The San Francisco call., 1906-10-05
tots IN MAZE OF
FIERY WIRES.
Short Circuit Makes Poles
Blaze for a Block and
Causes a Street Panic
LIVES IN JEOPARDY

People that filed a block of street
were kept panfc-stricken for a consid-
erable time yesterday morning by a
short circuit which burned and parted
one of the 11,000-yolt main feed wires
of the San Francisco Gas and Electric
Company on Stanyan and Oak streets,
threw down a mass of wriggling live
wires and caused poles to. blaze as far
down as Fell street.
The feed wire, which supplies the
Richmond District, snapped in two
shortly before o'clock Dobbin, sec
retary to Captain Gleason of the Park
station, was seated at a desk making
out report when he heard a great
noise in the street. Rushing from the
station, he saw the entire east side
of the block from Oak to Fell street
covered with dangling wires, sputter-
ing blue flame and scores of children
on their way to the Jackson Primary
School trying to dodge out of their way.
The mounted squad was just about to
leave the station, and Dobbin reported
the matter to Captain Gleason. The
squad was ordered to leave their
mounts. get the children out of danger
and keep the street clear.
POLICEMAN SAVES GIRL.
While they were doing this a horse
standing near one of the entrances to
Golden Gate Park broke loose and
was making direct for where a mass
of the live wires was active, when
the attention of Dobbin was attracted
to it. Dobbin made after the horse
and seized it by the bride, but his
right foot was crushed in bringing it
to a standstill and he was obliged to
go to the Park Emergency Hospital.
In the meantime there was great ex-
citement along Stanyan street, the big
feed wire communicating the roar from
the generators at the Potrero power
station and throwing out sheets of
flame that began to flash dangerously
near the wooden buildings. The smaller
wires added to the disorder by sup
plying shower of menacing live ends
that were constantly shifting position
and bewildering every one trying to
avoid them. Some of the children had
narrow escapes. Mounted Policeman
Pidgeon snatching up one that hae
slipped just as swinging wire was
squirming toward her with certain
death.
ELECTRICIANS ARRIVE.
In the early part of the excitement
1t was impossible to tell whether it
was the wires of the electric company
or the United Railroads that were re-
sponsible for the damage. The police
thought it was the latter, but when
they tried to get the main office of the
company on the telephone. found that
ei3O ~ otCiAi liaQ OCcH ItnQcIcQ useless
by the accident. Captain Gleason then
hurried Policeman Pidgeon off to the
company's office in an automobile.
Before Pidgeon returned 1t was
found that besides the telephone serv-
ice the police, fire alarm and telegraph
systems west of Steiner street and from
the Richmond District to Ashbury
Heights were crippled and that this
area was without communication of
any kind and practically marooned
from the rest of the city.
Superintendent Joseph Blakeley of
the department. of electricity was
finally notified of the accident by the
police and arrived with corps of men
from the different electric companies.
The live wires were cut and killed and
the work of repairing the damage
begun. 1t will take a couple of days
to repair some of the damaged circuits.
Blakeley regarded the accident as a
peculiar one.
1T is almost miraculous" he said,
that people were not killed and fires
started"