r Keeping fire From Explosives.
a The utmost energies OF those in charge
were directed toward flooding this com
pertinent and cutting it on BY volume