The San Francisco call., 1906-10-21
Five Men Meet Death Under
Tons Of Falling Bricks.
Walls Topple Over In
der Pressure of
North Wind.

Walls, falling from the force of the
heavy winds of yesterday morning
caused the death of FIVE men and the
serious injury of two others Three
men were killed by the falling of a
wall at Commercial and Montgomery
streets at S:15 O'Clock, and almost al
the same time two Others were killed
under a wall on Mission street, near
Third. IN addition to the dead, one
man was probably fatally injured at
each place.
AS result of the terrific wind that
prevailed throughout the morning
hours and during part of the after
noon walls in all parts of the burned
district came to the ground at vari-
Gus times, and it is q, source of wonder
that more deaths did not result The
accidents have aroused the city au-
thorfties and the police will be re-
quired to see that every dangerous
wall in the city is razed.
The Montgomery-stre accident was
probably the most unexpected of the
two, and from the condition of things
it seems really strange how the wind
ever gained power over the wall. 1t
was standing on the windward side of
a much higher wall and fell against
the wind in way that looked inlpos-
sible.
NO RECORD OF NAMES.
The wall of this place formed the
south wall of the old Metropolitan
building, and the property is now in
the possession of the Pacific Mutual
Life Insurance Company. 1t was form
erly occupied by Paul p. Bernard &
Co, manufacturers of rubber stamps
and brass signs. The men who lost
their lives there were in the employ
of the latter company, and had been
at work for three days, digging out
r1Ia faS "a
Italians who had been picked UP on
the street, and no record was made of
their names.
Two or three other men appeared
for work there also yesterday morn
ing, but not being provided with eye
goggles, they were not employed. To
this fact they probably owe their lives.
Had the accident occurred but few
minutes earlier no one would have
been injured, for the wall fell only a
little time after the men went into
the basement to begin their digging.
The work in the basement of the
old Metropolitan building was under
the direction of v H. Welk, who lives
at 4177 Twenty-third street. He is the
manager of the Bernard Company.
WORK OF RESCUE HURRIED.
In few minutes after the falling
of the wall Officer T. P Walsh who
has the Montgomery-str beat, ap-
peared on the scene and was informed
by Welk of the accident. The officer
hurried TO the corner of Montgomery
and California streets and turned in
fire alarm. which brought to the
scene engine 5, with thirty firemen.
1t was but little while after the
men began digging that the first dead
body was removed, and the others were
found a short time later. Gionini
Comesse was the only member of the
party who escaped with his life, and
he is now lying in a serious condition
at the hospital. He was saved by a
huge iron brace that projected from
the debris in the bottom of the base
ment, and which broke the force of
the falling wall in a way to protec.
him to great extent
! or the three men killed in this acci-
dent, the name of but one could be
learned. He is Gaetano Gughonotta.
The others will remain unidentified
unless their friends give the police
information concerning them.
DISREGARD WARNING.
Had the workmen in the Mission
street accident Immediately obeyed the
warning, given them they would prob
| ably have escaped with their lives. The
swaying wall was noticed by John
! Riordan, the foreman of the work, and
/ he Immediately called to the men to get
out of the way. There were twelve
men at work in tho proximity of the
falling wall, and all obeyed the warn
| ing except Charles O'Connor, John
Pites and Emil Durand. Pites and
Durand were killed and OConnor was
/ severely injured.
The three unfortunate men heard the
warning of their foreman, but did not
seem to take it seriously They began
| to move away from their work, but in
| q leisurely manner. When a second
shout of danger came to their ears
they looked up at the topping wall and